Senior Bioinformatics Lead — Genomics, ML & Discovery

Placements24; South Africa; Remote; ZAR 1,200,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical aid

Pension fund

Generous annual leave

Professional development

Stock options

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Lead Bioinformatician for a cutting-edge biotechnology firm in Tembisa, Gauteng. You will spearhead computational biology efforts, developing analytical pipelines for large-scale genomic and proteomic datasets and translating findings into drug discovery strategies.

The role requires a Ph.D. or Master’s in a quantitative field, 7+ years in bioinformatics with leadership, and strong programming skills in Python/R.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or Master's degree in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related quantitative field.
• Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in bioinformatics, with at least 2 years in a leadership or supervisory role.
• Proven expertise in analyzing large-scale biological datasets (NGS, RNA-Seq, ChIP-Seq, WGS, etc.).
• Strong programming skills in Python, R, or Perl, and experience with relevant bioinformatics libraries and packages.
• Proficiency with shell scripting and experience working in a Linux/Unix environment.
• Solid understanding of statistical modeling, machine learning, and data mining techniques.
• Experience with cloud computing platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) is a plus.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-experts.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects and mentor junior team members.

Responsibilities

• Lead development, optimization, and maintenance of bioinformatics pipelines for NGS, transcriptomics, genomics, and proteomics.
• Design and execute complex computational analyses to identify novel biological targets, biomarkers, and pathways.
• Develop and implement statistical methods and machine learning algorithms for biological data analysis.
• Collaborate closely with molecular biologists, geneticists, and clinicians to interpret results and integrate computational findings with experimental data.
• Manage and mentor a team of bioinformaticians, providing technical guidance and project oversight.
• Ensure the quality, reproducibility, and scalability of bioinformatics workflows.
• Contribute to the strategic planning of computational biology research initiatives.
• Present findings to scientific leadership, research teams, and at external conferences.
• Stay current with the latest advancements in bioinformatics, computational biology, and related fields.

Skills

Python

R

Shell scripting

Linux

Machine learning

Education

PhD or Master’s in Bioinformatics/Computational Biology/CS/Statistics

Tools

AWS

GCP

Azure

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Lead Bioinformatician for a cutting-edge biotechnology firm in Tembisa, Gauteng. You will spearhead computational biology efforts, developing analytical pipelines for large-scale genomic and proteomic datasets and translating findings into drug discovery strategies.

The role requires a Ph.D. or Master’s in a quantitative field, 7+ years in bioinformatics with leadership, and strong programming skills in Python/R.