Bioinformatics Analyst III

Planet Pharma; Illinois; On-site; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Planet Pharma is looking for a candidate to work closely with stakeholders in the Quantitative Insights Lab (QuIL) organization. The successful applicant will support cross-project data science efforts, including in silico perturbation analysis and toxicogenomics, contributing to predictive frameworks for drug development.

The role demands a high degree of proficiency in programming languages like R and Python, with a strong emphasis on managing and analyzing complex datasets in a high-performance computing setting.

Qualifications

• MS degree with 5+ years experience or PhD with 0+ years in a quantitative field.
• Proficiency in R or Python, and standard statistics/ML libraries.
• Experience in HPC or cloud environments for parallel computing.

Responsibilities

• Support perturbation analyses to rank promising drug targets.
• Contribute to combination signature estimation approaches.
• Ingest, clean, and preprocess multi-modal datasets.

Skills

R programming

Python programming

Bioinformatics

Computational Biology

Machine Learning

Statistical analysis

Education

MS degree in a quantitative field

PhD in a quantitative field

Tools

Statistical libraries in R/Python

Parallel computing environments

Job description

Pay Rate Range: 48-58/hr

depending on experience

The successful candidate will work closely with stakeholders in the Quantitative Insights Lab (QuIL) organization to support cross-project data science efforts spanning in silico perturbation analysis, toxicogenomics, and mechanistic profiling. This work will contribute to the development and evaluation of predictive and comparative frameworks that help rank drug targets, drug combinations, and biological signatures across multiple experimental systems. This will include integrating large-scale omics data to support combination strategy assessment across indications.

Key Responsibilities

• Support perturbation analyses to rank promising drug targets and drug combinations for efficacy prediction.
• Contribute to the development of combination signature estimation approaches and ranking frameworks.
• Ingest, clean, and preprocess multi-modal datasets to enable downstream analysis and modeling.
• Apply AI/ML methods where appropriate, including the use of large language models to accelerate analysis, coding, and workflow development.
• Demonstrate understanding of model development principles, including training, testing, and cross-validation, and help select appropriate models for specific problem types.
• Collaborate with scientific and technical teams to translate biological questions into computational solutions, execute and troubleshoot analyses, and communicate findings clearly and reproducibly.

Qualifications

• MS degree with 5+ years of experience or PhD with 0+ years of experience in a quantitative field such as Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Computational Genetics, Biostatistics, AI/ML, or a related discipline with strong computational training.
• Proficiency in R or Python and standard statistics/ML libraries.
• Experience working in HPC or cloud environments for parallel computing.
• Domain knowledge in bioinformatics, computational biology, or related omics-driven data science.
• Strong attention to detail, documentation, and communication skills.
• Ability to independently execute ideas and research solutions within project scope.

Required Technical Skills

• Experience processing and analyzing RNA-seq, imaging data, CRISPR screens, or other similar NGS/genomic data.
• Proficient in statistical and programming languages such as R and Python, with ability to perform parallel computing using HPC.
• Experience writing custom functions in R or Python to statistically interrogate and visualize omics data.
• Demonstrated ability to execute custom computational analysis plans leveraging novel algorithms, relevant databases, and AI/ML approaches where appropriate.
• Familiarity with machine learning fundamentals, including model selection, training, testing, and cross-validation.
• Experience using LLM-based tools or coding assistants to support analysis, coding, and workflow development.
• CO/NYC candidates might not be considered.