Senior Oncology Bioinformatics Lead - NGS & RWE

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

Job summary

Natera, Inc. is seeking a Lead Bioinformatics Scientist to advance analytical validation of NGS-based assays for oncology. You will design feasibility studies, develop pipelines, and generate real‑world evidence to support therapy selection and patient management.

You will work with bench scientists, biostatisticians, and interdisciplinary teams to drive regulatory submissions, clinical studies, and publications while building scalable analytical solutions for multi-product data integration.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in bioinformatics (or related) with 10+ years post-graduate experience, or PhD with 5+ years post-graduate experience (preferred).
• Experience with WES/WGS/targeted sequencing of tissue and cfDNA, and somatic variant calling (SNVs, indels, CNVs, fusions).
• Statistical methods for assay performance evaluation and collaboration with biostatisticians on study design.
• Strong programming in Python, R, and shell.
• Exploratory data analysis and visualization of complex datasets, with actionable recommendations.
• Deep understanding of NGS workflows from sample extraction to sequencing and linking findings to wet lab root causes.
• Effective communication with wet lab groups and cross-functional partners; clear explanation of technical concepts.
• Ability to work independently with multiple objectives and timelines.
• Adaptability in fast-paced environments with high impact in a small team.

Responsibilities

• Lead the analytical validation strategy for an NGS-based assay, designing and analyzing feasibility and performance studies with bench scientists and biostatisticians.
• Drive real-world evidence studies demonstrating clinical utility for therapy selection and patient management.
• Build rapid prototypes and pipelines for custom analyses integrating data from multiple Natera products.
• Develop algorithms and tools to support new products, contributing to the production bioinformatics pipeline.
• Act as an internal technical consultant on bioinformatics methodology for other functional groups.
• Collaborate with assay development, engineering, biostatistics, clinical, regulatory, and lab operations teams.
• Contribute to regulatory submissions, clinical study reports, and scientific publications.

Skills

NGS data analysis

Python

R

Bioinformatics

Statistical methods

Communication

Team collaboration

Education

Master’s in bioinformatics

PhD (preferred)

Tools

GATK

BWA

Job description

Natera, Inc. is seeking a Lead Bioinformatics Scientist to advance analytical validation of NGS-based assays for oncology. You will design feasibility studies, develop pipelines, and generate real‑world evidence to support therapy selection and patient management.

You will work with bench scientists, biostatisticians, and interdisciplinary teams to drive regulatory submissions, clinical studies, and publications while building scalable analytical solutions for multi-product data integration.