JOB TITLE: Bioinformatician II

POSITION NUMBER: 2501-17711-BIOII-01

POSITION LOCATION: Atlanta, GA, USA

ANTICIPATED START DATE: 3-6 weeks after candidate identification

TRAVEL: As required to fulfill the responsibilities of the position

ASRT, Inc. provides scientific, information management, management consulting, bioinformatics, and administrative program support to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other Federal and private sector clients. The successful candidate will be a full-time employee of ASRT, Inc., and will be assigned to the Respiratory Diseases Branch (RDB), Division of Bacterial Diseases (DBD), National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), at the CDC, located at 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA.

SCOPE OF WORK

The Bioinformatician II will provide laboratory support services for confirming, characterizing, and tracking bacterial infections. The Streptococcus Laboratory conducts whole genome sequencing-based characterization for all bacterial isolates. The position will provide bioinformatics support to prepare, manage, and analyze the WGS data by epidemiologists to answer important public health questions. 

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide analysis of data generated by Advanced Molecular Detection (AMD) methods, including but not limited to data generated by the MiSeq.
• Create data systems to allow analyses, perform both basic descriptive analyses as well as more complex modeling, and generate reports for scientific meetings and publications.
• Develop and maintain Standard Operating Procedures and protocols for analysis of MiSeq and possibly the PacBio generated sequences.
• Develop and maintain a database of next-generation sequencing (NGS) generated by these platforms
• Write code and use existing software to fully analyze data
• Ensure all data and metrics meets Quality Management Standards for NGS results
• Provide results to other scientists within RDB
• Prepare scientific reports and manuscripts
• Be able to effectively communicate technical elements of bioinformatics to other staff scientists and upper management
• Provide training and/or assistance to junior bioinformatic scientists
• In the event CDC activates the emergency operations center or RDB is tasked to support an extended public health emergency, the requirements for daily activities may change to support the public health emergency. Following consultation with and approval by the contracting officer, the contractor shall adapt laboratory bioinformatics services tasks to public health response tasks within the skills, experience, and capacity of the contractor.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience:

• Master's or Ph.D. degree in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Mathematics, or Biology
• A minimum of 4 years of experience working in the capacity of a bioinformatician where demonstrated solutions to research questions being addressed.
• Published author

Required:

• Proficiency in the use of various whole genome sequence analysis tools.
• Proficiency in the assembly, analysis, and annotation of genomic data from a variety of sequencing platforms.
• Demonstrated experience with the use of a diverse range of bioinformatics software tools for the analysis of NGS data.
• Proficiency in utilizing High Performance Computing clusters, Unix systems, and shell scripts to analyze data
• Proficient with Python or similar general purpose scripting language
• Proficient with Nextflow or similar workflow development language
• Strong quantitative skills, including proficiency in R / SAS / Python (NumPY,SciPy,Pandas,Polars), or similar statistical framework language
• Strong communication skills, including experience developing communication tools such as manuscripts, presentations, and other written products.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills and the ability to comfortably multi-task.
• Expertise in the underlying theory and the application of a wide range of bioinformatics tools.
• Excellent skills in preparing written documents and giving oral presentations.
• Experience with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft SharePoint.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills are required for working in a fast-paced multidisciplinary team environment, and for extensive interaction with clients and external partners.

Language Skills:

• The candidate must possess excellent oral and written communication skills in English.

REQUIREMENT: Must be a United States citizen or permanent resident or have authorization for employment in the United States.

SALARY: Commensurate with qualifications and experience.

To apply for this position:

• If you are viewing this position on the ASRT Career page, please click on the "Apply" button.
• If you are viewing this position on a site other than the ASRT Career page, you may use the "click to apply" link, or you may apply by visiting our Career page and searching for the job title and position number listed at the top of this job posting.
• To view all of our open positions and to apply to job openings in which you may be interested, please visit our Career page at https://www.asrtinc.com/careers.

ASRT, INC. IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER. It is the policy of ASRT, Inc. to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, citizenship, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, genetic information, veteran or disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law, and to take affirmative action in accordance with applicable laws and Executive Orders.