Sr. Bioinformatics Scientist

About The Job

The Senior Bioinformatics Scientist is responsible for supporting novel biomarker definition, biomarker analysis, development, and validation for FMI CDx programs. The incumbent mentors or supervises junior staff, builds and maintains strong collaboration with other teams across the organization to implement biomarkers for biopharma partners, and executes and presents data query results of large genomics, clinical, and processed datasets to inform biomarker development and assay validation. This position contributes to the long-term growth strategy of the Product Development team by participating in process improvement initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead efforts to improve the consistency of how biomarker rules are defined and formatted including:
• Define the process of intaking/organizing new biomarkers and manage the process moving forward;
• Provide biomarker definitions and rules;
• Work with other functional teams to implement new biomarkers in our pipeline;
• Gather biomarker requirements from partners and perform gap analyses supported by the other functional team;
• Maintain an accounting of all biomarker rules (definition, partner/program, description of implementation);
• Solicit feedback and communicate biomarker definitions/rules and biomarker analysis results within FMI and to external stakeholders.
• Be accountable for management of biomarker rules.
• Manage regularly scheduled cross-functional meetings to ensure that development work is completed on time as needed and that biomarker rules are correctly integrated for biomarker reporting.
• Mentor or supervise junior members on design and project deliverables.
• Support Pharma partnering work and attend partner meetings to gather biomarker requirements and communicate rules/technical details to partners
• Perform gap analyses to determine if development work is required.
• Function as a subject matter expert on basic analysis pipeline, curation, and biomarker discussions.
• Provide key contributions to the clinical and analytical studies in the program, including but not limited to protocol development, testing and execution, and biomarker analysis.
• Contribute to the planning and delivery of key analytical components of regulatory submissions, including but not limited to Q-subs, PMAs, and sPMAs.
• Provide strategic contributions in addressing issues related to biomarker analysis and biomarker harmonization.
• Represent the Biomarker team in key regulatory meetings.
• Contribute to the development of new methods and algorithms to identify and characterize alterations in tumor DNA and RNA derived from clinical cancer specimens.
• Enhance existing methods, improving their assay capabilities as well as their technical robustness.
• Other duties as assigned.
  

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Cancer Genomics and 3 years of relevant working experience; OR,
• PhD and1 year(s) relevant working experience
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Computer Science
• 3 years of relevant industry experience
• Experience with bioinformatics tools and databases (e.g., NCBI, UCSC Genome Browser, IGV)
• Experience in cancer research, including a working understanding of computational approaches for cancer genome analysis
• Demonstrated record of successful independent work and contributions to team projects
• Fluency in one or several scripting languages e.g., R, Python
• Strong scientific understanding of cancer molecular biology and genomics
• Extensive knowledge of predictive biomarkers for cancer therapy
• Knowledge and experience with Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)
• Ability to work well under pressure while maintaining a professional demeanor
• Ability to work independently in a multidisciplinary, fast-paced, dynamic, and results-oriented environment
• High level of attention to detail with a focus on quality
• Excellent teamwork, time management, and organizational skills
• Understanding of HIPAA and importance of privacy of patient data
• Commitment to FMI values: Integrity, Passion, and Courage
  
  

The expected salary range for this position based on the primary location of Boston, MA is $145,300 – $170,000 per year. The salary range is commensurate with Foundation Medicines compensation practice and considers factors including, but not limited to, education, training, experience, external market conditions, criticality of role, and internal equity. A discretionary annual bonus may be available based on individual and Company performance. This position also qualifies for Foundation Medicine's benefits.