Head of Genomics Data Science & Bioinformatics

Natera, Inc.; San Carlos (CA); Hybrid; USD 205,000 - 256,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual performance bonus

Long-term equity awards

401(k) with company match

Generous paid time off

Wellness and work-life benefits

Job summary

Natera, Inc. is seeking a Director of Data Science and Bioinformatics to lead and grow its Bioinformatics and Data Science functions, building scalable AWS-based infrastructure and guiding genomic algorithms powering Women’s Health and Organ Health products.

The role drives strategy, mentors a high-performing team, and partners with Research, Engineering, and Quality to ensure robust, validated pipelines that are production-ready for clinical use.

Qualifications

• Master of Science or Ph.D. in a quantitative technical discipline (Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or equivalent).
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in Data Science or Bioinformatics, with at least 5 years of direct people management experience leading technical teams.
• Hands-on experience architecting AWS cloud infrastructure for data-intensive bioinformatics workloads and NGS pipeline execution.
• Demonstrated ability to identify capability gaps independently, build scalable infrastructure, and drive execution without waiting for formal structure.
• Strong communicator who builds cross-functional alignment across Research, Engineering, and Quality teams through technical clarity, direct engagement, and data-driven reasoning.
• Track record of developing bioinformatics talent and delivering computational pipelines that support commercial product development.

Responsibilities

• Build and define the Bioinformatics function within the Data Science development team, identify technical tooling gaps, and execute a roadmap to advance genomics-based algorithm development.
• Establish and enforce pipeline and algorithm quality standards, including review processes, validation frameworks, and documentation practices
• Own and architect scalable AWS-based data science and bioinformatics infrastructure, ensuring quality, reproducibility, and reliable deployment of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) algorithms.
• Implement MLOps tooling and automated validation frameworks to support reliable algorithm deployment into clinical production.
• Partner with Research, Product Development, Laboratory Operations, Engineering, and Quality teams to implement stable, scalable pipelines and support successful productization
• Lead, mentor and hire a high-performing team of bioinformaticians and data scientists, establishing technical quality standards and clear operational ownership.
• Build technical depth within the team to support expanding product roadmaps across Women's Health and Organ Health.

Skills

Data Science leadership

Bioinformatics

Cloud architecture (AWS)

MLOps

Team management

Strategic planning

Education

Master of Science or Ph.D. in a quantitative technical discipline

Tools

AWS Cloud

MLflow

Nextflow

Docker

Job description

Natera, Inc. is seeking a Director of Data Science and Bioinformatics to lead and grow its Bioinformatics and Data Science functions, building scalable AWS-based infrastructure and guiding genomic algorithms powering Women’s Health and Organ Health products.

The role drives strategy, mentors a high-performing team, and partners with Research, Engineering, and Quality to ensure robust, validated pipelines that are production-ready for clinical use.