Sr. Bioinformatics Scientist - DNA Technology Development & Applied AI

Personalis, Inc. is a leader in advanced genomics for precision oncology. NeXT Personal is an ultra-sensitive, tumor-informed, WGS-based liquid biopsy assay designed to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) and cancer recurrence. It leverages whole-genome sequencing of a patient's tumor and matched normal samples to create personalized panel of up to 1,800 somatic variants, enabling the detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) at very low levels (down to ~1-3 PPM) in blood samples. To enable cancer and population sequencing, Personalis' Clinical Laboratory was built with a focus on clinical accuracy, quality, big data, scale, and efficiency. Personalis is based in Fremont, California.
Days Onsite: Monday & Tuesday

Summary: 

The Bioinformatics Senior Scientist will work with a world-class, dynamic team of bioinformatics scientists, software engineers, and laboratory scientists, developing, testing, and applying cutting-edge cell-free and solid tumor cancer genomics products. Further, the Bioinformatics Scientist will be working alongside our clinical evidence generation teams, applying our cell-free solutions to large cancer patient cohorts and profiling patient response to therapy with our cfDNA platforms. This position will directly contribute to a new generation of genomics-based precision-medicine products for profiling MRD, ctDNA dynamics, and patient response to treatment. Our products are used by pharma, biotech, hospitals, and clinicians for managing patient treatment and therapeutic selection.

Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and build upon our novel cell-free platforms and products, including our NeXT Personal MRD liquid biopsy platform, with a focus on maximizing signal from complex genomic architecture.
• Explore and train Large Language Models (LLMs) and foundation models on high- throughput genomic data to enhance variant detection and extract novel biological features.
• Work cross-functionally to translate collaborative findings into actively developed cutting-edge products
• Design and execute scientific projects and experiments focused on product feature feasibility, demonstrating feature performance and clinical advantages of our cell-free platforms
• Modeling and analysis of large, complex genomics datasets using novel methods to generate biological insights
• Work with scientific teams to translate scientific findings into actively developed groundbreaking products
• Publish results and present at conferences in exciting areas, including cell-free DNA and cancer genomics

Requirements:

• Advanced degree (Ph.D.) in bioinformatics, computational biology, genomics, machine learning or a related field
• Extensive experience with cancer genomics including a deep understanding of tumor evolution, mutational signatures, and structural variation.
• Extensive experience with somatic mutational detection and filtering
• Experience with cancer liquid biopsy analysis
• Experience utilizing and training modern deep learning architectures, with a strong preference for candidates who have trained or fine-tuned Large Language Models (LLMs) to decode complex sequences.
• Proficiency with at least one common programming language (e.g., Python, R)
• A track record of designing and implementing experimental approaches to confirm and elaborate upon findings from complex projects
• Experience publishing and presenting scientific results
  

The hiring range for this position is $155,000 to $190,000 per year, which may factor in various geographic regions. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. Our full-time regular positions also include an annual performance-based bonus (or a sales incentive plan) and long-term incentive units (equity) provided as part of our compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.

Personalis is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to the full inclusion of all individuals. As part of this commitment, Personalis will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided with reasonable accommodations. If you need an accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please let your recruiter know, if/when they contacts you.

Protecting Our Candidates: At Personalis, we value your security. Please note that all official correspondence from our team will come exclusively from @personalis.com email addresses. We will never ask for personal financial information or conduct interviews over text or chat platforms. If you receive a suspicious request, it is likely a scam. We are committed to a safe recruitment experience and actively work with authorities to investigate and prosecute cyber crimes targeting our community.

Personalis is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabilities. Personalis offers a competitive compensation package and benefits including medical, dental, vision, 401(k) match, ESPP, tuition reimbursement, sick/vacation time, commuter benefits/ EV charging stations, onsite gym, and wellness benefits. (For US only, benefits in other countries may vary.) 

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