PPLICATION CLOSING DATE: 26th of February 2024
Human Technopole is a new interdisciplinary research institute in Milan, Italy, created and supported by the Italian government whose aim is to develop innovative strategies to promote human health through a multidisciplinary and integrated approach, combining genomics, computational and structural biology, neuroscience, and data and decisions sciences.
The Human Technopole Foundation is looking for one Bioinformatician to join the Genome Analysis unit, a scientific support unit embedded within the Human Technopole’s Genomic Centre – Population and Medical Genomics. The Genome Analysis unit is responsible for the processing of large volumes of “omics” data, benefitting from a large High-Performance Computing and Data Storage infrastructure, and from close interaction with a community of computational biologists at HT.
The candidate will be responsible for developing and maintaining analysis methods and pipelines to analyze data produced by cutting-edge technologies for high-throughput sequencing. A key mission is to facilitate computational analyses for large-scale projects. Working together with other members of the unit, the Bioinformatician is also expected to contribute to the development of analysis pipelines and the rapid standardization/implementation of new computational approaches for emerging technologies. Reproducibility and robustness of bioinformatics analyses, using standardized and modular workflows, will be at the core of this role.
The successful candidate will report to the Head of Genomics Centre.
Key tasks and responsibilities
The Bioinformatician of the Genome Analysis Unit will:
- Operate and maintain the bioinformatics analysis infrastructure to process genomic data coming from different sequencing technologies and data modalities;
- Implement and run reproducible and robust computational genomics workflows and pipelines based on workflow languages (e.g. Nextflow, Snakemake) and software containers (e.g. Docker, Singularity);
- Implement and run workflows to ensure quality control and visualization for efficient data assessment
- Optimize existing computational methods and maximize their cost-effectiveness;
- Cooperate with the institute’s research groups to implement analysis for novel technologies;
- Closely follow technological and bioinformatic developments in genomic data analysis;
- Build effective links and collaborations within HT;
- Participate to bioinformatics training programmes of the institute.
Job requirements
Mandatory Requirements:
- MSc or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject (e.g. computational sciences, physics, genomics, or a related field of science);
- Basic experience working with genomic data in a HPC environment;
- Experience with one or more scripting languages (e.g. Python,R);
- Experience with exploratory data analysis and data visualization using Python and/or R;
- Excellent computational skills and troubleshooting;
- Fluency in English – HT is an international research institute.
Preferred requirements
- Experience with one or more compiled languages (e.g. C, C++, Rust, Go);
- Experience with Nextflow or Snakemake for workflow management;
- Experience with reproducible research environment and version control systems;
- Experience in developing dashboard and/or other form of interactive data presentation based on Python or R;
- Experience with medium and large-scale genomics projects;
- Experience with standard tools for genomic data analysis and manipulation (e.g. bwa, samtools, bcftools);
- Experience with single-cell experiment data handling (e.g. single-cell RNA-seq, single-cell ATAC-seq) and/or long-read sequencing.
Organizational and social skills:
- Strong attitude towards high quality and well documented code, compliant with state-of-the-art best practices, testing, and coding standards;
- Attitude towards solving complex, non-standard problems with innovative software architectures and solutions;
- Quick learner of new technologies and tech trends to always develop cutting edge and highly modern solutions;
- Ability to interact effectively with other teams and work synergistically to drive projects forward;
- Meticulous organization;
- Proven communication and problem-solving skills.
Application Instructions
- Please apply by sending:
i) a CV
ii) a motivation letter in English
iii) names and contacts of at least 2 referees
Questions concerning the role and any queries regarding the terms and conditions should be sent to [email protected] (terms and conditions) (these email address should not be used to send applications).
Why Human Technopole
- HT seeks scientific excellence, we recruit the best scientific talents through international, open calls;
- Our working environment is international, friendly and inclusive. Our scientists work together across disciplines on research topics of biomedical relevance, leveraging synergies between their diverse skillsets and methodological approaches;
- We believe that highly diverse teams yield the best and most innovative results;
- We engage in outward-facing scientific activities aimed at benefiting the national and international research community. Training is also at the heart of our activity, with initiatives and opportunities for our staff, including scientific courses, conferences and workshops.
Main benefits
- Welfare plans.
- Canteen service.
- Work-life balance provisions.
- Italian language training for foreigners.
- Maternity leave up to 1 year and other support for new parents.
- Counseling.
- Flexible working hours.
- Remote working policy.
- Support for relocation.
Special consideration will be given to candidates who are part of the protected categories list, according to L. 68/99.
Number of positions offered: 1
Contract offered: CCNL Chimico Farmaceutico, Fixed-term -3 years - employee level.
The position is based in Milan