Senior Bioinformatician - Versiti, Inc.

Versiti is a fusion of donors, scientific curiosity, and precision medicine that recognize the gifts of blood and life are precious. We are home to the world-renowned Blood Research Institute, we enable life saving gifts from our donors, and provide the science behind the medicine through our diagnostic laboratories. Versiti brings together outstanding minds with unparalleled experience in transfusion medicine, transplantation, stem cells and cellular therapies, oncology and genomics, diagnostic lab services, and medical and scientific expertise. This combination of skill and knowledge results in improved patient outcomes, higher quality services and reduced cost of care for hospitals, blood centers, hospital systems, research and educational institutions, and other health care providers. At Versiti, we are passionate about improving the lives of patients and helping our healthcare partners thrive.

The Senior Bioinformatics Analyst is an integral part of a multidisciplinary team which includes Physicians, Laboratory Directors and Scientists, Genetic Counselors, Product Development Scientists, Variant Scientists and Bioinformatics Analysts all focused on expanding the Versiti Hematology Genetics portfolio and diagnostic capabilities. Working under the direction of the Director of Medical Informatics, the Senior Bioinformatics Analyst applies expert knowledge and skills to develop and enhance bioinformatics pipelines and capabilities, as well as providing expertise and insight regarding the quality of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data to ascertain the clinical significance of genomic variant identification and interpretation. The incumbent also works to develop a bioinformatics roadmap and strategy to support the long-term growth of the Hematology Genetics Program and provides coordination and technical direction to other members of the bioinformatics team.

• Develops, implements, and refines bioinformatics pipelines and analytical tools for both clinical NGS workflow and validation of new NGS assays. Validates and qualifies software packages and applications for clinical and research use
• Performs quality analysis of NGS clinical data, and investigates quality issues and suitability of NGS clinical data for variant identification, ultimately determining the rationale for the presence or absence of genomic variants
• Works with the Director of Medical Informatics and members of the Hematology Genetics Leadership Team to develop a bioinformatics strategy to support the long-term growth of the Versiti Hematology Genetics clinical portfolio and diagnostic capabilities
• Provides coordination and technical direction to other Bioinformatics Analysts
• Provides second-tier support for clinical and operational bioinformatics tasks to support daily laboratory workflow
• Provides second-tier support for commercial and in-house developed applications and systems used for genomic workflow and analyses
• Works with product development scientists, laboratory staff, and directors to support clinical test development using NGS technology.
• Adheres to and implements organizational standard operating procedures and industry best practices relating to Information Technology best practices and quality systems processes for the validation of applications, systems, and pipelines
• Serves as a Project Manager, and leads projects of varying scope and complexity from inception to completion
• Works with Laboratory and Scientific Directors, Blood Research Institute Faculty and Investigators, and faculty and staff from affiliated organizations on research projects requiring bioinformatic analyses
• Functions as part of a cross-functional team and aids with process development, implementation of new programs and other initiatives, and other projects/duties as assigned.
• Aids other members of the Diagnostic Laboratories and Blood Research Institute teams and other Versiti departments as necessary.
• Participates in professional activities to remain abreast and current with developing trends in Medical Informatics, Bioinformatics, and Data Science and Analytics
• Adheres to all required regulations (Versiti, CLIA, Biosafety, and OSHA).
• Performs other duties as assigned
• Complies with all policies and standards

Education

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field required
• Master's Degree in Bioinformatics, Biology, Computer Science, Engineering, or Biostatistics required

Experience

• 4-6 years experience performing next generation sequencing data analysis, bioinformatics tool and pipeline development required
• Experience working with open-source and vendor supplied bioinformatics tools required
• Experience with reporting tools and analytics required
• Experience working in a structured development environment and quality systems preferred
• Experience working in a clinical/industry setting preferred
• Experience creating algorithms to conduct specialized downstream bioinformatics analyses with sequencing data required

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong knowledge of Molecular Genetics and Next Generation Sequencing techniques, including the algorithmic and statistical basis of variant calling from DNA sequence data
• Strong foundation in computational algorithm design
• Demonstrated experience and ability to create reproducible automated pipelines for validation and clinical analyses
• Detailed knowledge of computational file formats and standards commonly used to describe, characterize, and exchange genomic data
• Proficient use of UNIX-based operating systems and associated command line interfaces
• Demonstrated knowledge of programming and scripting languages such as R, Perl, Python, Java, and/or C++
• Basic knowledge of SQL is preferred
• Strong foundation in software requirements analysis and software development lifecycle (SDLC)
• Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills
• Continuous improvement tool sets and methodologies
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Strong critical thinking and analysis skills
• Working knowledge and experience with various database systems
• Working knowledge of clinical laboratory and research settings and protocol/experiment design preferred

Tools and Technology

• Personal Computer required

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