Job Description

Academic
Job Category
Faculty Non Bargaining
Job Title
Research Associate - Generative AI Engineer
Department
Regier Laboratory | School of Population and Public Health | Faculty of Medicine (Dean Regier)
Posting End Date
October 16, 2025
Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date
October 31, 2026
The expected salary range for this position is $95,000 - $120,000 per annum.
At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.
The School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) is seeking a Research Associate (RA) for an initial appointment of one year. The Generative AI Developer / Engineer will be under the supervision of Dr. Dean Regier, Associate Professor, and Director of the Academy of Translational Medicine.
Housed within the Faculty of Medicine, the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) is an innovative unit that encompasses many of the health-related groupings at UBC as a collaborative venture. The School is structured around four divisions: Occupational and Environmental Health; Health Services and Policy; Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health Practice; and Health in Populations. The resulting mix of professions and disciplines is seen as a means of connecting individuals and learners to galvanize the relationship between health research, public health and health services and to enhance learning.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Reporting to the Director of the Academy of Translational Medicine, the incumbent will be responsible for:Develop, train, build, and maintain a novel generative AI Large Language Models (LLM) architecture to perform specialized tasks within a healthcare context. Identify, define and prioritize use cases for the LLM model through coordination and collaboration with stakeholders and lab members. Engage with stakeholders and subject matter experts to incorporate their insight into the design, essential functions, and boundaries for the LLM. Curate domain-specific data for training the LLM, including any necessary data preprocessing, labelling, cleaning, and data wrangling. Build processes for automated data preprocessing within the LLM pipeline architecture. Identify and perform most appropriate and effective Parameter-Efficient Fine-Tuning (PEFT) methods for training the LLM on curated and labelled data sets. Identify and perform supplemental iterative fine-tuning procedures to reduce LLM output errors and refine its responses. Design and build architecture and evaluation criteria for LLM validation and testing for model accuracy across multiple scenarios, including safety and risk assessment, and performance with real-world simulations. Ensure compliance of all LLM model architecture with ethics, privacy, and data security requirements. Develop and conduct bias audits to ensure LLM recommendations are fair and consistent across all relevant tasks. Conduct regular model performance audits of the LLM to ensure the accuracy, relevance and safety of LLM outputs. Stay up-to-date with reviewing and potentially integrating new approaches and techniques from emerging scientific literature on generative AI into the LLM architecture. Periodically retrain the LLM with respect to new data or case studies to keep it up-to-date. Create engaging data visualizations and representations of model results that are easily accessible to a diverse set of stakeholders. Interpret and communicate model results to the research team and diverse partners including regional health authorities. Prepare reports, presentations, abstracts, and manuscripts in collaboration with researchers and trainees. Maintain detailed documentation on data sources, training protocols, and compliance with regulatory guidelines. Contribute to generative AI and relevant methods sections of research grant proposals as needed. Respect privacy and ethics around the use of sensitive and privileged data sets Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one's own. Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one's own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Errors made could influence the ability of the research team to meet critical deadlines, as well as compromise the results of research project, and therefore impact the credibility of the Principal Investigator. Poor decisions may be damaging to the reputation of the Principal Investigator, the School, and the University and could lead to incorrect or inappropriate policy recommendations being made.
This position will be responsible for access, collection, use and disclosure of personal information in accordance with the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (RSBC 1996) and other UBC privacy and security policies. This position requires employees to work under strict confidentiality requirements; internal procedures and policies to protect personal information must be followed and adherence to these requirements will be regularly reviewed by the employer.
QUALIFICATIONS
Education
PhD in relevant discipline such as, Computer Sciences, Machine Learning, Mathematics, or a related field--or equivalent qualifications and demonstrated expertise in generative AI.
Work Experience:
Training in the following areas:Experience:Minimum of two years of related experience in research or with developing generative AI applications for specialized tasks, or the equivalent combination of education and experience. Demonstrated proficiency in either R or Python programming, including working knowledge of relevant generative AI/ML packages, libraries, and frameworks. First-authored academic publications relevant to generative AI at leading journals and conferences (e.g. ICLR, ICML, JMLR, AAAI, etc.) Demonstrated ability to lead projects involving the design and implementation of generative AI from ideation to deployment. Experience deploying Python code to High-Performance Computing (HPC) clusters as part of effectively scaling AI/ML model inference. Knowledge and experience of using pre-trained LLMs is a bonus. Working knowledge of different LLM prompt engineering techniques and relevant theory. Knowledge and hands-on experience developing interactive visuals. Experience working with and interpreting medical/health related data in an AI/ML. Experience with cleaning and analyzing complex, large scale, potentially incomplete data from varying sources. Extensive knowledge of relevant generative AI and machine learning packages, libraries, and tools, as well as excellent programming and scripting abilities in either Python or R.
Skills:Strong technical and research communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to communicate findings effectively and concisely to various types of stakeholders. Demonstrated aptitude and willingness to learn the procedures, terminology, and norms of a scientific field outside of your area of direct expertise. Highly motivated to lead a complex multi-stage research project related to generative AI. Have the ability to work primarily in an independent manner towards project goals, yet also effectively collaborate with team members to align on larger research direction and project goals. Proven aptitude to break down large projects into smaller milestones, tracking and reporting project progress continually to project stakeholders. Experience in project management is an asset but not necessary. Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one's own. Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one's own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

The expected salary range for this position is $95,000 - $120,000 per annum. The Faculty of Medicine is committed to offering equitable and competitive salaries, commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Application packages consisting of cover letter, detailed curriculum vitae, and the names and contact info of 3 supervisory references should be submitted online at https://ubc.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/ubcfacultyjobs (JR22205).

Should you have any queries around this position, please contact Ashleen Shadeo at ashleen.shadeo@ubc.ca.
Review of applications will begin on October 17, 2025 and continue until the position is filled. The anticipated start date for this position is November 1, 2025 or upon a date to be mutually agreed.
We invite applications from qualified candidates who share our commitment to employment equity and inclusive excellence, and we welcome applications from candidates belonging to historically, persistently, or systemically marginalized groups: Indigenous (First Nation, Metis, Inuit) Peoples, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women, 2SLGBTQIA+ people, and trans and non-binary people.

The University is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and equitable work environment for all members of its workforce. An inclusive work environment presumes an environment where differences are appreciated, recognized, and integrated into current structures, planning, and decision-making modes. Within this hiring process we are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable process for all candidates (including but not limited to people with disabilities). Confidential accommodations are available on request. Please contact Ashleen Shadeo via email at ashleen.shadeo@ubc.ca. If you have any questions regarding accommodations or accessibility during the recruitment and hiring process or for more information and support, please visit UBC's Centre for Workplace Accessibility website at https://hr.ubc.ca/health-and-wellbeing/workplace-accessibility/centre-workplace-accessibility or contact the Centre at workplace.accessibility@ubc.ca.

With gratitude, we acknowledge that the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine and its distributed programs, which include four university academic campuses, are located on traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of First Nations Peoples and communities around the province.

Our Vision: To Transform Health for Everyone.
Ranked among the world's top medical schools with the fifth-largest MD enrollment in North America, the UBC Faculty of Medicine is a leader in both the science and the practice of medicine. Across British Columbia, more than 12,000 faculty and staff are training the next generation of doctors and health care professionals, making remarkable discoveries, and helping to create the pathways to better health for our communities at home and around the world.
The Faculty - comprised of approximately 2,200 administrative support, technical/research and management and professional staff, as well approximately 650 full-time academic and over 10,000 clinical faculty members - is composed of 19 academic basic science and/or clinical departments, three schools, and 24 research centres and institutes. Together with its University and Health Authority partners, the Faculty delivers innovative programs and conducts research in the areas of health and life sciences. Faculty, staff and trainees are located at university campuses, clinical academic campuses in hospital settings and other regionally based centres across the province.
UBC - One of the World's Leading Universities. As one of the world's leading universities, the University of British Columbia creates an exceptional learning environment that fosters global citizenship, advances a civil and sustainable society, and supports outstanding research to serve the people of British Columbia, Canada and the world.UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. All qualified persons are encouraged to apply. Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority.
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