Computational Biologist

University of British Columbia•Vancouver, BC

2d•CA$6,251 - CA$8,986•Onsite

About The Position

A full-time position is open immediately for a computational biologist to work with our interdisciplinary team of researchers and software developers at BC Cancer. The successful applicant will participate in developing, improving, maintaining, and using bioinformatics tools for a high-throughput processing pipeline. We seek candidates with a strong background in R and Python who is comfortable on the command-line, with specific skills in not only scripting but software engineering as well. Given the inherently cooperative nature of the research environment we also seek a worker capable of working both in teams and alone. Experience with research software development best practices is also desirable. The role is ideally suited for a creative individual with a passion for software development and data analysis within an academic setting.

Requirements

Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline.
Minimum of two years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
Proven expertise with R and Python mandatory
Proven expertise in software engineering best practices, including version control, issue tracking and quality assurance
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Comfortable working in a Unix environment, including experience with shell scripting and common command-line tools
Demonstrated interpersonal skills including the ability to work effectively with others in a team environment
Demonstrated ability to efficiently organize assignments and establish priorities

Nice To Haves

Undergraduate degree or technical diploma in computer science or information technology, or another relevant field, preferred
Experience in HPC and cloud computing in an academic setting

Responsibilities

Responsible for design and running scientific analyses on biologic next-generation-sequencing and other ‘omics data
Contribute to generation of research results from ‘omics data for publications and grants
Develop, improve, and maintain high-throughput data processing workflows specifically in R and Python, and other languages as required
Lead consultations with lab members and users on programmatic and research needs
Familiar with utilizing and understanding common machine learning techniques
Supervise the work of junior developers/co-op students and undergraduate trainees, which includes assigning work, providing guidance and answering questions. Is responsible for the work of the junior developers/co-op students
Provide support and training to users of any software that is developed
Develop, improve and maintain solutions for data management and storage in consultation with other developers
Devise or modify solutions to complex problems associated with high throughput data analysis, considering computational capacity, operating time, and the form of desired results
Research, evaluate and adopt new technologies, algorithms, and platforms as required
Produce thorough but concise written documentation of algorithms, workflows, SOPs and other processes and procedures as required
Consult, communicate, and work with other researchers in a friendly and professional manner with the goal of maintaining an effective and pleasant workplace
Employ software engineering best practices to develop, test, deploy new improvements and features to existing software
Perform other related duties as required

Benefits

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position.
The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position.
In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.
At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students.
Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.
The University of British Columbia is a global centre for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the top 20 public universities globally.
A large part of what makes us unique is the community of engaged students, faculty, and staff who are collectively committed to shaping a better world.
Recognized as a leading employer in British Columbia and Canada, UBC supports inspired students, faculty and staff on their journey of discovery, and challenges them to realize their greatest potential.
New ideas, changing infrastructure, innovative technology, and fresh approaches are opening up possibilities for the future of research, teaching, and work.
Are you ready to embrace the future together?
Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence.
An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged.
We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, and/or Indigenous person.
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
If you have any accommodation or accessibility needs during the job application process, please contact the Centre for Workplace Accessibility at [email protected].