Scientific Curator

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Why join the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences?

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is the historic heart of Harvard University. It is the home of Harvard’s undergraduate program (Harvard College, founded in 1636) as well as all of Harvard’s Ph.D. programs (the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1872), Harvard Athletics and the Division of Continuing Education. The 40 academic departments and 30+ centers of the FAS support a community unparalleled in its academic excellence across the broadest range of liberal arts and sciences disciplines. Together, the FAS seeks to foster an environment of ambition, curiosity and shared commitment to knowledge and truth that elicits excellence from all members of our community and prepares the next generation of leaders through a transformative educational experience.

Job Summary:

The FlyBase project is an international collaboration of ~35 people distributed at several sites. This position is located at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. All FlyBase staff work as a part of a team, in which curators and software engineers collaborate extensively. Each site has its own set of responsibilities. The Harvard FlyBase curators focus on curation/annotation of literature and high-throughput data pertaining to the Drosophila genome, transcriptome and proteome. FlyBase is constantly evolving, seeking both to improve and to expand its role within the Drosophila and wider scientific communities. The ideal applicant will be enthusiastic about participating in this process, bringing to the FlyBase group expertise and ideas concerning emerging directions in Drosophila biology and genomic/proteomic analysis. FlyBase is increasingly integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning tools into its curation workflows. The ideal candidate will be open-minded and enthusiastic about exploring AI-assisted approaches to biological data curation, including the use of large language models and AI coding assistants to accelerate and enhance curation tasks.

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

• Reading and abstracting of data from the current Drosophila literature, including its relationship to human disease, physical interactions, and gene expression
• Evaluating and validating AI generated annotations and curation suggestions, ensuring accuracy and biological relevance before integration into the database 
• Using AI coding assistants (e.g. Claude Code, Codex, Gemini) to write scripts for data wrangling, format conversion, and routing curation tasks 
• Providing feedback on AI model outputs and refining prompts to help improve automated curation pipelines and annotation quality over time 
• Annotation and analysis of the Drosophila melanogaster genome, including gene models, mapped mutations, and regulatory features 
• Together with curators and developers at other sites, interact with broad research community by answering helpmail and giving presentations and tutorials at research conferences
• Handling high-throughput datasets and associated metadata

Basic Qualifications (required):

• Bachelors degree in a related discipline and 3+ years experience in Drosophila research 

Additional Qualifications and Skills Qualifications (preferred):

• Maters or Ph.D. in molecular biology, genetics, or relevant field strongly preferred
• Openness and willingness to learn and adopt AI-powered tools for curation, data analysis, and scripting
• Comfort working with AI assistants and web-based tools
• Familiarity with or willingness to learn AI coding tools (e.g. command-line AI assistants, code generation tools) for light scripting and data processing tasks
• Ability to critically evaluate AI-generated outputs (e.g. automated annotations, suggested gene associations) and provide clear feedback on their accuracy
• Excellent communication skills in the English language, both oral and written

• Standard Hours/Schedule: 35 hours per week
• Visa Sponsorship Information: Harvard University is unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position
• Pre-Employment Screening: Identity, Education, 
• Other Information: All formal offers will be made by FAS HR. 

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Work Format Details

This position has been determined by school or unit leaders that some of the duties and responsibilities can be effectively performed at a non-Harvard location. The work schedule and location will be set by the department at its discretion and based upon operational needs. When not working at a Harvard or Harvard-designated location, employees in hybrid positions must work in a Harvard registered state in compliance with the University’s Policy on Employment Outside of Massachusetts. Additional details will be discussed during the interview process. Certain visa types and funding sources may limit work location. Individuals must meet work location sponsorship requirements prior to employment.

Salary Grade and Ranges

This position is salary grade level 056. Please visit  Harvard's Salary Ranges  to view the corresponding salary range and related information. 

Benefits

Harvard offers a comprehensive benefits package that is designed to support a healthy work-life balance and your physical, mental and financial wellbeing. Because here, you are what matters. Our benefits include, but are not limited to: 

• Generous paid time off including parental leave 
• Medical, dental, and vision health insurance coverage starting on day one 
• Retirement plans with university contributions 
• Wellbeing and mental health resources 
• Support for families and caregivers 
• Professional development opportunities including tuition assistance and reimbursement 
• Commuter benefits, discounts and campus perks 

Learn more about these and additional benefits on our Benefits & Wellbeing Page. 

EEO/Non-Discrimination Commitment Statement

Harvard University is committed to equal opportunity and non-discrimination. We seek talent from all parts of society and the world, and we strive to ensure everyone at Harvard thrives. Our differences help our community advance Harvard's academic purposes.

Harvard has an equal employment opportunity policy that outlines our commitment to prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, religion, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law or identified in the university's non-discrimination policy. Harvard's equal employment opportunity policy and non-discrimination policy help all community members participate fully in work and campus life free from harassment and discrimination.