[What the role is]

The mission of SFA is to ensure and secure a supply of safe food for Singapore. The National Centre for Food Science (NCFS) supports SFA’s vision of ensuring safe food for all by being a national reference laboratory on food science, conducting food safety monitoring to generate scientific data for enforcement of food regulations, support of risk assessment and protection of consumer health. NCFS oversees the application of science and technology to enable an evidence-based approach for ensuring food safety in partnership with stakeholders across the entire food chain and research institutions to address emerging food safety and security concerns.

You will be part of a dynamic team of the Food Science Rapid Response Department (FSRRD) under NCFS to provide support to SFA’s food safety regulatory testing and market monitoring programs. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to learn and apply a wide range of cutting-edge testing and diagnostic techniques to solve real world problems and safeguard the food safety for Singaporeans. The Specialist Teams under FSRRD strive to continue developing our scientific knowledge and testing capabilities to keep pace with the challenges of emerging foodborne chemical, radiochemical and biological hazards. We collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to enhance food safety standards in the region, and support food security initiatives such as high-tech farming and novel food innovation.

You will be deployed to the Food Radioactivity Specialist Team under FSRRD, playing a key role in developing new analytical methods for strengthening and broadening the testing capabilities and for enabling risk assessment to support SFA’s operation needs for food safety regulatory function and market monitoring programs.

[What you will be working on]

• Perform food radioactivity testing and all related functions to support SFA food safety monitoring and surveillance programs.
• Develop, validate and implement analytical methods for determination of natural/artificial alpha, beta and gamma emitting radionuclides.
• Lead the design, planning and implementation of radiological monitoring programs to establish representative baseline radioactivity levels in food.
• Develop and implement advanced data analytics approaches, including statistical modelling and exploratory artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, to support trend analysis, anomaly detection, and predictive insights from radiological monitoring data.
• Develop data visualization tools, dashboards, and automated workflows to facilitate data interpretation and decision-making to support food safety surveillance and preparedness.
• Implement laboratory quality assurance programs to ensure that laboratory practices are in full compliance with ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standards.
• Prepare method and equipment SOPs and quality documents to be used by the team.
• Procurement of lab supplies and equipment to support operations of the laboratory.
• Prepare technical reports, scientific publications, project updates, and presentations for management and other stakeholders.
• Conduct technical trainings and organize proficiency testing programs for ASEAN participants and commercial laboratories to strengthen radionuclide testing capability in Singapore and ASEAN region.

[What we are looking for]

• The candidate should have a BSc, MSc or PhD in Chemistry, Radiochemistry, or other related scientific fields.
• Good knowledge and experience in radionuclide analysis, radiochemical separations, and low-level radioactivity measurements will be an advantage.
• Experience with radioanalytical instrumentation (alpha spectrometer, liquid scintillation counter, gamma spectrometer) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer will be an advantage.
• Experience in method development and method validation, preferably in food matrices.
• Knowledge of data science, statistical analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and scientific programming languages (e.g. Python or R).
• Experience in developing data visualization tools, dashboards, or analytics platforms to support scientific decision-making.
• Experience in implementing ISO/IEC 17025:2017 laboratory quality standards.
• Experience in managing multidisciplinary scientific projects and coordinating stakeholders.
• Strong scientific writing, communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Highly motivated and proactive, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
• Self-driven and capable of working independently and collaboratively.

Work Location

National Centre for Food Science, 7 International Business Park, Singapore 609919.