Postdoc Fellow: Machine Learning for molecular characterization

Postdoc Fellow: Machine Learning for molecular characterization



Location: Gothenburg, Sweden



Innovate to change the world!



Do you have expertise in biocatalysis and a passion for innovation? Would you like to apply your expertise to impact sustainable drug discovery in a company that follows the science and turns ideas into life changing medicines? Then AstraZeneca might be the one for you!



AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-focused biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines for some of the world's most serious diseases. But we're more than one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. A place for bold disruptors shifting from academia to industry, this is where you can think differently to cut through the noise, add value, and bring fresh thinking to our teams and projects. Collaborating across functions and international boarders, you'll share knowledge and combine strengths to take your skills, and our science, to the next level.



About the Postdoc Programme



We're currently looking for hardworking scientists to join our innovative academic-style Postdoc program. This position is placed at AstraZeneca's dynamic R&D site in Gothenburg, Sweden, where you will be in a global pharmaceutical environment, contributing to live projects right from the beginning. You'll take part in a comprehensive training programme, including a focus on drug discovery and development, given access to our existing Postdoctoral research, and encouraged to pursue your own independent research in our ground-breaking laboratories. This an exciting and newly expanding programme spanning a range of therapeutic areas across a wide range of fields.



About the Opportunity



Compound characterization by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is among the most important analytical techniques. Nevertheless, analysis of NMR spectra is time consuming, requiring manual intervention and creating a bottle-neck in synthesis. This project will investigate the use of NMR data for the structural elucidation of small molecules without the need for human intervention. By combining clustering, generative models, and graph neural networks with unique, large-scale industrial experimental data collected over multiple years at AstraZeneca, we aim to develop a process able to infer molecular structure directly from spectra.



A cross-disciplinary project that combines machine learning and physical chemistry to advance the field of automated molecular characterization. You will learn how to harmonize industrial and open source data to have a real impact on the chemistry community. The project is industrially relevant and scientifically interesting, which will lead to high impact publications. You will have the opportunity to work with a team of experts in diverse fields of science and collaborate with world leading universities and successful groups in the field of NMR analysis.



Essential Education and Experience

We are looking for a motivated scientist who is eager to work with experts in different areas to solve an important, cross-disciplinary problem in applied machine learning. You should have good communication skills and a willingness to understand and bring ideas together from different domains.

Required:

* PhD in quantitative scientific field with a computational focus, e.g. machine learning, chemistry, computer science, chemical engineering, quantitative biology, etc.
* Proficient in python
* Chemistry knowledge (undergraduate level)

Desirable:

* Experience with NMR
* Track record of applying machine learning to chemistry domain problems
* Experience with transformers/ graph convolutional networks/ generative models



This is a 3-year programme. 2 years will be a Fixed Term Contract, with a 1-year extension which will be merit based.



Are you already imagining yourself joining our team? Good, because we can't wait to hear from you.



Advert Opens: 19 October 2021

Advert Closes: 28 November 2021



Where can I find out more?



AstraZeneca's Postdoc Programme: https://careers.astrazeneca.com/postdocs-astrazeneca

Life at AstraZeneca: https://careers.astrazeneca.com/life-at-astrazeneca

Sustainability at AstraZeneca: https://www.astrazeneca.com/sustainability.html