Bioinformatician or Scientific Programmer at the Biomedical Sequencing Facility (m/f/x)

The Biomedical Sequencing Facility is Austria’s leading technology platform and service provider for genomics in biomedicine – and one of the country’s largest producers of scientific ‘big data’. It is located at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, in close collaboration with the Medical University of Vienna, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases, and the St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Center.

To keep up with rapid growth, we are searching a highly motivated Bioinformatician or Scientific Programmer (m/f/x) who wants to contribute to the booming field of personalized and digital medicine. The successful candidate will process and analyze complex biomedical data using the dedicated high-performance computing cluster available at CeMM, the Vienna Scientific Cluster (a TOP500 supercomputer), and cloud-computing infrastructure. In this position you will contribute to collaborative research, software development, and biomedical applications of genome sequencing technology. At CeMM, we take career development of our staff seriously. For example, we will train the successful candidate in state-of-the-art technologies that are in high demand in academia and industry, and we encourage contribution and co-authorship in scientific publications. Importantly, genomic medicine is a hot topic in Austria and internationally, thus creating a highly promising area for future career development.

Relevant Qualifications

• Bachelor, Master, and/or PhD degree in bioinformatics, computer science, physics, genome biology, or another quantitative field
• Proactive mindset, getting-things-done attitude (start-up company experience/mindset is a plus)
• Strong programming skills (any language) and experience working with large volumes of data
• A high degree of accuracy, reliability, organization skills, and a commitment to high-quality service provision
• A formal education in software engineering and/or work experience as a software developer is a plus (but not mandatory)
• Prior experience working with biological or medical data is also a plus (but not mandatory)
• Friendly, collaborative mindset, ability to multi-task and to work effectively in an international environment
• Written and oral communication skills in English
• Motivation to work in one of the fastest-moving and future-oriented areas of biomedicine

Typical Tasks

• Software development. Developing cutting-edge software and analysis pipelines for genome data analysis
• Data processing. Maintaining a constant flow of sequencing data (terabytes per week) being transformed into information
• Data analysis. Collaborative work with researchers whose projects profit from state-of-the-art computational methods
• Data management. Developing databases and web infrastructure to keep track of data, analyses, and projects
• Technology development. Work in areas such as single-cell sequencing and whole genome sequencing in a medical context
• Training and outreach. Contributing to workshops and teaching collaborating scientists how to analyze their data

The Biomedical Sequencing Facility (https://www.biomedical-sequencing.org/)

The successful candidate will be part of the Biomedical Sequencing Facility (BSF) team, which is based at CeMM. The BSF is Austria’s first and leading center of expertise for next generation sequencing in biomedicine. Coordinated by Christoph Bock and with a dedicated team of staff scientists, the BSF contributes to biomedical research and whole genome medicine in Vienna, Austria, and internationally. The BSF is equipped with the latest technology for high-throughput genomics (Illumina NovaSeq, Oxford Nanopore, 10X Genomics, etc.) and powerful scientific computing infrastructure. The BSF’s mandate includes a strong focus on technology development, contribution to study design and bioinformatic data analysis, as well as training and teaching best practices in sequencing technology and genomic medicine. Furthermore, it supports biomedical scientists and clinicians in the development of custom NGS protocols and in the bioinformatic analysis of the resulting datasets.

The Institute (http://www.cemm.at)

CeMM is an international research institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and a founding member of EU-LIFE. It has an outstanding track record of top-notch science and medical translation (last few years: >10 papers in Nature/Cell/Science/NEJM, >25 papers in Nature/Cell sister journals). With ~150 researchers, CeMM provides a truly collaborative and personal environment, while maintaining critical mass and direct access to all relevant technologies. Research at CeMM focuses on cancer, inflammation, and immune disorders. CeMM is located at the center of one of the largest medical campuses in Europe, within walking distance of Vienna’s historical city center. A study by “The Scientist” placed CeMM among the top-5 best places to work in academia world-wide (https://www.the-scientist.com/features/best-places-to-work-academia-2012-40676). Vienna is frequently ranked the world’s best city to live. It is a United Nations city with a large English-speaking community. The official language at CeMM is English, and more than 45 different nationalities are represented at the institute. CeMM promotes equal opportunity and harbors a mix of different talents, backgrounds, competences, and interests. We are offering an excellent employee benefits package including full insurance coverage (health, accident, retirement), health care services, daily bonus for the in-house cafeteria, relocation reimbursement, and an annual gross salary in the range of EUR 50,000 to 60,000 (depending on qualification and relevant professional experience).

Please apply online (https://cemm.jobbase.io/job/qkdtjt1s) with cover letter, CV, academic transcripts, and contact details of three referees. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Any application received by 18 October 2019 will be considered. Start dates are flexible.