Senior Technical Officer

• Part-time (0.3 FTE) 2 years fixed term, located on the Central Clinical School

• Exciting opportunity for cutting-edge neuroimaging research at the Brain and Mind Centre

• Base Salary HEO 8, $121,508 p.a. - $137,032 p.a. pro-rata + 17% superannuation

About the opportunity

Sydney Central Clinical School is the largest of the University's clinical schools, our staff cover a wide range of disciplines and are active in both research and teaching. The CCS research activities are also supplemented by our affiliation with the largest number of external research units and institutes in the Faculty of Medicine & Health, covering a diverse range of disciplines and research areas.

An exciting opportunity exists for a Senior Technical Officer who will support Professor Michael Barnett, at the Computational Neuroimaging Team at the Brain and Mind Centre. Your key responsibilities will be to:

• lead a research team and application of cutting-edge neuroimaging analytics techniques, translating complex data into actionable insights for multiple sclerosis research.

• set data quality standards, ensuring that all analysis is based on accurate and consistent information

• explore and adopt cutting-edge data science methodologies, ensuring the university remains at the forefront of innovation

• coordinate the implementation of analytics initiatives in alignment with research team operations

• oversee resource management within the work area, balancing financial, personnel, and technology assets to ensure consistent delivery of work area services.

The University of Sydney is recognised as one of the top research and teaching universities in the world. A globally ranked university, ranked 18th in QS University World Rankings 2025, 1st for sustainability in Australia.

About you

The University values trust, accountability and excellence. As such, we see the importance of recruiting talented academics who align to these values and who will lead our teaching and research work at the university in the years to come. You will join a dynamic, engaged group in a highly collaborative and supportive teaching and research environment.    We are looking for Senior Technical Officer who has:

• a postgraduate qualification in a relevant field

• demonstrated ability to independently develop and maintain end-to-end image analysis pipelines for both conventional (T1, FLAIR) and advanced (DWI, QSM, TSPO PET) neuroimaging modalities

• extensive experience in implementing lesion segmentation, registration correction (including bias field, distortion, and noise correction), and longitudinal alignment across multi-centre datasets

• high-level programming and data analysis skills in Python, with proficiency in scientific libraries (NumPy, pandas, nibabel, scikit-learn) and command-line tools (FSL, ANTs, MRtrix)

• strong track record of peer-reviewed publications in neuroimaging and MS, including first-author contributions to methodological and clinical studies

• ability to perform comprehensive literature reviews to inform methodology development and clinical interpretation

• experience contributing to and coordinating multi-centre imaging collaborations, including integration with clinical registries (e.g., MSBase, MSBIR)

• capacity to independently manage data integrity, workflow automation, version control, and documentation for regulatory and collaborative environments.

Preferably:

• proven expertise in multiple sclerosis (MS) research with a focus on chronic lesion dynamics and smoldering inflammation

• specialist knowledge in quantifying chronic lesion tissue expansion (CLTE) and differentiating chronic active lesions from acute pathology using advanced imaging-derived metrics

• prior development of novel metrics for lesion expansion validated in retrospective and prospective clinical imaging datasets

• familiarity with the Lesion Estimation and Analysis Pipeline (LEAP) and ability to adapt and extend this platform for clinical trial readiness, including QMS compliance

• demonstrated capacity to incorporate pathological confounders into longitudinal lesion modelling, including the handling of lesion confluence, atrophy, and scanner variability.

To keep our community safe, please be aware of our COVID safety precautions which form our conditions of entry for all staff, students and visitors coming to campus.

Work rights for Australia

You must have unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this employment to be eligible to apply. Visa sponsorship is not available for this appointment.

Pre-employment checks

Your employment is conditional upon the completion of all role required pre-employment or background checks in terms satisfactory to the University. Similarly, your ongoing employment is conditional upon the satisfactory maintenance of all relevant clearances and background check requirements. If you do not meet these conditions, the University may take any necessary step, including the termination of your employment.

As this position is located on an NSW Health site, it is a regulatory requirement to complete compulsory employment checks prior to starting in this position. For more information and instructions, please visit:NSW Health employment requirements (Category A)

EEO statement 

At the University of Sydney, our shared values are trust, accountability and excellence and we strive to be a place where everyone can thrive. We are committed to creating a University community that thrives through diversity and reflects the wider community that we serve. We deliver on this through our commitment to diversity and inclusion, evidenced by our people and culture programs, as well as key strategies to increase participation and support the careers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, women, people living with a disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and those who identify as LGBTIQ+. We welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds, including women. 

We are proud to be recognised as an Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) Gold employer. Find out more about our work on diversity and inclusion. 

How to apply

Applications (including a cover letter, CV, and any additional supporting documentation) can be submitted via the Apply button at the top of the page.

For employees of the University or contingent workers, please login into your Workday account and navigate to the Career icon on your Dashboard. Click on USYD Find Jobs and apply.

For a confidential discussion about the role, or if you require reasonable adjustment or any documents in alternate formats, please contact Helen Efstathiou, Recruitment Consultant, Recruitment Operations on +61 2 8627 7137 or by email helen.efstathiou@sydney.edu.au

© The University of Sydney

The University reserves the right not to proceed with any appointment.

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