Creative Data Solutions is seeking a Bioinformatics Research Associate, who will be involved in a variety of life sciences projects and be directly involved in workflows and pipelines related to high-throughput analysis, including but not limited to bulk and single cell RNA-Seq, ChIP-Seq, scDNA-Seq, CITE-Seq and other general methods of data analysis. This position reports to the Director of Creative Data Solutions (CDS), which is a fee-for-service facility that offers professional data processing, analysis and interpretation of scientific data with the goal of helping scientists publish and obtain funding. The work will require critical independent thinking, careful troubleshooting, and creative problem solving.

Creative Data Solutions (CDS), a Vanderbilt University Shared Resource, provides informatics and bioinformatics services to investigators in the fields of academic and clinical research, with an emphasis on life sciences.  CDS blends modern data science approaches with robust software and database engineering to provide practical solutions to problems and challenges faced by research investigators in a timely and cost-effective fashion.

Duties and Responsibilities 

• Operate, co-develop and help maintain workflows used in Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and other bioinformatics pipelines
• Development and testing of new methods and development of standard datasets
• Documentation of workflows, protocols and reports for reproducible science
• Assist with data and project management
• Assist and/or present reports presentations, and manuscripts
• Assist CDS team members as necessary

Supervisory Relationships:

This position does not have supervisory responsibility; this position reports administratively and functionally to Director of Creative Data Solutions.

Education and Certifications:

• Masters degree and 2 or more years of experience is necessary OR Ph.D. degree in computational biology, bioinformatics, biostatistics, computer science, or similar discipline.

Experience and Skills:

• Strong technical understanding of high-throughput genomics and transcriptomics; prior work in a dry bench / research laboratory is desirable.
• Experience with genome scale or big data analysis derived from Next Generation Sequencing, including some of the following: bulk and single cell RNA-Seq, scDNA-Seq, miRNA, copy number, epigenetics, CITE-Seq and multi-omics integration, is required.
• Working knowledge of Unix/Linux, command line interfaces is preferred.
• Fluency in R/Bioconductor, proficiency in Python is necessary.
• Experience using collaborative development tools such as Git, Confluence and JIRA is preferred.
• Familiar with public databases and resources available for bioinformatics analysis is preferred.
• Experience using high performance computing clusters, specifically SLURM for job management and SnakeMake is preferred.
• Familiarity with parallel computing, relational databases (e.g., SQL) and cloud computing or distributed computing (i.e. AWS) is desirable.
• Ability to work independently and to show initiative within a team is preferred.
• Ability to communicate effectively is necessary.
• Excellent attention to detail is necessary.

Benefits:

Benefits of the positions include working in a dynamic research organization and challenging environment, direct experience with bioinformatics and research informatics methodologies, and on-going opportunities for professional development. State-of-the-art computational infrastructure (ACCRE) for data storage, processing and analysis is available. Possibilities for continued education and training exist, especially in single cell bioinformatics and data science. Salary is commensurate with qualifications and professional experience.  The position is full-time and also includes a competitive benefits package.  Education and references will be verified prior to employment.

Creative Data Solutions is part of Vanderbilt Center for Stem Cell Biology, which is located at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, TN.

At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are.  We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education.

Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply.

Please note, all candidates selected for an offer of employment are subject to pre-employment background checks, which may include but are not limited to, based on the role for which they have been selected: criminal history, education verification, social media review, motor vehicle records, credit history, and professional license verification.