Lead Bioinformatics & ML Scientist - Oncology cfDNA

Natera; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 172,000 - 214,000; Full time

Job summary

Natera is seeking a Lead Bioinformatics & Machine Learning Scientist to advance research in Epigenomics in Oncology. You will develop ML methods for early cancer detection from cfDNA methylation data and provide technical leadership within a collaborative team.

The role emphasizes designing robust ML pipelines, mentoring colleagues, and coupling computational work with experimental design in a fast-paced environment in California. Strong ML, genomics, and cloud/HPC experience are essential.

Qualifications

• PhD in Bioinformatics, CS, ML, or statistics; 4–8+ years post-PhD.
• Experience in cancer genomics/epigenomics; cfDNA methylation sequencing is a plus.
• Strong background in quantitative reasoning and statistical analysis; deep learning experience a plus.
• Proven track record developing computational methods for high-throughput sequencing data.
• Strong programming in Python with pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn.
• Experience with Linux, shell, Git, Nextflow/Snakemake, and cloud/HPC environments.
• Ability to perform hypothesis-driven research and communicate results clearly.
• Experience mentoring or technically leading other scientists.

Responsibilities

• Drive technical workstreams from problem definition to final classifiers and downstream validation.
• Design, implement, and validate novel ML and statistical methods for cancer diagnostics.
• Promote best practices in interpretability, uncertainty estimation, and reproducibility.
• Build robust feature pipelines for cfDNA methylation and sequencing data.
• Collaborate with molecular biologists on experimental design and data QC.
• Mentor scientists and foster innovation and collaboration.
• Lead and participate in code and design reviews.

Skills

Python

Pandas

NumPy

Scikit-learn

Shell scripting

Leadership

Statistical modeling

Machine learning

Education

PhD in Bioinformatics

Tools

Nextflow

Snakemake

Git

AWS

GCP

Linux

Job description

Natera is seeking a Lead Bioinformatics & Machine Learning Scientist to advance research in Epigenomics in Oncology. You will develop ML methods for early cancer detection from cfDNA methylation data and provide technical leadership within a collaborative team.

The role emphasizes designing robust ML pipelines, mentoring colleagues, and coupling computational work with experimental design in a fast-paced environment in California. Strong ML, genomics, and cloud/HPC experience are essential.