We are seeking a senior computational biologist with experience and expertise in driving forward biological discoveries and therapeutic development to join Vertex. This position is part of a growing global Data and Computational Sciences team focused on developing Cell and Genetic Therapy treatments of serious human diseases. You will lead efforts to collaborate with cross-functional project teams to design, analyze, and interpret large-scale genomics data while having a critical impact on the development of transformative therapies. You will play a key role in innovating, evaluating, and developing cutting-edge computational methods that will enable us to make rapid, data-driven decisions. Proactive communication and seamless collaboration with both computational and experimental team members will be required for success in this role.
Key responsibilities:
• Proactive collaboration with project teams, acting as the computational biology expert, to identify key needs and questions that can be addressed using genomics, sequencing, or bioinformatics contributions, with the ability to focus the team to make decisions and drive the project forward
• Partner with teams to propose and plan studies that leverage sequencing, genetic, and genomic data to answer biological questions and enable development of genetic therapy treatments
• Lead rigorous computational analyses of sequencing data and other biological data, through deep critical thinking, published findings and best practices from the field, strong statistics, and data science visualizations
• Distill complex analyses and scientific results into key take-home messages and recommendations for next steps to a broad audience
• Bring forward and advocate for public advancements in the fast-paced fields of gene editing and genetic therapies that would accelerate therapeutic development and/or overcome obstacles
• Partner with method development team members, identifying opportunities to improve usability, accuracy, and robustness of internal methods
Minimum Qualifications:
• PhD degree in computational biology, bioinformatics, human genetics, genomics, systems biology, bioengineering, or a related field, with 5+ years of industry or post-doctoral experience
• A proven track record of stand-out excellence in the analysis, visualization, and interpretation of genomic and next-generation sequencing (NGS) data
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with and drive progress with project teams and/or experimental collaborators to design studies and develop analyses to answer scientific questions
• Deep scientific understanding of gene editing, the role of genetic variation in human disease, molecular biology, and cellular biology
• Expertise with rapidly applying computational methods and bioinformatics tools to large-scale data; proficiency with R, Python, Linux/Unix systems, high-performance computing systems; solid understanding of statistics
• An independent, detail-oriented, and self-motivated approach to problem solving with excellent reasoning skills
• A team-oriented growth mindset that welcomes feedback from others and supports other team members; strong collaboration skills to work across teams and functions
• A positive attitude that enthusiastically tackles and overcomes challenges
• Strong organizational and time-management skills to prioritize needs and get things done
• Excellent presentation and communication skills, including the ability to tailor scientific content to audiences with different backgrounds