Computational Biologist

Parkville, Melbourne and Darlinghurst, Sydney
Attractive Salary $97,000 - $126,000 per annum + Super
3-year Full Time with a possibility of extension
Truly flexible role (timings as well as location)

What’s in it for you?

Maximise your pay through salary packaging including entertainment and novated leases
Opportunity to grow and develop within the role
Make a difference within Australia’s largest child health research institute

**The opportunity**:
The primary focus of this role will be improving and extending the team's capability to interrogate genome, RNA-seq, long read and other genomic data sets from rare disease patients and their family members, with the goal of improving the diagnosis of severe genetic diseases. This will require both the development of novel analysis approaches and rigorous benchmarking of existing approaches. Working closely with the software engineering team, these methods will be integrated into our scalable cloud-based production pipelines.

While this position will involve cutting-edge genomic science, the measures of success and promotion will be on developing and deploying complex analysis methods at scale, and not on traditional academic metrics such as leading publications. This role is best suited to individuals with a strong track record of scientific output who are interested in continuing to contribute to impactful science but not in the traditional academic career track.

The Centre for Population Genomics (CPG) is geographically distributed across Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand, and operates under a fully-remote model. However, office space is available for use at both the Garvan Institute in Sydney and the MCRI in Melbourne, and all-staff in-person events are held quarterly. This role is therefore suitable for flexible work, including:
Hours of work flexibility (such as flexible start and finish times); and

Location / remote working flexibility (with regular opportunities for in-person interaction)

**Your responsibilities include**:
Developing novel approaches, and rigorously benchmarking existing approaches, for the analysis of large-scale genome sequencing, RNA-seq, long read, and other genomic data types
Working closely with a software engineering team to ensure this code can be deployed at scale and shared as open-source software
Performing rigorous quality control and analysis of large genomic data sets
Meeting regularly with software engineering and other scientific staff to identify major challenges in data handling and analysis, and work proactively with other team members to define solutions
Contributing actively to the development of programming and analysis best practices

**About you**:
Formal qualifications (Bachelor of Science with 3+ years of related experience OR Master of Science with 2+ years of related experience OR a PhD) in human genetics, computational biology, functional genomics, or a related field.
Fluent in at least one programming language (Python preferred) and the Linux command line interface
Demonstrated experience working in high-performance or cloud computing environments
Demonstrated experience with version control and software repositories
Direct experience in analysis of genomic data sets or other complex data types

Who we are

At Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, we share a powerful vision; to re-imagine the future of child health. We are the home to many life-changing scientific discoveries.We are renowned for our cutting-edge focus on early interventions, improved diagnosis, prevention, and development of potential cures. Our success is founded on a philosophy of collaboration through a multi-disciplinary approach to solving the toughest questions in child health. Murdoch Children’s is committed to creating a culture of inclusivity, equity and respect that celebrates and values the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our people. We strive to foster a positive working environment that is underpinned by equal opportunity for all and consideration for the diverse voices of our people and the communities we serve. Murdoch Children’s is a proud member of the Australian Network on Disability and is a committed subscriber to Science Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) and its principles.

**To be considered, applicants should submit**:
Cover letter
Resume
Responses to ‘selection criteria’ via the position description

All applicants, please be aware that in line with the Murdoch Children’s and VCGS COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, all Murdoch Children’s and VCGS workers must be fully vaccinated (boosted), unless a valid medical exception applies.

**Closing date**: 05 May 2023