Senior Bioinformatics Engineer

📋 Description

• • Natera, a global leader in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing, is seeking a highly skilled Senior Bioinformatics Engineer to join our dynamic team. With a strong focus on oncology, women's health, and organ health, Natera is at the forefront of revolutionizing genetic diagnostics. This remote US-based role offers a unique opportunity to contribute significantly to our oncology product development by providing essential technical expertise and ensuring the seamless completion of critical projects.
• • As a Senior Bioinformatics Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in the entire lifecycle of our bioinformatics pipelines. Your primary responsibility will be to develop, maintain, and scale production-grade bioinformatics pipelines that are robust, reliable, and efficient. This involves a deep understanding of the challenges inherent in processing large-scale biological data and translating cutting-edge research into operational systems.
• • A key aspect of this role is leading the translation of validated research workflows into scalable, automated, cloud-based production systems. You will be instrumental in bridging the gap between scientific discovery and clinical application, ensuring that our pipelines can handle increasing data volumes and complexity while maintaining high standards of accuracy and performance.
• • You will architect and drive automation initiatives across our bioinformatics infrastructure. This proactive approach aims to significantly improve pipeline scalability, enhance reliability, ensure reproducibility of results, and reduce turnaround time (TAT) for our diagnostic tests. Your efforts will directly impact our ability to deliver timely and accurate results to patients and clinicians.
• • Designing and overseeing secure, high-throughput data transfer solutions across AWS accounts is another critical responsibility. You will ensure that sensitive genomic data is transferred efficiently and securely, adhering to all relevant compliance and privacy regulations. This includes optimizing data movement strategies to minimize latency and maximize throughput.
• • Proactively identifying bottlenecks within existing pipelines and implementing performance and cost optimizations will be a continuous focus. You will leverage your expertise to fine-tune our systems, ensuring they operate at peak efficiency and within budgetary constraints. This involves a keen eye for detail and a data-driven approach to problem-solving.
• • Contributing to the long-term roadmap planning for automation and production pipeline evolution is essential. You will provide strategic insights and technical guidance to shape the future direction of our bioinformatics capabilities, anticipating future needs and technological advancements.
• • This role requires close collaboration with product and development teams, ensuring that bioinformatics solutions are aligned with business objectives and scientific requirements. You will be a key technical resource, offering expertise and guidance to support the successful completion of a wide array of oncology bioinformatics projects.
• • You will be expected to own automated pipelines end-to-end, including comprehensive debugging across data, application, and infrastructure layers. This holistic approach ensures that issues are resolved efficiently and effectively, minimizing downtime and impact on operations.
• • The ideal candidate will possess a strong understanding of software engineering best practices, including continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD), unit testing, and test-driven development (TDD). Applying these principles to bioinformatics workflows will enhance the quality and maintainability of our code and systems.
• • You will also be responsible for managing large genomic datasets, requiring a solid understanding of data storage, management, and processing strategies in a cloud environment. Experience with handling the unique challenges of genomic data is crucial for success in this role.
• • Excellent communication skills are paramount, enabling you to effectively influence technical direction across both scientific and engineering stakeholders. You will need to articulate complex technical concepts clearly and concisely to diverse audiences.
• • As a team player, you will be self-motivated, detail-oriented, and committed to delivering high-quality work. Your ability to work independently while also contributing to a collaborative team environment will be key to your success.
• • This position offers the chance to work with state-of-the-art technologies and contribute to groundbreaking advancements in genetic diagnostics, making a tangible impact on patient care worldwide.