Recruitment for Research Associate – I position

Position summary

Research Associate-I – IIT Madras, Department of Mechanical Engineering (Advt. No. ICSR/PR/Advt.120/2026)

IIT Madras is recruiting one Research Associate-I on a temporary contract basis for a computational biology and biophysics research project under the Department of Mechanical Engineering, in collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology.

Project Co-ordinators:

• Dr. Raushan Singh, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
• Prof. Narasimhan Swaminathan, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
• Prof. Athi Narayanan Naganathan, Dept. of Biotechnology

Position Details:

• Vacancies: 1
• Pay: ₹58,000/month + 30% HRA (Total consolidated pay: ₹75,400/month)
• Duration: Initially 1 year, extendable up to 3 years based on performance
• Purely contractual — no right to regularisation or permanency at IIT Madras

Eligibility:

• Essential: PhD in Science, Engineering, Physics, Biophysics, Computational Biology, or a related discipline
• Experience in molecular dynamics simulations of DNA, RNA, or related biomolecular systems
• Strong programming skills in Python/MATLAB with high-performance computing (HPC) experience
• Background in nucleic acid biophysics, computational biology, statistical mechanics, or soft matter physics
• Experience in coarse-grained modelling, AI/ML methods, scientific computing, and data analysis

Job Role: The selected candidate will work on a highly computational research programme involving developing models to study sequence-dependent mechanical properties of DNA, RNA, and nucleic acid hybrids. Key responsibilities include performing molecular dynamics simulations (AMBER), Monte Carlo sampling, building high-throughput computational workflows, constructing genome-scale mechanical atlases, investigating effects of sequence variations and epigenetic modifications, and integrating mechanical predictions with genomic datasets. The role also involves developing and maintaining scientific software and contributing to publications and student mentoring.

How to Apply: Online only at icandsr.iitm.ac.in/careers/current_openings.php (search for Advt. 120/2026). After submission, print a copy of the application for use at the time of interview/document verification. Hard copies should NOT be sent to the institute. Last date: 8 July 2026.

For technical issues: icsrrecruitment6@icsrpis.iitm.ac.in or call 044-2257 8843 (Mon–Fri, 9:00 AM–5:30 PM).