Postdoctoral Researcher – Protein Computational Biophysics (R2)
Job title: Postdoctoral Researcher – Protein Computational Biophysics (R2)
About BSC
The Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is the leading supercomputing center in Spain. It houses MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, was a founding and hosting member of the former European HPC infrastructure PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), and is now hosting entity for EuroHPC JU, the Joint Undertaking that leads large-scale investments and HPC provision in Europe. The mission of BSC is to research, develop and manage information technologies in order to facilitate scientific progress. BSC combines HPC service provision and R&D into both computer and computational science (life, earth and engineering sciences) under one roof, and currently has over 1000 staff from 60 countries.
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We are particularly interested for this role in the strengths and lived experiences of women and underrepresented groups to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights in science and IT research. In instances of equal merit, the incorporation of the under-represented sex will be favoured.
We promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, fostering an environment where each and every one of us is appreciated for who we are, regardless of our differences.
If you consider that you do not meet all the requirements, we encourage you to continue applying for the job offer. We value diversity of experiences and skills, and you could bring unique perspectives to our team.
Context And Mission
The Evolutionary Systems Biophysics group, led by Dr. R. Gonzalo Parra at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), is seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher to investigate how local energetic frustration shapes protein evolution, dynamics, and function.
This position builds on recent work exploring the evolutionary trajectories of energetic frustration from ancestral to extant proteins, combining ancestral sequence reconstruction, structure prediction, and statistical energy models
The successful candidate will extend this research line toward a general framework linking protein evolution, energetics, and function, with particular emphasis on:
· the emergence and conservation of frustrated interactions,
· the role of neutral frustration as an evolutionary intermediary,
· and the relationship between frustration, epistasis, and functional adaptation.
The Life Sciences Department at BSC hosts a highly interdisciplinary environment spanning genomics, structural bioinformatics, and computational biophysics. The group collaborates closely with national and international partners and has access to state-of-the-art HPC infrastructure.
Research Objectives
The postdoctoral researcher will lead and develop projects focused on:
· Modeling the evolutionary dynamics of local frustration across protein families using phylogenetic and structural approaches.
· Investigating how functional sites (e.g., catalytic or interaction interfaces) emerge and are maintained as highly frustrated regions.
· Quantifying the interplay between mutations, energetics, and evolutionary constraints, including epistatic effects.
· Developing or applying machine learning approaches to predict or redesign frustration patterns in proteins.
· Extending current methodologies (e.g., FrustraEvo, Potts models, structure prediction pipelines) to large-scale protein datasets.
Key Duties
Conduct independent and collaborative research on protein evolution and biophysics.
Develop computational pipelines integrating ASR, structure prediction, and energetic analysis.
Apply and/or develop ML/AI methods for protein design and evolutionary inference.
Analyze large-scale protein datasets using HPC resources.
Publish results in high-impact journals.
Contribute to grant writing and project development.
Supervise junior researchers (PhD/MSc students).
Requirements
Education
Ph.D. in Structural Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Biophysics, or related field.
Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
Strong experience in protein sequence–structure analysis.
Background in statistical or physical models of proteins (e.g., Potts models, energy landscapes, coevolution).
Strong background in biophysics.
Programming skills in Python, R, C++.
Experience working with large-scale biological datasets.
Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
Experience with:
o Ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR)
o Protein structure prediction (AlphaFold, ESMFold, etc.)
o Energetic frustration or protein energy landscape analysis
o Machine learning in protein science
o +2 years of experience after PhD
Knowledge of evolutionary biology concepts (phylogenetics, epistasis).
Familiarity with HPC environments.
Competences
Ability to drive independent research directions.
Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
Excellent communication skills.
Collaborative mindset.
Conditions
The position will be located at BSC within the Life Sciences Department
We offer a full-time contract (37.5h/week), a good working environment, a highly stimulating environment with state-of-the-art infrastructure, flexible working hours, extensive training plan, restaurant tickets, private health insurance, support to the relocation procedures
Duration: Open-ended contract due to technical and scientific activities linked to the project and budget duration
Holidays: 22 days of holidays + 6 personal days + 24th and 31st of December per our collective agreement
Salary: we offer a competitive salary commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate and according to the cost of living in Barcelona
Starting date: asap
Applications procedure and process
All applications must be submitted via the BSC website and contain:
A full CV in English including contact details
A cover/motivation letter with a statement of interest in English, clearly specifying for which specific area and topics the applicant wishes to be considered. Additionally, two references for further contacts must be included. Applications without this document will not be considered.
Development of the recruitment process
The selection will be carried out through a competitive examination system ("Concurso-Oposición"). The recruitment process consists of two phases:
Curriculum Analysis: Evaluation of previous experience and/or scientific history, degree, training, and other professional information relevant to the position. - 40 points
Interview phase: The highest-rated candidates at the curriculum level will be invited to the interview phase, conducted by the corresponding department and Human Resources. In this phase, technical competencies, knowledge, skills, and professional experience related to the position, as well as the required personal competencies, will be evaluated. - 60 points. A minimum of 30 points out of 60 must be obtained to be eligible for the position.
The recruitment panel will be composed of at least three people, ensuring at least 25% representation of women.
In accordance with OTM-R principles, a gender-balanced recruitment panel is formed for each vacancy at the beginning of the process. After reviewing the content of the applications, the panel will begin the interviews, with at least one technical and one administrative interview. At a minimum, a personality questionnaire as well as a technical exercise will be conducted during the process.
The panel will make a final decision, and all individuals who participated in the interview phase will receive feedback with details on the acceptance or rejection of their profile.
At BSC, we seek continuous improvement in our recruitment processes. For any suggestions or comments/complaints about our recruitment processes, please contact recruitment@bsc.es.
For more information, please follow this link.
Deadline
The vacancy will remain open until a suitable candidate has been hired. Applications will be regularly reviewed and potential candidates will be contacted.
OTM-R principles for selection processes
BSC-CNS is committed to the principles of the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers of the European Commission and the Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment principles (OTM-R). This is applied for any potential candidate in all our processes, for example by creating gender-balanced recruitment panels and recognizing career breaks etc.
BSC-CNS is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by applicable state or local law.