Senior Lead Bioinformatician

ZS is a professional services firm that works side by side with companies to help develop and deliver products that drive customer value and company results. From R&D to portfolio strategy, customer insights, marketing and sales strategy, operations and technology, we leverage our deep industry expertise and leading-edge analytics to create solutions that work in the real world. Our most valuable asset is our people—a fact that’s reflected in our values-driven organization in which new perspectives are integral and new ideas are celebrated. ZSers are passionately committed to helping companies and their customers thrive in industries ranging from healthcare and life sciences, to high-tech, financial services, travel and transportation, and beyond. ZS’ R&D Excellence Practice brings together experts in Strategy, Clinical Execution, Data Sciences and Technology to empower client organizations achieve their passion for patient care, science and business success. Through our “Lifecycle Evidence Strategy”, “Clinical Trial Optimization”, “Medical Affairs” and “Real World Evidence” services, we deliver impact where it matters, from early drug development to commercialization. This role will be aligned with ZS R&D Excellence Practice Area supporting our business consulting and analytics services across multiple clients. Responsibilities Engages with biomedical science stakeholders to understand the expected bioinformatics analytics outcomes by: Learning about and understanding the hypothesis being tested, the entities involved (molecules, cells lines, samples, pathways, etc) and the laboratory techniques / assays used to test the hypothesis Collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams to frame scientific questions within a scientific problem space and any required background or insights Translating insights into design of bioinformatics studies and analysis Researching alternative bioinformatics methodologies and techniques to achieve the stated outcome or creating new ones as needed Creates or supports the creation of a strategy to deliver desired bioinformatics analysis outcomes by: Cataloguing and evaluating available biomedical & bioinformatics datasets and identifying their fit for purpose Identifying any gaps in the available biomedical data and research potential data partners to advance the project Proposing alternative datasets to use for a class of bioinformatics analytics problems, including strengths and weaknesses for each Research and identify taxonomies and ontologies in the public domain as well as commercially available ones Plans for and executes data management, data cleaning and data integration activities by: Profiling datasets and mapping them to biomedical ontology classes/instances or relationships Publishing increments to the biomedical ontology as needed to capture all necessary data points Identifying and prioritizing the datasets and data sources relevant for a bioinformatics analysis or set of analysis Evaluating available extract-transform-load (ETL) solutions to extract the data or creating new ones Supporting customization, stewardship and governance of artifacts needed to keep the data clean and de-duplicated (eg. biomedical catalogs, dictionaries, vocabularies, taxonomies, ontologies and data quality rules and metrics) Creates and maintains 'omics' data processing / pipeline libraries and advises others on library governance by: Designing and coding analytical pipelines for various “omics” studies and experiments Providing support in the form of subject matter expertise to technical teams building bioinformatics platforms and research data lakes Evaluating, contrasting and recommending bioinformatics tools and platforms for client and commissioned projects, including capabilities from external partners and bioinformatics startups Performs other scripting/coding or bioinformatics tasks as required by the project Communicates the bioinformatics problem statement, state of the art, methodology, validation results in the form of: Peer-reviewed research papers in journals or scientific conferences Internal talks, client readouts and other non-public forums with clients and ZS teams Qualifications Required PhD in relevant field + 3 years programming experience. Relevant degrees: Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Genomics, Bioengineering, Biotechnology Must have experience with programming, statistical analysis (preferably Python or R), and working in a Linux/Unix environment Experience with RNAseq, microarray, or single cell analysis is a plus Strong statistical biology and/or machine learning skills is a plus Experience Required Must be able to optimize large bioinformatics / data processing pipelines as demonstrated by: Being able to talk about an example where the quality, cost or time to run a pipeline were improved and how Must show signs of leadership in bioinformatics or related field as demonstrated by: Corresponding author in multiple publications or scientific communications in relevant journals/conferences Having led teams deploying and maintaining bioinformatics / data processing pipelines Must be able to train teams in bioinformatics libraries, processing pipelines and datasets as demonstrated by: Having delivered or recorded formal or informal training sessions or as part of conference or workshops ZS is a global consulting firm. Fluency in English is required; additional fluency in at least one European or Asian language is desirable. Candidates must possess or be able to obtain work authorization for their intended country of employment. An on-line application, including a full set of transcripts (official or unofficial), is required to be considered. ZS offers a competitive compensation package with salary and bonus incentives, complete medical/dental/life insurance programs and retirement savings benefits. ZS is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal employment and advancement opportunities without regard to any class protected by applicable law. ZS is committed to providing and maintaining a safe workplace. Must have received or be willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccination by date of hire to be considered. Proof of vaccination will be required. Religious/Medical Exemptions can be requested on a limited basis upon hire. NO AGENCY CALLS, PLEASE.
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