Bioinformatician

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is an independent, nonprofit organization providing adult cancer treatment and groundbreaking research focused on cancer and infectious diseases. Based in Seattle, Fred Hutch is the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Washington.

With a track record of global leadership in bone marrow transplantation, HIV/AIDS prevention, immunotherapy and COVID-19 vaccines, Fred Hutch has earned a reputation as one of the world’s leading cancer, infectious disease and biomedical research centers. Fred Hutch operates eight clinical care sites that provide medical oncology, infusion, radiation, proton therapy and related services, and network affiliations with hospitals in five states. Together, our fully integrated research and clinical care teams seek to discover new cures to the world’s deadliest diseases and make life beyond cancer a reality.

At Fred Hutch we value collaboration, compassion, determination, excellence, innovation, integrity and respect. These values are grounded in and expressed through the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. Our mission is directly tied to the humanity, dignity and inherent value of each employee, patient, community member and supporter. Our commitment to learning across our differences and similarities make us stronger. We seek employees who bring different and innovative ways of seeing the world and solving problems. Fred Hutch is in pursuit of becoming an anti-racist organization. We are committed to ensuring that all candidates hired share our commitment to diversity, anti-racism and inclusion.

 

The Bioinformatician provides critical consulting, data analysis, and data interpretation services to advance the research of Fred Hutch and the broader Fred Hutch/UW/SCRI Cancer Consortium. This position requires the ability to work independently, manage multiple overlapping data analysis projects, and communicate effectively with faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and research staff on a wide range of topics in biology, analysis of next-generation sequencing data, sound experimental design, and data science.

Given the substantial volumes and diverse data types involved in these projects, fluency with R/Bioconductor and with Python are essential. The Bioinformatician is a key partner to other shared resources integrating cutting-edge techniques including spatial profiling and new sequencing platforms. They are responsible for mastering software for new instrumentation, establishing standard analysis workflows, and consulting with users adopting unfamiliar assays.

 

Scope of Responsibilities

 

The Bioinformatician reports to the Director of the Bioinformatics Shared Resource and will work with Fred Hutch scientists to refine computational research questions, develop analytical processes applied to large datasets, and provide timely results and documentation for processes used.

 

Job Duties

• Perform quality control and end-to-end analysis of large sequence datasets from diverse workflows.
• Consult with researchers to refine research questions and to develop sound experimental designs.
• Identify best-practice bioinformatics tools and strategies to meet the needs of proposed projects.
• Provide figures and written sections describing methods and results for manuscripts, presentations, and grant applications.
• Partner with researchers who are developing novel assays to design appropriate processing and analysis workflows.
• Collaborate with colleagues in the Genomics Shared Resource and the Hutch Data Core to ensure the integrity and consistency of primary data, track experimental methods and metadata, define standardized analysis pipelines, and provide training and support as users analyze and interpret results.
• To maintain effective and efficient collaboration, the Bioinformatician will work on the Fred Hutch campus most days of each week.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• MS or PhD in bioinformatics, computational biology, genetics, or related field
• At least three years’ professional experience with computational analysis of complex sequence-based data sets including some of these assays: whole exome sequencing; targeted amplicon sequencing; somatic variant calling; bulk RNA-seq expression; single-cell expression and immune repertoire profiling; CUT&RUN; ChIP-seq; ATAC-seq; or CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screens
• Demonstrated fluency in R or Python 3, ideally both
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Strong organizational skills, including a track record of managing and prioritizing multiple competing tasks.
• Proficiency with Linux/Unix shell scripting (e.g., bash).
• Familiarity with cluster scheduling software (e.g.,Slurm) and workflow management systems such as Nextflow.

A statement describing your commitment and contributions toward greater diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism in your career or that will be made through your work at Fred Hutch is requested of all finalists.

---

The annual base salary range for this position is from $99,445 to $157,144, and pay offered will be based on experience and qualifications.  

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center offers employees a comprehensive benefits package designed to enhance health, well-being, and financial security. Benefits include medical/vision, dental, flexible spending accounts, life, disability, retirement, family life support, employee assistance program, onsite health clinic, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation (12-22 days per year), paid sick leave (12-25 days per year), paid holidays (13 days per year), paid parental leave (up to 4 weeks), and partially paid sabbatical leave (up to 6 months). 

We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) Employer. We are committed to cultivating a workplace in which diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, sex, age, disability (physical or mental), marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, political ideology, or membership in any other legally protected class. We are an Affirmative Action employer. We encourage individuals with diverse backgrounds to apply and desire priority referrals of protected veterans. If due to a disability you need assistance/and or a reasonable accommodation during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to Human Resources at hrops@fredhutch.org or by calling 206-667-4700.