Senior Bioinformatician

Placements24; Siyancuma Local Municipality; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonus

Medical/Dental/Vision insurance

Retirement plan with employer matching

Paid time off

Access to HPC resources

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Bioinformatician to join their research team in Upington, focusing on large-scale biological data analysis, including next-generation sequencing data, to drive discovery in genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics.

You will develop, implement, and maintain robust bioinformatics pipelines, collaborating with experimental biologists to interpret results, and contribute to new research designs.

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in a quantitative field with strong bioinformatics focus.
• Minimum 5 years of experience analyzing large-scale biological data.
• Proficiency in Python or Perl and Bash scripting.

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize bioinformatics pipelines for genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data.
• Perform data quality control and statistical analyses of high-throughput sequencing data.
• Utilize tools and databases for variant calling, gene expression, and pathway analyses.
• Collaborate with experimental scientists to design studies and interpret results.
• Automate data analyses and contribute to in-house software tools.
• Present findings and contribute to publications and presentations.

Skills

Python/Perl

Bash scripting

Bioinformatic pipelines

Statistical analysis

Data analysis

Education

MSc Bioinformatics

PhD preferred

Tools

BLAST

Bowtie

Samtools

GATK

Git

AWS

Job description

About the Role

Our client is seeking a skilled and motivated Senior Bioinformatician to join their growing research team in Upington . This role is central to the analysis of large-scale biological datasets, including next-generation sequencing data, to drive discovery in areas such as genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. You will be responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining robust bioinformatics pipelines, collaborating closely with experimental biologists to interpret results, and contributing to the design of new research projects. The ideal candidate will possess a strong programming background, extensive experience with diverse bioinformatics tools and databases, and a passion for applying computational approaches to solve complex biological problems, working within a supportive and scientifically stimulating environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize bioinformatics pipelines for the analysis of genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data.
• Perform data quality control, preprocessing, and statistical analysis of high-throughput sequencing data.
• Utilize various bioinformatics tools and databases for variant calling, gene expression analysis, and pathway analysis.
• Collaborate with experimental scientists to design studies, interpret results, and identify key biological insights.
• Automate data analysis workflows and contribute to the development of in-house software tools.
• Present findings to research teams and contribute to scientific publications and presentations.

Requirements

• Master's degree or Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Biology, or a related quantitative field.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in bioinformatics research, with a focus on analyzing large-scale biological data.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python or Perl, and scripting languages like Bash.
• Experience with standard bioinformatics tools and software (e.g., BLAST, Bowtie, Samtools, GATK).
• Familiarity with cloud computing environments (e.g., AWS, GCP) and version control systems (e.g., Git).
• Strong understanding of molecular biology principles and statistical methods.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and annual performance bonuses.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans.
• Retirement savings plan with employer matching.
• Generous paid time off and opportunities for professional development.
• Access to high-performance computing resources and a collaborative research community.