Bioinformatics Technical Analyst

Job Summary:

The Bioinformatics Technical Analyst will assist biological sciences researchers in making effective use of a High-Performance Computing (HPC) cluster for their research activities in both traditional HPC systems and emerging quantum computing systems. The Bioinformatics Technical Analyst will use their knowledge in Linux and networking to help with data preparation and transfer to Alpine. This position will need to use their knowledge in programming and computational biology to debug, troubleshoot, and optimize researchers’ biological data processing pipelines and analytic needs as it relates to their use of HPC resources.  This position also required an ability to thrive in an environment with direct end user interaction to help solve their technical challenges. Common daily tasks may include but are not limited to the following:

• Optimal data transfer with Globus or other methods,
• Educate users of the compliance policies related to the HPC ecosystem.
• Recording pipelines to efficiently use CPUs,
• Concurrency and parallelization of pipelines that ingest large data sets,
• Installation of commonly used bioinformatics workflows and software suites,
• Troubleshooting error files produced by biological and bioinformatics software.

This position will answer researchers’ questions and provide advice on data transfer optimization and compliance, storage solutions and alternatives, HPC batch system use, and shell scripting.

Examples of Work Performed

Technical Support – 70%

• Provide guidance, support, training, and advice to researchers.
• Help install and support a wide variety of genomics and biomedical command-line applications.
• Facilitate data transfer to clustered environment.

Communication and Collaboration – 25%

• Communicate with scientists to answer questions, troubleshoot problems, and develop appropriate data transfer and computational strategies.
• Collaborate with system administrator coworkers to determine the best data transfer methods, network, and system configurations for applications.

Continuous Education – 5%

• Keep up to date with current and emerging data transfer, compliance, network and computational biology technologies and tools

Work Location:

Hybrid – this role is eligible for a hybrid schedule. 

Why Join Us:

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is a subdivision of Information Strategy and Services (ISS).  In ISS we emphasize six key principles that connect our teams and ensure our success:

• Curiosity- Explore beyond our own experience.
• Compassion- Be empathetic to understand our customer and community needs. 
• Collaboration- Partner well beyond our space.
• Commitment- Be dedicated to service excellence and follow-through.
• Competence- Know our craft and be committed to continuous improvement and learning.
• Confidence- Be empowered and assured to represent our customers and their needs.  

In OIT we value our team members and strive to achieve work life balance, inclusivity, and a FUN working environment. Click HERE  to view testimonials from OIT Employees about why they enjoy working for OIT!

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) works to advance the University mission by providing innovative technology solutions and services to the CU Denver | Anschutz Medical Campuses, their constituents, and partners. Click here to find out more about the Office of Information Technology  

Active investment in our culture and our people is foundational in developing and delivering service excellence. ​To cultivate a people centric workplace, we do the following:

• Invest in inclusive leadership to promote belonging and integrate DEI into daily operations
• Focus on employee wellness
• Provide effective coaching and foster continuous learning & development
• Offer flexible work arrangements when possible

Click here to find out more about OIT’s Culture

We have AMAZING Benefits and offer exceptional amounts of holiday, vacation, and sick leave! 

The University of Colorado offers an excellent benefits package including:

• Medical: Multiple plan options
• Dental: Multiple plan options
• Additional Insurance: Disability, Life, Vision
• Retirement 401(a) Plan: Employer contributes 10% of your gross pay
• Paid Time Off: Accruals over the year
• Vacation Days: 22 (maximum accrual 352 hours)
• Sick Days: 15 (unlimited maximum accrual)
• Holiday Days: 10
• Tuition Benefit: Employees have access to this the benefit on all CU campuses
• ECO Pass: RTD Bus and light rail service
• Additional Perks & Programs: Click here to access a few more Perks and Programs

See for yourself: https://www.cu.edu/employee-services/benefits  and https://www.cu.edu/employee-services/leave-policies

Diversity and Equity:

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is committed to recruiting and supporting a diverse student body, faculty and administrative staff. The university strives to promote a culture of inclusiveness, respect, communication and understanding. We encourage applications from women, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, persons within the LGBTQ+ community and all veterans. The University of Colorado is committed to diversity and equality in education and employment.

Qualifications:

Minimum Requirements

Education:

• A Bachelor of Science in the IT or computer science, computational biology, bioinformatics, biomedical, applied mathematics, chemistry, or equivalent degree or closely related field.

Experience:

• 2-4 years of experience working with high-performance computing environments or 2-4 years of experience performing and/or supporting biomedical research. 
• 3 years experience with Linux/Unix, shell scripting.
• 2 years experience with a scripting or programming language (e.g. Perl, Python, C, R).

Substitution: A combination of education and related technical/paraprofessional experience may be substituted for the bachelor’s degree on a year for year basis.

Preferred Requirements

• Masters or PhD degree.
• Experience using HPC clusters and batch systems.
• Experience with data compliance and classification.
• Experience with Slurm.
• Experience building Docker or Singularity containers from scratch.
• Experience with biological databases.
• Demonstrated experience learning and utilizing new technologies or software.
• Experience with data transfer and focus on globus and data transfer.
• Experience with machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• Experience using source code repositories (GitHub, etc.)

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Familiarity with bioinformatic software tools and suites such as: NextFlow, Snakemake, GATK pipelines, nf-core pipelines, R bioconductor packages, 10x CellRanger, conda environments.
• Familiarity with compiling and building scientific applications.
• Understanding of bottlenecks associated with large-scale data analysis.
• Ability to use version control systems as evidenced by a public repository.
• Experienced with genomics processing pipelines and tools.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Experience presenting and/or teaching.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Self-motivation with good organizational, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work on several projects simultaneously.
• Hands-on experience with Linux, networking, data transfer and compliance.
• Demonstrated ability to perform parallel computing.
• Please be advised that this position is not eligible now or in the future for visa sponsorship.

How to Apply:

For full consideration, please submit the following document(s):

1.     A letter of interest describing relevant job experiences as they relate to listed job qualifications and interest in the position (only use if a cover letter is necessary)

2.     Curriculum vitae / Resume

3.     Three to five professional references, including name, address, phone number (mobile number if appropriate), and email address

Questions should be directed to: Janee Maka, [email protected]

Screening of Applications Begins:

Immediately and continues until position is filled. For best consideration, apply by February 20, 2024.

Anticipated Pay Range:

The starting salary range (or hiring range ) for this position has been established as $69,104 -  $87,901.

The above salary range (or hiring range ) represents the University’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting. This position may be eligible for overtime compensation, depending on the level.

Your total compensation goes beyond the number on your paycheck. The University of Colorado provides generous leave, health plans and retirement contributions that add to your bottom line.

Total Compensation Calculator: http://www.cu.edu/node/153125

ADA Statement:

The University will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities throughout the employment application process. To request an accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact the Human Resources ADA Coordinator at [email protected] ​.

Background Check Statement:

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is dedicated to ensuring a safe and secure environment for our faculty, staff, students and visitors. To assist in achieving that goal, we conduct background investigations for all prospective employees.

Vaccination Statement:

CU Anschutz strongly encourages vaccination against the COVID-19 virus and other vaccine preventable diseases . If you work, visit, or volunteer in healthcare facilities or clinics operated by our affiliated hospital or clinical partners or by CU Anschutz, you will be required to comply with the vaccination and medical surveillance policies of the facilities or clinics where you work, visit, or volunteer, respectively. In addition, if you work in certain research areas or perform certain safety sensitive job duties, you must enroll in the occupational health medical surveillance program . 

The University of Colorado seeks individuals with demonstrated commitment to creating an inclusive learning and working environment. We value the ability to engage effectively with students, faculty and staff of diverse backgrounds.