Bioinformatician A

Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania • Philadelphia, PA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Kaestner Lab (Dept. of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania) is seeking a meticulous and technically skilled Bioinformatician to oversee the organization, storage, retrieval, and long-term preservation of large-scale bioinformatics datasets. This position ensures that genomic, transcriptomic (bulk, single cell, spatial), and other high-throughput biological data (including images) are securely managed, efficiently stored and retrieved, and cost-effectively archived—supporting the University’s mission of open, reproducible, and sustainable data-driven research.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science and 3 to 4 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain structured file systems, standardized naming conventions, and metadata schemas for bioinformatics data (e.g., NGS, imaging). This includes managing our in-house database for record keeping.
• Manage access permissions, version control, and audit trails across HPC, local servers, tape, and cloud platforms.
• Administer tape- and cloud-based storage environments (AWS S3, Dropbox, Box, institutional repositories) and coordinate archival and retrieval strategies.
• Track and analyze storage utilization and expenses across on-premises, tape, and cloud systems; develop policies to optimize resource allocation and reduce costs.
• Ensure redundancy, perform integrity checks, and manage automated backup processes.
• Perform secure data transfers to and from public repositories (such as dbGaP, SRA) following institutional and funding agency’s mandated policies.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation of file structures, workflows, and storage protocols; train researchers on best practices for data management and archival.
• Work closely with IT, research computing teams, and PIs to align storage strategies with project and compliance requirements (e.g., NIH, NSF).
• Execute predefined preprocessing or quality control pipelines (e.g., FASTQ QC, format conversion, alignment) on high-throughput datasets using HPC or cloud workflows.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits
• Flexible spending accounts for eligible health care and dependent care expenses
• Tuition assistance for employees, spouses, and dependent children
• Generous retirement plans (Basic, Matching, and Supplemental)
• Substantial amount of time away from work
• Long-term care insurance
• Wellness and work-life resources
• Professional and personal development resources
• Access to a wide range of University resources, cultural and recreational activities
• Discounts on arts and entertainment, transportation, mortgages, new cars, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and theme parks
• Flexible work hours
• Home ownership services (forgivable loan for eligible employees)
• Adoption assistance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees