Senior Data Scientist - Bioinformatics

Placements24; Pretoria; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonuses

Health & retirement benefits

Hybrid work model

Professional development

Access to HPC resources

Research environment

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Data Scientist specializing in Bioinformatics to join our innovative research team in Pretoria. You will develop advanced computational methods and ML models to support drug discovery and personalized medicine, analyzing genomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics data.

Collaborating with biologists, chemists, and clinicians, you will build analyses, pipelines, and visualizations, and communicate insights to both technical and non-technical audiences, contributing

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in bioinformatics or quantitative field.
• 5+ years of professional data science experience with a focus on bioinformatics.
• Proficiency in Python or R and libraries (NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn, Biopython).
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and validate advanced analytical and ML models for complex biological data.
• Analyze large-scale datasets (genomic sequencing, clinical trial data) to identify patterns and insights.
• Design and perform statistical analyses, A/B testing, and predictive modeling.
• Collaborate with biologists, chemists, and clinicians to define research questions and data analysis strategies.
• Build data visualizations and dashboards to communicate findings to technical and non-technical audiences.

Skills

Bioinformatics

Data science

Python

R

Statistics

Machine learning

NGS data

Education

Masters/PhD

Tools

NumPy

Pandas

Scikit-learn

Biopython

Job description

About the Role

Our client is seeking an experienced Senior Data Scientist specializing in Bioinformatics to join their innovative research team in Pretoria . This role is critical for extracting meaningful insights from large-scale biological datasets, including genomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics. You will develop and implement advanced computational methods and machine learning models to support drug discovery and personalized medicine initiatives. The position requires a blend of strong statistical knowledge, programming skills, and a deep understanding of biological data, fostering collaboration within a multidisciplinary research environment to drive scientific breakthroughs.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and validate advanced analytical and machine learning models for complex biological data.
• Analyze large-scale datasets (e.g., genomic sequencing data , clinical trial data) to identify patterns, trends, and actionable insights.
• Design and perform statistical analyses, A/B testing, and predictive modeling.
• Collaborate with biologists, chemists, and clinicians to define research questions and data analysis strategies.
• Build data visualizations and dashboards to effectively communicate findings to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Contribute to the development of bioinformatics pipelines and software tools.

Requirements

• Master's or Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related quantitative field.
• 5+ years of professional experience in data science, with a significant focus on bioinformatics.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python or R, and experience with relevant libraries (e.g., NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn, Biopython).
• Strong knowledge of statistical modeling, machine learning algorithms, and data mining techniques.
• Experience with handling and analyzing various types of biological data, such as NGS data , microarrays, or proteomics data.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with the ability to present complex findings clearly.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and annual performance-based bonuses.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and retirement benefits.
• Hybrid work model offering flexibility between office and remote work.
• Support for professional development, including workshops, conferences, and further education.
• Access to high-performance computing resources and cutting-edge analytical tools.
• A dynamic and intellectually stimulating work environment within a leading research organization.