Senior Computational Genomics Scientist — ML & HPC

Placements24; Johannesburg; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Professional development

Flexible schedule

Paid time off

Job summary

Placements24, a leading bio-innovation firm in Johannesburg, seeks a Senior Research Scientist to spearhead computations in genomics and to translate insights into scientific breakthroughs.

You will collaborate with data scientists and wet-lab teams, contribute to novel pipelines, publish research, and mentor colleagues while ensuring data integrity and reproducibility using Python/R/Perl, HPC, and cloud platforms.

Qualifications

• PhD in bioinformatics, computational biology, genetics, computer science, or related quantitative field.
• Minimum 5 years of post-doctoral or industry experience in computational genomics or a closely related area.
• Proficiency in Python, R, and/or Perl, with experience in relevant bioinformatics libraries.
• Expertise in statistical genetics, population genetics, and machine learning applied to biological data.
• Experience with WGS, WES, RNA-Seq, ChIP-Seq and related genomic data types.
• Familiarity with HPC environments and cloud computing platforms.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for multidisciplinary teamwork.
• Proven track record of publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement advanced algorithms for analysis of large-scale genomic datasets, including NGS data.
• Design computational experiments to identify genetic variants linked to complex diseases and traits.
• Collaborate with wet-lab biologists and clinicians to integrate computational findings with experimental data.
• Contribute to development of novel bioinformatics pipelines and software tools.
• Stay updated on genomics, bioinformatics, and machine learning developments.
• Mentor junior researchers and guide research projects.
• Prepare and present findings at internal meetings and conferences.
• Ensure data integrity and reproducibility across analyses.

Skills

Python/R/Perl

Statistical genetics

Machine learning

Genomics data types

Education

PhD in Bioinformatics/Computational Biology

Tools

High-performance computing

Cloud computing

Job description

Placements24, a leading bio-innovation firm in Johannesburg, seeks a Senior Research Scientist to spearhead computations in genomics and to translate insights into scientific breakthroughs.

You will collaborate with data scientists and wet-lab teams, contribute to novel pipelines, publish research, and mentor colleagues while ensuring data integrity and reproducibility using Python/R/Perl, HPC, and cloud platforms.