Senior Computational Scientist

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Chapel Hill (NC); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill seeks a Senior Computational Scientist for Research Software & Data Platforms to build and run critical data infrastructure for the Initiative for Generative Immunotherapy at Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

You will automate sequencing data handling, create an internal data-tracking system, and develop a public portal for researchers to browse and download data.

Qualifications

• Requires experience building modern web applications with searching/filtering interfaces.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain data platforms for sequencing analyses and data sharing.
• Build a public data portal and an internal sample-tracking system.
• Collaborate with bioinformaticians, clinicians, and researchers to define requirements.
• Ensure data sharing complies with consent, privacy, and funder rules.

Skills

Web app development

Front-end frameworks

TypeScript

Data ingestion automation

Bioinformatics collaboration

Communication skills

Mentorship

Education

PhD in Computer Science/Bioinformatics

Bachelor's degree in a related field

Tools

React

Nextflow

Snakemake

FastAPI

Django

Node.js

PostgreSQL

Python

NLP/Visualization (Plotly/D3)

Job description

Department: Lineberger Compr Cancer Center-426801

Career Area : Research Professionals

Posting Open Date: 10/21/2026

Application Deadline: 11/04/2026

Open Until Filled: No

Position Type: Permanent Staff (EHRA NF)

Working Title: Senior Computational Scientist

Appointment Type: EHRA Non-Faculty

Position Number: 20079105

Vacancy ID: NF0010130

Full Time/Part Time: Full-Time Permanent

FTE: 1

Hours per week: 40

Position Location: North Carolina, US

Hiring Range: Dependent on education/experience

Proposed Start Date: 11/23/2026

Be a Tar Heel!:

A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks as one of the nation’s top public universities. Known for its beautiful campus, world-class medical care, commitment to the arts and top athletic programs, Carolina is an ideal place to teach, work and learn.One of the best college towns and best places to live in the United States, Chapel Hill has diverse social, cultural, recreation and professional opportunities that span the campus and community.University employees can choose from a wide range of professional training opportunities for career growth, skill development and lifelong learning and enjoy exclusive perks for numerous retail, restaurant and performing arts discounts, savings on local child care centers and special rates on select campus events. UNC-Chapel Hill offers full-time employees a comprehensive benefits package, paid leave, and a variety of health, life and retirement plans and additional programs that support a healthy work/life balance.

Primary Purpose of Organizational Unit:

Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education and research.
Patient care: We promote health and provide superb clinical care while maintaining our strong tradition of reaching underserved populations and reducing health disparities across North Carolina and beyond.
Education: We prepare tomorrow`s healthcare professionals and biomedical researchers from all backgrounds by facilitating learning within innovative and integrated curricula and team-oriented interprofessional education to ensure a highly skilled workforce.
Research: We develop and support a rich array of outstanding health sciences research programs, centers and resources. We provide infrastructure and opportunities for collaboration among disciplines throughout and beyond our university to support outstanding research. We foster programs in the areas of basic, translational, mechanistic and population research.

Position Summary:

The Senior Computational Scientist, Research Software & Data Platforms, builds and runs the software that the Initiative for Generative Immunotherapy at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center uses to track, process, and share its research data. The position has three main areas of work: automating data handling around the Initiative’s sequencing analyses, building an internal system for tracking samples and data, and developing a public web portal where researchers can browse and download the Initiative’s data.
Data handling covers intake of new data from sequencing cores and collaborators, file and metadata checks, storage and transfer, hand-off of whole-genome (WGS), whole-exome (WES), bulk RNA-seq, and single-cell data to the analysis pipelines, and cataloging and release of pipeline outputs. The pipelines themselves are written and run by the Initiative’s bioinformatics staff and are outside the scope of this position.
The public portal will let users search and filter datasets and sample metadata, view summary plots, and download data in standard formats, one file at a time or in bulk. The internal sample and data management system will link each biospecimen to its clinical annotations, sequencing runs, files, and analysis results, so that any sample can be traced from collection to public release.
The position works with bioinformaticians, laboratory staff, and physicians to define requirements, makes sure data sharing follows consent, privacy, and funder rules, and writes the technical sections of grant proposals and papers that describe the Initiative’s data resources.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements:

Master’s or Bachelor’s and 0-2 years’ experience; or will accept a combination of related education and experience in substitution.

Required Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience:

• Experience building web applications with a modern front-end framework (e.g., React, Vue, or Svelte, with TypeScript), including interfaces for searching, filtering, and visualizing data.
• Experience automating data handling (ingestion, validation, transfer, cataloging, release) for large scientific or clinical datasets.
• Working knowledge of high-throughput sequencing data, including WGS, WES, bulk RNA-seq, and single-cell, and the associated file formats and standards (e.g., FASTQ, BAM/CRAM, VCF, h5ad/AnnData, GA4GH), enough to work directly with bioinformaticians on pipeline inputs and outputs.
• Facility with modern AI methods and software process automation.
• Attention to detail and ability to work simultaneously on multiple priorities.
• Analytical capabilities, including the ability to think critically and strategically and to propose and implement change.
• Excellent presentation, communication, management, and mentorship skills.

Preferred Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience:

• PhD in Computer Science, Bioinformatics/Computational Biology, Data Science, or similar discipline.
• Proficiency in Python, and enough familiarity with workflow managers (e.g., Nextflow, Snakemake) to pass data to and collect results from pipelines run by bioinformatics staff.
• Experience building back-end services and APIs (e.g., FastAPI, Django, Node.js; REST or GraphQL) on relational databases such as PostgreSQL.
• Experience developing or administering sample tracking, LIMS, or research metadata management systems.
• Experience with data visualization libraries (e.g., D3, Plotly, Vega) and with building accessible user interfaces.
• Experience serving large files (e.g., object storage with signed URLs, Globus, Aspera).
• Experience with cloud platforms, containers, scheduled and event-driven jobs, and CI/CD.
• Familiarity with public genomic data portals and repositories (e.g., NCI Genomic Data Commons, cBioPortal, CELLxGENE, GEO, SRA, dbGaP) and FAIR data principles.

Campus Security Authority Responsibilities:

Not Applicable.