Data Scientist – Agentic Bioinformatics – VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology

Job Description

The Bioinformatics & AI Expertise Unit of the VIB–KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology (CCB) is seeking a Data Scientist with a background in bioinformatics or computational biology to explore, build and deploy tools based on large language models (LLMs) that support research at CCB. This includes agentic workflows that help researchers find suitable methods, write and run analysis code, and work with multi-omics and spatial data. You will critically evaluate these tools, bring the useful ones into daily use across research groups, and help the CCB community use them effectively and responsibly.

You will join a growing team led by Dr. Masoomeh Rahimpour and work closely with the Integrative Cancer Genomics lab of Prof. Jonas Demeulemeester, other CCB Expertise Units, and the ML Unit of VIB.AI, the VIB Center for AI & Computational Biology.

Key Responsibilities

• Build LLM-based tools and agentic workflows for bioinformatics tasks (e.g. assistants that run and document standard analyses, retrieval over internal protocols)
• Connect LLM tools to existing bioinformatics resources – pipelines, HPC, databases and public resources (e.g. via tool calling or MCP)
• Evaluate reliability on realistic research tasks, with attention to correctness, reproducibility and data privacy
• Deploy and maintain tools for CCB researchers with the VIB.AI ML Unit and the Vlaams Supercomputer Centrum (VSC)
• Keep up with state-of-the-art LLMs, AI agents and computational biology; benchmark and introduce tools and best practices
• Deliver training and workshops on practical and responsible use of LLMs in research

Qualifications

• PhD in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent professional experience (e.g. in industry)
• Good communication skills in English

Experience

Hands-on experience with LLMs (APIs or open-weight models), e.g. prompt design or tool/function calling, and working knowledge of common bioinformatic workflows (sequencing, single-cell or spatial data). Nice to have: RAG over literature/documentation, agent frameworks (e.g. LangGraph), running open-weight models on local or HPC hardware.

Skills Required

• Strong Python programming
• LLMs, tool/function calling, agent frameworks
• Sequencing / single-cell / spatial data workflows
• Explaining AI concepts and limitations to non-specialists
• Continuous learning and knowledge sharing

Additional Information

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