Senior Bioinformatician - Testa Group

APPLICATION CLOSING DATE: March 20th 2024.

Human Technopole (HT) is an interdisciplinary life science research institute, created and supported by the Italian Government, with the aim of developing innovative strategies to improve human health. HT is composed of five Centers: Computational Biology, Structural Biology, Genomics, Neurogenomics, and Health Data Science. The Centers work together to enable interdisciplinary research and to create an open, collaborative environment that will help promote life science research both nationally and internationally.

The Human Technopole Foundation is looking for a Senior Bioinformatician in the lab of Prof. Giuseppe Testa, Neurogenomics Research Centre (Testa Group - Human Technopole). The lab conforms its activity to the highest standards of reproducibility and transparency of the FAIR paradigm (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). It benefits from a state-of-the-art High-Performance Computing infrastructure, and from close interaction with an expert community of computational and experimental biologists and the transformative core facilities of HT, as well as computational support units such as the CEll REference BRain Atlas (CEREBRA) Scientific Support Units.

We are looking for a highly-motivated Senior Bioinformatician who will provide computational support for projects focused on the high-definition modelling of neurodevelopmental disorders through the integration of brain organoid technologies and a wide suite of multi-omic, imaging, and functional assays.

Key tasks and responsibilities:

• Establishing and maintaining reproducible and well-documented bioinformatic pipelines for the standardised analysis of internal and external single-cell multi-omics datasets.
• Supporting researchers and collaborators by performing bioinformatic analysis and providing advice on the best-suited statistical models.
• Developing and maintaining computational analytical pipelines.
• Testing and implementing innovative analysis tools from the international scientific community.
• Collecting relevant internal and external single-cell datasets and curate/harmonize their annotation and metadata.
• Contributing to the design and development of bespoke data portals and data navigation/visualization solutions.
• Communicating, explaining, and contextualising statistical results to a wide variety of collaborators with varying degrees of statistical know-how.
• Maintaining and documenting software, following best practices of software engineering (e.g., revisioning and containerization).

Mandatory requirements:

• MSc in a quantitative field (bioinformatics, computer science, statistics, mathematics, physics, engineering or similar);
• Proficiency in at least one of the following programming languages: Python (preferable), R, Java, JavaScript, C++, C#, MATLAB;
• Proficiency with code versioning systems (e.g., git, SVN) and familiarity with container technologies (e.g., Docker, Singularity, Podman); experience working in a Unix/Linux environment;
• Experience in bioinformatics workflow systems (i.e., Nextflow, Snakemake, CWL);
• Fluency in English – HT is an international research institute.

Preferential requirements:

• A PhD degree and/or years of work experience in a data science/software engineering related role;
• Previous experience in the analysis of single-cell omics datasets and an interest in neurobiology (or previous experience in the field);
• Expertise in the following areas: web frameworks for data visualization, dashboards, database, data management.

Organizational and social skills:

• Strong organization skills and attention to detail; propensity to structure analytical steps in well-documented and reproducible workflows;
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical and critical thinking skills; collaborative attitude and ability to work in teams with colleagues of heterogeneous scientific backgrounds;
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment and to work independently.

Application Instructions

Please apply online by sending:

1. a CV in English
2. a motivation letter in English
3. names and contacts of 2 referees

For any inquiry about the call, please feel free to contact Prof. Giuseppe Testa, giuseppe.testa@fht.org (this email address should not be used to send applications).

Why Human Technopole

HT seeks scientific excellence; we recruit the best scientific talents through international, open calls. Our working environment is international, friendly, and inclusive. Our scientists work together across disciplines on research topics of biomedical relevance, leveraging synergies between their diverse skillsets and methodological approaches. We believe that highly diverse teams yield the best and most innovative results. We engage in outward-facing scientific activities aimed at benefiting the national and international research community. Training is also at the heart of our activity, with initiatives and opportunities for our staff, including scientific courses, conferences, and workshops.

Main benefits

• Welfare plans.
• Canteen service.
• Work-life balance provisions.
• Italian language training for foreigners.
• Maternity leave up to 1 year and other support for new parents.
• Counseling.
• Possibility of flexible working hours.
• Support for relocation.
• Tax benefits where applicable.

Special consideration will be given to candidates who are part of the protected categories list, according to L. 68/99.

Number of positions offered: 1

Location: Milan

Contract offered: CCNL Chimico Farmaceutico, Employee level, 5 years fixed-term.

Salary: up to 48k.