Senior - Bioinformatician and Head of Clinical Genomics Informatics - Center for Translational Science

Primary City/State:

Shea Medical Center - 9003 E Shea Blvd Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Category:

Research Operations

Shift:

Day

Department:

HRI-Center for Translational Science

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Responsibilities:

Job Summary

The Senior Bioinformatician & Head of Clinical Genomics Informatics is a senior-level scientific, technical, and strategic leader responsible for defining and executing the bioinformatics vision for clinical and translational genomics programs. This role combines deep expertise in computational biology with strong software engineering and organizational leadership to design, implement, govern, and scale bioinformatics platforms that support high-impact, reproducible clinical genomics research.

As Head of Clinical Genomics Informatics, this position provides functional leadership for genomics informatics activities, establishes best practices and standards, and serves as the primary informatics partner for principal investigators, clinical collaborators, and institutional stakeholders. The role operates with a high degree of autonomy, drives scientific and technical strategy across multiple programs, and ensures that analytical approaches align with clinical, regulatory, and translational objectives.

Essential Functions

Clinical Genomics Informatics Leadership:

• Lead and oversee all clinical genomics informatics activities, serving as the institutional subject-matter expert for genomic data analysis, interpretation, and reporting.
• Define the strategic roadmap for clinical genomics informatics platforms, pipelines, and analytical capabilities.
• Establish standards, best practices, and governance for genomic data quality, reproducibility, validation, and lifecycle management.
•  Partner with clinical, translational, IT, and compliance stakeholders to align informatics solutions with organizational and regulatory expectations.

 Bioinformatics & Data Analysis:

• Lead complex analyses across genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and related biomedical domains, translating high-dimensional data into actionable biological and clinical insights.
• Perform advanced statistical analyses and method selection to support hypothesis-driven and exploratory research.
• Ensure analytical rigor, documentation, and reproducibility in accordance with best practices and applicable regulatory frameworks.

 Pipeline, Workflow & Platform Development:

• Architect, develop, and maintain scalable, production-grade bioinformatics workflows using modern workflow management systems and high-performance or cloud-based computing environments.
• Integrate heterogeneous data sources, including sequencing data, clinical and experimental metadata, and external biomedical databases.
• Oversee the development of user-facing tools, dashboards, visualizations, and reports to support scientific and clinical decision-making.

  Software Engineering & Prototyping:

•  Design and develop modular, reusable, and well-documented software components using industry-standard programming languages and development practices.
•  Transition successful analytical prototypes into validated, maintainable, and production-ready solutions.
•  Champion software engineering best practices, including version control, testing, validation, documentation, and code review across the informatics function.

  Method & Algorithm Development:

• Evaluate, adapt, and develop computational algorithms and statistical models tailored to complex biomedical and clinical genomics data.
• Stay current with emerging bioinformatics methodologies and guide adoption based on scientific merit and operational feasibility.
• Benchmark tools and methods to ensure robustness, scalability, and scientific validity.

  Scientific Collaboration & Communication:

•  Serve as a senior bioinformatics partner to principal investigators, researchers, and collaborators across multiple projects.
•  Communicate complex analytical concepts and results clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Contribute to manuscripts, grant applications, research proposals, and internal scientific reviews.
• Present findings at internal meetings, external conferences, and scientific forums.

  Leadership & Mentorship:

• Mentor junior bioinformaticians, analysts, and trainees, providing technical guidance and career development support.
• Help define and maintain reusable resources, shared infrastructure, and best practices for the bioinformatics function.
• Manage multiple concurrent projects, balancing scientific priorities, timelines, and stakeholder expectations.
•  Collaborate with IT and infrastructure teams to align computational strategies with organizational goals.

• Performs other duties as assigned.
• The above job responsibilities describe the general nature and level of work to be performed. It does not restrict management’s right to assign or re-assign duties at any time.

Education

• PhD in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Bioengineering, or a related quantitative discipline - Required

Experience

10+ years of experience in an academic, biotech, pharmaceutical, or applied biomedical research environment. - Required

Extensive hands-on experience analyzing biomedical data such as sequencing, gene expression, genotyping, proteomics, or related modalities. - Required

Strong proficiency in multiple programming languages (e.g., Python, R, Perl, C/C++, Java) and scientific computing environments. - Required

Demonstrated experience with Linux/UNIX/macOS environments, command-line tools, shell scripting, and high-performance or cloud-based computing. - Required

Solid grounding in statistics, scientific computing, and data visualization. - Required

Proven application of software engineering best practices, including version control, testing, documentation, and reproducibility. - Required

Excellent written and verbal communication skills. - Required

Demonstrated ability to work independently, lead technical efforts, and collaborate across multidisciplinary teams. - Required

Prior experience mentoring or leading junior scientific staff. - Required

Experience leading or owning clinical or translational genomics informatics programs. - Preferred

Familiarity with regulated research environments, workflow orchestration, containerization, and cloud platforms. - Preferred

Track record of scientific publications, tool development, or widely adopted analytical resources. - Preferred

License and Certifications

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