Translational Research Bioinformatician: Sponsorship Available

Job summary

This is an 18-month contract (finishing March 2028) to work on the NHS HaemOnc Genomic Network of Excellence project ‘Streamlining the Pathways to Precision Medicine in Lymphoma’.

This exciting initiative provides the opportunity for you to join a focused multidisciplinary team that includes clinicians, diagnostic haematopathologists, laboratory scientists and academic researchers to develop and implement a novel comprehensive NGS panel for patients with lymphoma to access cutting edge genomic technologies that currently sit at the interface of clinical practice and academic research.

Main duties of the job

1. Development of specialist clinical bioinformatics tools and workflows for Lymphoma Precision Medicine, including ctDNA based pathways
2. Specialist analysis of lymphoma genomic data: secondary and tertiary bioinformatics
3. Continued improvement of specialist clinical bioinformatics tools processes and workflows for delivery of genomic diagnostic services for lymphoma diagnostics, including but not limited to developing efficient pipelines and source code management.
4. Investigation and resolution of complex bioinformatics issues by specialist examination of input & output data, and associated bioinformatics processes; includes communication with technical, scientific and clinical staff
5. Planning and management of bioinformatics development projects; includes interfacing with technical, scientific and clinical functions of the genomic laboratory 6. Contribution to database build to facilitate data sharing with appropriate on campus collaborators and national databases.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Postgraduate degree / PhD in bioinformatics, mathematics or an appropriate biological science or equivalent experience
• Postgraduate qualification in bioinformatics or an appropriate biological science or equivalent experience with skills in developing new workflows and pipelines

Desirable

• Completion of Health Education England’s Scientist Training Programme in Clinical Bioinformatics Genomics or equivalent training programme
• HCPC clinical scientist registration or is working towards registration

Experience

Essential

• Has developed bioinformatics tools and/or resources
• Has implemented bioinformatics tools and/or resources
• Has experience of performing specialist analysis and interpretation of genomic data
• Has experience of performing bioinformatics analysis of next generation sequencing data
• Has developed software using an object-oriented language such as Python Has developed relational databases with tools such as MySQL/MariaDB
• Has experience of using tools such as R and pandas to perform programmatic statistical analysis of genomic data
• Has experience of effective, structured project management

Desirable

• Has experience of working within a diagnostic genomic laboratory
• Has experience of specialist analysis and interpretation of genomic data in a healthcare setting
• Has experience of using automated, reproducible workflow management systems Has experience of performing bioinformatics analysis using cloud compute
• Has developed software collaboratively using a version control system such as git
• Has experience of clinical quality management systems
• Has used project management and team collaboration tools such as JIRA and Confluence

Knowledge

Essential

• Basic knowledge of human genetics and the effects of genetic variation
• Practical knowledge of programming and coding
• Practical knowledge of statistics for data analysis
• Knowledge of next generation sequencing technologies
• Knowledge and understanding of secondary bioinformatics analysis of data generated by next generation sequencing technologies
• Knowledge and understanding of tertiary bioinformatics analysis of data generated by next generation sequencing technologies
• Knowledge and awareness of the breadth of bioinformatics tools available for the analysis and interpretation of genomic data

Desirable

• Broad knowledge and in-depth understanding of how different types genetic variation can lead to various genetic rare diseases and cancer
• Knowledge of clinical requirements for bioinformatics applications used for diagnostic services
• Familiar with requirements for accreditation of bioinformatics processes to the ISO 15189 standard
• In-depth knowledge of best practice guidance for development and application of bioinformatics tools in clinical laboratories
• Applied knowledge of good management practices
• Knowledge of data security and information governance requirements for clinical data

Skills

Essential

• Write object-orientated code to a high standard
• Query databases programmatically
• Alignment of next generation sequencing data
• Variant calling from next generation sequencing data
• Programmatic annotation of variants
• Programmatic filtering and prioritisation of variants
• Assessment of impact and clinical interpretation of variants
• Optimise bioinformatics tools for application in local pipelines
• Develop new bioinformatics tools
• Analyse complex genomics data to answer clinical bioinformatics questions
• Organise and manage delivery of complex projects
• Maintain concentration and focus under pressure
• Provide leadership to peers
• Deliver training to colleagues
• Present complex scientific and clinical information to specialist and non-specialist audiences
• Good verbal and written communication skills
• Create and accurately follow documentation and SOPs

Desirable

• Clinically evaluate software for use in delivery of diagnostic services
• Perform code review and provide constructive feedback to peers to improve the quality of code
• Observe and systematically examine processes to propose improvements for clinical service delivery
• Develop bioinformatics policy to guide the practice of clinical bioinformatics
• Respond to queries from end users of bioinformatics software and communicate effectively to resolve issues and deliver against requirements

Additional Requirements

Essential

• The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of safe, kind, excellent.

Closing Date: 22 September 2026