Lead Bioinformatics Scientist - Genomics

Placements24; George; In loco; ZAR 1.000.000 - 1.800.000; Tempo pieno

Vantaggi offerti da questo lavoro

Competitive salary package

Generous annual leave and sick leave

Professional development opportunities

Access to HPC resources

Medical aid and retirement fund

Research leadership opportunities

Descrizione del lavoro

Placements24 is seeking a highly skilled Lead Bioinformatics Scientist to join our research team in George, Western Cape. You will design and implement genomic data analysis pipelines for large-scale datasets (NGS) and collaborate with geneticists, molecular biologists, and clinicians to translate findings into actionable insights.

As a lead, you will mentor junior bioinformaticians, guide research directions, ensure data integrity and analytical rigor, and contribute to proposals and

Competenze

• PhD in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Genetics, CS or related field.
• Minimum 6 years of progressive experience in bioinformatics with genomics data analysis.
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or R, plus shell scripting.
• Experience with NGS data analysis pipelines and cloud platforms.

Mansioni

• Design, develop, and validate robust bioinformatics pipelines for WGS/WES/RNA-Seq.
• Implement algorithms for alignment, variant calling, expression and pathway analyses.
• Manage large genomic databases, ensuring quality, security and accessibility.
• Mentor junior bioinformaticians and guide research directions.
• Develop reproducible workflows using Snakemake or Nextflow and Python/R.
• Collaborate with geneticists, molecular biologists, and clinicians to translate results.

Conoscenze

Leadership

Team mentoring

Communication

Problem solving

Scientific writing

Formazione

PhD in Bioinformatics/Computational Biology/Genetics/CS

Strumenti

Python

R

Shell scripting

BLAST

GATK

Ensembl

UCSC Genome Browser

Docker

Singularity

Snakemake

Nextflow

AWS

GCP

Azure

Descrizione del lavoro

About the Role

Our client is seeking a highly skilled and innovative Lead Bioinformatics Scientist to join their expanding research team in George, Western Cape. This position focuses on leveraging cutting-edge genomic technologies and computational approaches to drive discoveries in molecular biology and personalized medicine. You will be responsible for developing and implementing sophisticated analytical pipelines for large-scale genomic datasets, including next-generation sequencing (NGS) data. The role involves close collaboration with geneticists, molecular biologists, and clinicians to translate complex genomic information into actionable insights. As a lead scientist, you will guide junior bioinformaticians, contribute to strategic research directions, and ensure the highest standards of data integrity and analytical rigor. This is a critical role within a dynamic research environment located in the scenic Western Cape. Your expertise will be essential in uncovering genetic markers for disease susceptibility and therapeutic response, significantly impacting the future of healthcare research in South Africa.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and validate robust bioinformatics pipelines for analyzing large-scale genomic and transcriptomic data (e.g., WGS, WES, RNA-Seq).
• Implement and optimize algorithms for sequence alignment, variant calling, gene expression analysis, and pathway analysis.
• Manage and curate large genomic databases, ensuring data quality, accessibility, and security.
• Collaborate with experimental teams to interpret results and design future experiments based on bioinformatics findings.
• Develop and maintain reproducible analysis workflows using tools like R, Python, Snakemake, or Nextflow.
• Supervise and mentor a team of junior bioinformaticians and data analysts.
• Contribute to research proposals, grant applications, and manuscript preparation.
• Stay abreast of the latest advancements in bioinformatics, genomics, and computational biology.
• Present research findings to scientific colleagues and stakeholders in George.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Genetics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field.
• Minimum of 6 years of progressive experience in bioinformatics, with a focus on genomics data analysis.
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or R, and experience with shell scripting.
• Hands-on experience with bioinformatics tools and databases (e.g., BLAST, GATK, Ensembl, UCSC Genome Browser).
• Proven experience in developing and implementing NGS data analysis pipelines.
• Experience with cloud computing platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and containerization (Docker, Singularity).
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage a technical team.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, comfortable presenting complex technical information.
• Familiarity with statistical methods for biological data analysis.

Benefits

• Highly competitive salary package commensurate with experience.
• Generous annual leave and sick leave benefits.
• Professional development opportunities, including conference attendance.
• Access to high-performance computing resources and cutting-edge technology.
• Contribution to impactful research in genomics and personalized medicine.
• Collaborative and supportive research environment in George, Western Cape.
• Medical aid and retirement fund contributions.
• Potential for research leadership roles within the organization.