Computer Science Postdoctoral Research Associate

About the Role

Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate position. The successful candidate will join a collaborative, multidisciplinary team of researchers, clinicians, and technical specialists working at the intersection of medicine, science, and technology to develop and evaluate new approaches to health research and healthcare delivery. This fellowship offers an opportunity to contribute to innovative research and help translate emerging ideas into practical solutions that address evolving healthcare needs and advance more effective and equitable care.

Position Summary

The Postdoctoral Research Associate will contribute to interdisciplinary healthcare and research projects through full-stack software development, coding support, and the application of artificial intelligence. The fellowship combines front-end and back-end development with the evaluation and implementation of computational approaches that address practical research and healthcare needs. The fellow will collaborate with faculty, clinicians, engineers, and data scientists to develop usable, reliable software and support the technical documentation and review processes needed for project implementation and acceptance.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain front-end interfaces for research applications and digital health tools, with attention to usability and project requirements.
• Develop and maintain back-end services, databases, and application programming interfaces, supporting integration between software components and relevant data sources.
• Design, build, and maintain data pipelines to collect, process, validate, and integrate data across research applications and AI workflows.
• Provide coding support to research teams, including software prototyping, debugging, testing, maintenance, and technical documentation.
• Explore and use AI-assisted coding ("vibe coding") tools and workflows to support rapid prototyping and software development, with code review, testing, and documentation.
• Apply prior knowledge and experience in artificial intelligence to evaluate, integrate, and refine AI methods and tools relevant to project objectives.
• Help projects navigate applicable institutional requirements, compliance reviews, and acceptance processes by preparing technical documentation, coordinating with relevant specialists, and addressing technical feedback.
• Collaborate with faculty, clinicians, engineers, data scientists, and public health partners to translate research needs into technical requirements and software solutions.
• Participate in needs assessments, feasibility studies, and implementation evaluations.
• Produce manuscripts, conference submissions, and scientific dissemination outputs.
• Assist with grant writing, ethics applications, and project protocol development.
• Engage with project users, community partners, and health system stakeholders to support usability, relevance, and adoption.

Qualifications

• Completed PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, or a related discipline, or a medical, other doctoral, or healthcare degree with demonstrated proficiency in programming, full-stack software development, and applied artificial intelligence.
• Demonstrated experience in full-stack software development, including both front-end and back-end development.
• Proficiency in programming languages, application frameworks, databases, and software integration methods relevant to research and healthcare applications.
• Prior knowledge of and hands-on experience with artificial intelligence or machine-learning methods and tools.
• Experience with software debugging, testing, version control, and technical documentation.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and scientific communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams and translate research and user needs into practical technical solutions.
• Familiarity with data privacy, software security, institutional review, or project acceptance processes is desirable.