Lead Bioinformatician — cfDNA Algorithms & Pipelines

Natera; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 144,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual incentive bonus

Long-term equity awards

401(k) with match

Generous paid time off

Wellness and work-life benefits

Job summary

Natera is seeking a Lead Bioinformatician to advance algorithmic foundations for cfDNA diagnostics. This individual contributor role focuses on developing scalable, clinically impactful computational tools for detecting variants in low-fraction samples.

You will shape analytic strategy, prototype and benchmark methods, and collaborate with Product, Laboratory Directors, and Research to deploy robust solutions in production.

Qualifications

• Degree in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Human Genetics, or related field; no MS/PhD required if depth is demonstrated.
• 4+ years analyzing short-read sequencing data for screening or diagnostic use in regulated environments.
• Experience contributing to bioinformatics workflows behind a sequencing assay or panel.
• Ability to resolve complex investigations across biological, analytical, and systems levels.

Responsibilities

• Panel and Assay Science: advise on genes for the panel roadmap and analytical edge cases.
• Caller Strategy and Method Development: define and benchmark new callers and productionize methods.
• Scientific Investigation and Escalation: distinguish biological vs analytical causes in escalations.
• Data Quality and Cross-functional Partnership: liaise with VMR and Lab Ops on data quality and variant representation.
• Ways of Working: define acceptable AI-assisted conclusions with appropriate human sign-off.

Skills

Python programming

Algorithm development

Genomics analysis

Cross-functional communication

Data interpretation

Education

Degree in Bioinformatics or related field

Tools

Python (pandas/numpy)

Job description

Natera is seeking a Lead Bioinformatician to advance algorithmic foundations for cfDNA diagnostics. This individual contributor role focuses on developing scalable, clinically impactful computational tools for detecting variants in low-fraction samples.

You will shape analytic strategy, prototype and benchmark methods, and collaborate with Product, Laboratory Directors, and Research to deploy robust solutions in production.