JUNIOR BIOINFORMATICIAN

Sanford Burnham Prebys is much more than a research facility and hub for innovation; it’s a vibrant global community of talented scientists and researchers from over 30 countries. This worldwide representation enriches our perspectives and enhances our creative approach to solving complex scientific challenges.

We strive to be leaders not only in biomedical research but also in creating an environment where excellence thrives through collaboration across cultures and backgrounds. Our mission is to advance the biomedical sciences by cultivating the next generation of scientific leaders, providing meaningful opportunities for researchers of all backgrounds to learn, innovate, and make breakthrough discoveries that improve human health.

Together, we translate science into health.

The duties and responsibilities contained in the job description are intended to be examples of the accountabilities for which the person in the position will demonstrate competency through performance. The job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list. Duties and responsibilities are subject to change and other duties may be assigned as necessary.

Position Summary:

This technology role in the institute’s NCI-designated Cancer Center will be responsible for technical execution in the bioinformatics, computational biology and data science spaces. They will be responsible for engineering of complex data-pipelines and associated biostatistical and machine-learning analyses on the outputs of these pipelines. This will include data ingestion, quality-control, feature-extraction, data-visualization, benchmarking and both descriptive and predictive statistical analyses.

They will have experience in building and executing data and software pipelines. They will work with a team in identifying technical opportunities, including recognition of new algorithms, datasets and benchmarking opportunities. They may be involved in assembling and submitting funding applications. They may have external-facing roles, including interactions with collaborating research groups, commercial entities and other partner organizations. They will provide technical support to other researchers, including bioinformaticians, statisticians and trainees. They will be expected to generate peer-reviewed scientific research of high-activity, both as a lead and as a collaborator. They will work in a variety of statistical and programming environments including python, Nextflow and R. They will deploy a variety of bioinformatic tools including but not limited to bwa, GATK, MuSE, and delly. They will execute project milestones set by the PI and other internal leaders, and then manage their time and technical skills to achieve those milestones.

Amongst their key early roles will be standing up DNA- and RNA-sequencing analysis and benchmarking pipelines for the rapidly-growing Institute cancer data science group. This will involve close collaborations across the Institute, particularly with the Center for Data Science.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Modifying, deploying, benchmarking and executing robust, feature-rich Nextflow pipelines
• Performing data-ingestion, data-cleaning and quality-control on biomedical datasets
• Working in a high-performance computing environments, including use of containerization, dev/ops, test-driven development and other software- and cloud-engineering techniques
• Descriptive statistical modeling
• To effectively present results and ideas related to assigned projects both verbally and in writing
• Performs other related tasks, duties and responsibilities as required, assigned, or directed.
• Minimum Qualifications:

Education: Bachelor’s degree in quantitative biology

Experience:

• Experience in cancer or genome bioinformatics
• Understanding of DNA and RNA sequencing technologies and algorithms
• At least one (1) year of HPC experience in a containerized environment
• Experience in benchmarking and/or quality-control of pipelines and pipeline outputs

Certifications, Licenses, etc: None

Other Knowledge, Skills and/or Abilities:

· Work independently as well as in a team environment

· Be responsible, organized, and a problem solver

· Possess strong attention to detail, analytical, time management, organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills

· Professional proficiency in Microsoft Office, statistical software and programming

· Deep understanding of good software development practices

· Fluency in working on HPC environments, particularly those that are containerized

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Direct: No

Indirect: No

Compensation: The expected hiring rate for this position is $71,822 - $75,000/annually commensurate with experience.

We welcome talented individuals of all backgrounds regardless of gender, sex, religion, race, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, perceived disability, pregnancy, pregnancy-related condition, reproductive health decisions, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, HIV/AIDS, marital status, covered veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations. We are proud to be an equal employment opportunity employer.

As part of this commitment, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If a reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact our Benefits Team at (858) 646-3100 or via e-mail at benefits@sbpdiscovery.org