Doctoral student in chemistry, with focus on AI in chemistry, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden

Reference number: HR-2025/2045,

Welcome to Linnaeus University! Here you'll meet 2 200 staff members and 40 000 students, all united in following the vision to set knowledge in motion for a sustainable societal development. With us, research and education are conducted with an eye towards the future. Our proximity to the business world, both locally and globally, gives us a wide reach and the ability to create change that makes an impact. All that's needed is a place where ideas have the space to meet and grow. That's what we've created and you are invited.
 
Change starts here!
 
The Faculty of Health and Life Sciences pursues the vision of understanding, explaining and improving the world and the society we live in from a health and life sciences perspective. We conduct education and research in the fields of health, healthcare and natural sciences and have extensive collaborative networks with national and international academic, government and private sector partners. We have approximately 3 100 students, 80 doctoral students and around 500 members of staff.
 
The Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences has 45 academic staff and is based at the Kalmar campus. The department is a dynamic environment for knowledge creation and learning, offering education and conducting research in biomedical science, pharmaceutical science, biochemistry and chemistry.
 
The department is seeking an outstanding doctoral student in chemistry to participate in the NordForsk project Responsible Deployment of AI for Protein-Ligand Energies
 
Field of subject for the position: Chemistry
Location: Kalmar
Term and hours: The doctoral studentshipis limited in time in accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance (Chapter 5, Section 7). The studentship is full time.
Degree: Doctoral degree
Start date: 1st March 2026, or as agreed.

Job description
A four-year Ph.D. research fellowship is available at the Computational Chemistry Chemistry and Biochemistry Group (CCBG), Linnaeus University.
We are seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic doctoral student in the field of chemistry to work on development of deep learning models for estimating protein-ligand binding energies. The specific project is a part of a large-scale collaboration involving Linnaeus University, Danish Cancer Institute, University of Bergen and Vilnius University.
According to the Higher Education Ordinance, a doctoral student is primarily expected to focus on their research studies. However, up to 20% of the position may involve teaching or administrative duties prior to completion of the doctoral degree.

Eligibility
The Higher Education Ordinance (Chapter 7, Section 35) states that in order to be admitted to third-cycle education, the applicant must:

• meet the general entry requirements as well as any specific entry requirements set up by the relevant higher education institution
• be considered to have the abilities required to be able to benefit from the education that they are given.

A person meets the general entry requirements for third-cycle studies if they:

• have been awarded a degree at the second-cycle level
• have at least 240 credits of passed courses, of which at least 60 credits are at the second-cycle level; or
• have acquired essentially equivalent knowledge in some other way, in or outside Sweden.

Specific entry requirements

• An M. Sc. degree (or equivalent) in chemistry, biochemistry or a closely related field. Applicants with a degree in bioinformatics of chemoinformatics might also be considered.
• Fluency in English
• Experience in computational chemistry applied to biological systems, development of deep-learning models, or both

Additional merits
The following merits will be considered beneficial when applying for the position:

• Documented programming experience
• Proven familiarity with calculations of protein-ligand interactions e.g. applied for drug design

Assessment criteria
The assessment criteria concern the evaluation of the applicants ability to successfully complete the doctoral programme. In the assessment process, particular emphasis will be placed on the candidates motivation, potential to carry out doctoral studies, and personal suitability for the position.
 
Your application (in English) should include:

• CV with contact details (phone, email, address, date of birth)
• Cover letter (max. 1 page) explaining your motivation, how you meet the assessment criteria, and your expectations for the Ph.D. studies
• Signed copies of transcripts and grades
• Signed copies of degrees and certificates meeting the stated eligibility and criteria
• A summary of your Masters thesis (max. 1 page)
• Names and contact information for two referees who have agreed to provide letters of recommendation (preferably including a short reference letter)

You are welcome to submit your application no later than February 15st, 2026.

Contacts:
Research Leader: Ran Friedman ( ran.friedman]_[lnu.se )
Head of Department: Anna Asplund Persson ( anna.asplund]_[lnu.se )
HR-partner: Stina Andersson ( stina.andersson]_[lnu.se )
 
Linnaeus University has the ambition to utilize the qualities that an even gender distribution and diversity brings to the organization.
 

Please apply by clicking on the [Apply] button at the bottom of the position description on the Vacancies page: https://lnu.se/en/meet-linnaeus-university/work-with-us/vacancies-page/?rmpage=job&rmjob=8865&rmlang=UK
Applicants are requested to the application resolving CV, cover letter , a copy of a relevant essay , grades and certificates and other relevant documents. The applicant also requested to submit with their application a proposed research plan within the current area of research. All documents must be attached to digital in the application. The application and other documents shall be marked with the reference number. All documents cited must be received by the University no later than 23.59 (Local time in Sweden) on the closing day.

Linnaeus University is an employer that meets the requirements of the European Charter for Researchers and follows the recruitment guidelines. Therefore, the university has received the HR Excellence in Research award.