About Ersilia

The Fundació Ersilia Open Source Initiative (Ersilia) is a non-profit organization building open source AI/ML tools to support infectious disease research across the Global South. Founded in 2020, the Ersilia team has developed an array of methods and infrastructure to provide free service to researchers working in resource-limited settings, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ersilia’s current focus is to speed up drug discovery for diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, AMR or schistosomiasis.

What are we looking for?

This project focuses on developing AI/ML models for antimicrobial drug discovery. The postdoctoral researcher will be leading the development of 

a) Bioactivity prediction models for key pathogens of Global Health concern and 

b) Generative AI modeling to expand the known chemical space for antiinfectives. 

Following Ersilia’s open source mandate, all models and data from this project will be publicly available and deployed through a unified web application framework, designed to serve researchers globally, especially those with limited access to advanced computational resources.

This position is supported by the Plan Generación Conocimiento 2024 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Experience and qualifications

We are seeking a motivated Postdoctoral Researcher with expertise in AI/ML, computational biology, or cheminformatics.

• PhD qualification in a relevant field (AI/ML, computational biology, cheminformatics, bioinformatics, or related areas).
• Strong programming skills (Python required) and experience with AI/ML frameworks.
• Familiarity with generative models or computational drug discovery is highly desirable.
• Experience working with large datasets, especially in chemical and biological domains.
• Passion for open-source science and solving global health challenges.
• Excellent command of the English language and good writing skills.

Key responsibilities

• Integrating large public databases for chemistry and biology data.
• Developing and deploying AI/ML models for bioactivity prediction.
• Applying generative modeling techniques to design new antimicrobial compounds.
• Contributing to the maintenance of Ersilia’s software infrastructure.
• Writing scientific papers documenting the results.
• Collaborating with Ersilia’s network, engaging in events such as conferences and training workshops.

What do we offer?

• An opportunity to work in a unique environment with academic orientation and startup mentality.
• A flexible framework for self-development and contribution to science and technology development for underserved communities.
• A collaborative environment with a dynamic team situated at our offices in Norrsken, Barcelona.
• The possibility to learn about essential skills for researchers like grant writing, fundraising, social media engagement, participation in large consortia and development of training workshops.

Conditions:

This is initially a 3 year full time role starting in January and candidates must be able to legally work in Spain. No visa sponsorship can be offered at this time.

We look forward to welcoming a dedicated researcher to our team at Ersilia!