Number of Openings: 5
Closing Date: 27 March 2026
Responsibilities:
- Design, execute, and coordinate independent and collaborative research, applying quantitative and computational methods to analyse data and optimise processes.
- Collaborate across teams, including external collaborators, to support research, maintaining thorough documentation and presenting findings effectively.
- Engage and communicate with government, industry, and clinical partners to translate research findings into impact.
- Provide technical guidance, ensure safety and compliance, and support continuous improvement of methods and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
- Stay current with scientific advancements, troubleshoot technical issues, and contribute innovative research ideas aligned with institutional goals and strategy.
- Prepare technical reports, manuscripts, workflows and SOPs.
Essential Skills:
- The candidate should have domain knowledge in one or more of the following areas:
a. Vaccines, Immunology and/or Systems Biology
b. Bioinformatics, genomics, computational biology and/or data science
c. Epidemiology and/or biostatistics
d. Microbial and/or pathogen biology (Virology, Bacteriology, Parasitology or Mycology)
e. Cell and/or molecular biology
f. Microscopy (electron and/or optical imaging)
g. Diagnostic assay development and/or validation
h. Translational research and/or implementation of public health
i. Vector biology (entomology)
j. Mammalian cell culture, with willingness to work with various clinical specimens and viral materials as required
- Demonstrated independent and/or collaborative research capabilities.
- Ability to hypothesise, design own experiments, draw conclusions, and provide direction.
- Proficiency in technical writing for data summaries, technical reports, and documentation.
- Computer skills including word processing, spreadsheets, and instrumentation-related systems.
- Strong skills in statistical thinking and data analysis.
- Proven critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
- Ability to collaborate and communicate effectively within multi-disciplinary teams
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, multi-tasking environment while maintaining high-quality standards to meet aggressive turnaround requirements.
- Willingness to work flexibly, including occasional hours outside the normal workday (i.e., evenings and weekends) as operational needs require.
- Ability to perform successfully under pressure while handling multiple projects with overlapping timelines.
Desirable Criteria:
The following criteria are non-essential, unless otherwise stated for specific roles.
- Experience supporting or contributing to multi-institutional collaborations (local, regional, or international).
- Track record of peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, or guideline-related outputs in infectious disease or public health domains (essential for Senior Scientist and Research Officer; advantageous for Assistant Research Officer)
- Experience contributing to capacity building, training workshops or internal development initiatives.
- Experience working within environments regulated by biosafety, ethics, clinical research governance, or equivalent.
- Experience working in high-containment laboratories (e.g., BSL-3 facilities).
- Experience in training and supervising junior researchers or technical staff (essential for Senior Scientist and Research Officer).
- Demonstrated experience in leading a research team or programme (essential for Senior Scientist).
- Experience in grant proposal and research funding applications (essential for Senior Scientist and advantageous for Research Officer).
- Having the knowledge of Malaysian research governance frameworks, including the National Medical Research Registry (NMRR), Good Clinical Practice (GCP), Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), and data protection workflows.
Requirements:
The appointment level will be made according to the candidate's qualifications and experience.
- Senior Scientist: A PhD (or commensurate experience) in the life sciences or a related field with more than 8 years of post-doctoral experience or equivalent industry experience required.
- Research Officer: A PhD (or commensurate experience) in the life sciences or a related field with more than 3 years of post-doctoral experience or a Master's degree with at least 6 years industry experience required.
- Assistant Research Officer: A PhD (or commensurate experience), or a Master's degree with 3 years of experience, in the life sciences or related field with relevant research or laboratory experience.
- Research Assistant: A Bachelor's degree in the life sciences or related field.