Principal Computational Biologist

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Job description

About the role

Sana Biotechnology is seeking a Computational Biologist to partner with scientists to provide leadership for the implementation of bioinformatics methods to solve exciting and challenging problems in cell and gene therapy, immunology, and stem cell biology. Reporting to the Executive Director, Computational Biology, you should have a strong understanding of CRISPR-Cas technologies and associated molecular biology techniques to lead the analysis and interpretation of multiple next-generation sequencing (NGS) based applications. You will catalyze internal cell and gene therapy platforms with a research mindset and a passion for new technologies and computational methodologies.

The Computational Biologist will need to partner effectively with wet-lab teams to design appropriate studies, analyze data, interpret results, provide a project outlook and communicate findings. You must be a team player with excellent cross-functional communication skills. The ability to be flexible, to teach others, effectively interpret data beyond automated analysis, and to work in a highly collaborative environment will be critical to success.

What you'll do

• Partner with wet-lab groups in Analytical Genomics, Cell Engineering & Genome Modification, and Technical Operations to design studies, answer biological questions, analyze, and interpret gene editing data. This includes providing computational support for target identification, guide RNA design, and primer design for targeted genome sequencing.
• Work with cross functional teams focused on cell engineering and genome editing while designing studies and analyzing data from single-cell and bulk RNA sequencing, genome sequencing particularly targeted sequencing, flow cytometry and, ideally, multi-omics technologies.
• Proper documentation of code, workflows, and analyses including study reports for nonclinical and clinical studies and regulatory filings.
• Work with other computational biologists and computational engineers to prototype internal workflows to transition to production pipelines.
• Communicate to a broad audience with a range of technical, analytical, and biological expertise and present results on a regular basis at various group meetings.
• Engage in crucial conversations by providing and receiving feedback supporting the growth and development of team members
• Demonstrate ability to engage and effectively influence team members across multidisciplinary teams while prioritizing multiple projects and meeting deadlines
• Drive curiosity, scientific rigor and excellent problem-solving skills across a fast-paced performance driven environment
• Innate ability to assess talent that will help grow the organization and add Sana's culture

What we're looking for

• PhD in scientific discipline w 8+ years' experience in academic research and/or industry. BA or MS plus 10+ years' or equivalent combination of education and work experience
• Deep subject matter expertise and a leader in a field through publication and reputation
• Strong publication record and / or strongly relevant work experience
• Experience with development and application of tools for analysis of guide RNAs and CRISPR-Cas / TALENs/ zinc finger nucleases including all steps for the analysis of gene editing data (on-target, off-target, translocation)
• Demonstrated proficiency in git, Python and / or R
• Strong scientific background including an understanding of molecular biology and genomics
• Demonstrated strong analytical, problem-solving abilities and decision-making skills
• Must be detail oriented, self-motivated, flexible, and able to prioritize and manage several fast-paced projects concurrently
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences
• You should be collaborative, a team player and demonstrate curiosity
• Ability to engage in crucial conversations - providing and receiving feedback
• Demonstrated record of authoring research and regulatory reports to support IND and BLA filings is preferred

What will separate you from the crowd

• This position may manage other Computational Biologists at the Scientist and Senior Scientist level
• Familiarity with multiple NGS applications in gene editing and genome modification such as TIDE, ICE, CITE-Seq, GUIDE-Seq
• Experience with AWS or similar cloud computing platforms
• Experience with workflow languages such as Nextflow

What you should know

• Working safely on a predictable and regular basis is an essential job function for this position and the Company requires that all individuals, subject to certain exceptions, be fully vaccinated against COVID-19

How we work together

• Lead from every seat - we seek to understand, act with honesty, and engage in the crucial conversations
• Thrive as a team - we hire amazing people, are intensely curious, and cultivate inclusion and personal connectivity
• Make it happen - we value vigorous debate, alignment around our decisions, and resilient execution

Get to know us

At Sana, we believe that a diverse workforce strengthens us as a company and helps us to achieve our mission to meaningfully change the outcome of many human diseases. This belief is a pillar of our business and is critical to our success. Our goal is that Sana is the place for talented people to bring their authentic selves to work, to have a great career and to deeply, positively impact patients.

Core to our values, we believe there is nothing more important than the health and wellness of you and your family. For benefit eligible employees, we cover 100% of the cost for employee health coverage and offer generous time-off, parental leave, short- and long-term disability, financial wellness programs, a 401(k) Plan, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, commuter subsidy and a variety of wellness offerings to support each person individually.

We are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental or sensory disability (including the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability), genetic information, actual or perceived HIV or Hepatitis C infection, medical condition (cancer or a record or history of cancer and genetic characteristics), marital status, sexual orientation, sexual preference, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), disability, veteran status, political ideology, taking or requesting statutorily protected leave, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

To perform this job successfully, you must be able to perform each job responsibility satisfactorily. The job description listed above is representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required for this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions described above.