Bioinformatics Scientist , Bureau of the Public Health Laboratory
About The Position
The Bioinformatics Scientist will work primarily in the Public Health Laboratory’s Bioinformatics Unit, developing and maintaining analysis pipelines and performing bioinformatics analyses of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) data. The role supports genomics analyses responding to public health threats, including COVID-19, vaccine-preventable diseases, HIV, Legionella, and respiratory, foodborne, and waterborne disease outbreaks. The scientist will develop and improve genomic tools, strengthen their use in public health diagnostic testing, and help make analyses accessible to non-bioinformaticians. The position also includes supervising staff, representing the agency, contributing to scientific publications, and maintaining quality assurance and control for HTS data and downstream analyses. The role supports quality management, data security, and data management practices.
Requirements
- For Assignment Level I, a master's degree from an accredited college or university specializing in an appropriate field of physical, biological, or environmental science, or public health.
- For Assignment Level II and above, a doctorate in an appropriate field plus one year of full-time responsible supervisory, administrative, or research experience; or a master's degree in an appropriate field plus three years of responsible full-time research experience; or equivalent education and experience. Candidates must have at least a master's degree and at least two years of qualifying experience.
- Strong analytical and organizational skills.
- Excellent oral, interpersonal, and written communication skills.
Nice To Haves
- Strong Linux command-line and BASH shell-scripting skills.
- Proficiency in R, Python, C, Java, or other programming languages.
- Experience with SQL.
- Experience using multi-core server resources, automating processes, containerization, and workflow languages.
- Experience with common next-generation sequencing analysis tools, including reference-based and de novo sequencing analysis, open-source and commercial microbial NGS pipelines, and genome annotation.
- Demonstrated work in public health genomics research.
- A PhD in biological sciences and extensive experience in the technical and administrative operations of a clinical or public health laboratory.
Responsibilities
- Conduct bioinformatics analyses of sequencing data to support public health efforts.
- Develop or improve tools for pathogen identification, outbreak tracking, drug-resistance mapping, variant analysis, genome annotation, phylogenetics, and genomics data visualization.
- Strengthen the application of genomic tools to public health diagnostic testing for pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and mpox.
- Conduct literature reviews and keep current with scientific and epidemiological research and tools.
- Participate in agencywide WGS journal club and genomic data exchange working groups.
- Develop tools, such as dashboards, or strategies, such as Docker-based pipelines, to make bioinformatics analyses more accessible to non-bioinformaticians.
- Supervise one to two staff conducting research projects.
- Represent the agency at meetings and conferences.
- Draft written protocols and maintain accurate records of software tool design.
- Write original manuscripts for publication based on data analyses and product development.
- Maintain quality assurance and control of HTS data generated by PHL to support reproducibility and accuracy of downstream analyses, including writing and designing SOPs and validation or verification protocols.
- Use best practices for code development and documentation.
- Lead and participate in presentations and workshops with PHL Quality Management to improve understanding and tracking of sequencing data and analysis quality control, data security, and data management.
Benefits
- Potential eligibility for federal or state loan forgiveness and repayment assistance programs.
- Premium-free health insurance plan; additional health, fitness, and financial benefits may be available depending on the position’s union or benefit fund.
- Public sector defined-benefit pension plan.
- Tax-deferred savings program.
- Worksite Wellness Program.
- Depending on the position, the possibility of working from home up to two days during the week.
- Job security compared with private-sector employment.
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
