Associate Bioinformatics Scientist

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Job description

About Us…

Obsidian Therapeutics is pioneering engineered cell and gene therapies to deliver transformative outcomes for patients. Obsidian's programs apply our CytoDriveTM technology in Cell and Gene therapy products to control expression of proteins for enhanced therapeutic efficacy and safety. Obsidian's lead program is currently in preclinical development for the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma and other solid tumors.

We're proud of our diverse talented team and committed to cultivating an environment of inclusion where each person feels a strong sense of belonging and is supported to continuously learn and contribute their best work. Our research team is based in the heart of Cambridge, MA, and our Technical Development and Manufacturing will soon be moving to a brand new facility in Bedford, MA to support our growth. Obsidianites enjoy a highly collaborative culture, competitive salary and benefits, and potential for ownership through stock options.

Our Opportunity…

We are looking for an associate scientist with a strong background in bioinformatics / computational biology (or related field) to contribute to Obsidian's computational biology platform. The successful candidate will implement bespoke data workflows and provide the high-level strategy for the computational and analytical framework within the organization. Key responsibilities shall include development and maintenance of Cloud-based data analysis pipelines, biomarker discovery, and preclinical statistical analyses. This role will be highly-collaborative with other multi-disciplinary scientists and industry partners, providing critical analytical support to help advance the Discovery team's target identification, lead optimization, and core platform development.

This is a unique opportunity to work in a well-funded early-stage company with blue chip investors, field-leading advisors, and a highly experienced team. You will help us build a dynamic, innovative, passionate, collaborative, and successful organization focused on delivering transformative therapies in areas of greatest clinical need.

You Will…

• Lead and champion computational efforts associated with the Discovery and Research program - providing analytical support for Discovery screening, biomarker discovery, and translational applications
• Identify datasets and implement computational methods needed to advance discovery and target validation efforts
• Collaborate effectively across the Obsidian organization to support ongoing research projects by contributing high-quality reports, analytical insights, requirements, workflows and presenting internally to project teams, management, and scientific teams
• Manage the execution of analyses for routine screening assays that use sequencing data by running, maintaining, and updating cloud-based analytical pipelines
• Partner cross-functionally to establish data management practices and drive data and analysis quality using quality-control measures
• Implement ad hoc statistical design and analyses for research projects and programs
• Exercise standard code-management practices, while maintaining analytical documentation and study reports in Electronic Notebook entries

You Bring…

Core Qualifications

• BA/MS degree in Computational Biology/Bioinformatics, Bioengineering, Computer Science or a related field, OR a BS degree in one of the above areas with equivalent capabilities and relevant work
• Experience writing object-oriented, tested, and version-controlled (Git) software with commonly used programming languages for bioinformatics analysis (primarily Python, R).
• Ability to implement custom NGS data analysis tools and pipelines (QC, alignment, secondary data analysis, enrichment analysis) under workflow management/control systems (Nextflow, Snakemake, etc).
• Strong statistical foundations (hypothesis testing, power analysis, count models, GLMs).
• Proficiency with Unix-based systems, shell scripting, and high-performance cloud computing environments and tools (e.g. AWS, Azure, Docker)
• Highly collaborative working style with proven ability to work with general direction to meet objectives and timelines, adapting to changes and priorities in order to fulfill our mission
• Excellent communication, presentation, and data visualization skills.
• Scientific curiosity, and a track record of self-directed learning

Bonus Qualifications

• Experience with bespoke NGS pipelines
• Experience in cancer genomic data analysis along with familiarity of public databases (e.g., Ensembl, Hapmap, UCSC), tools (e.g., cBioPortal), and resources (e.g., CCLE, TCGA)
• Experience in drug development, high-throughput screens, cell and gene therapy
• Experience with ELN platforms (e.g., Benchling), relational databases and SQL
• Firsthand experience with the biochemistry and molecular biology underpinning common NGS functional assays.

Obsidian is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, cultivating a welcoming and diverse environment. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status or any other applicable legally protected characteristics.