EDIT: Applications have been closed for this position and candidates are being evaluated
Athletigen is a sports genetics startup that aims to discover how people do amazing things. We have a core scientific team with extensive knowledge of human genetics and its widespread effects on different athletic and non-athletic traits. Our goal is to become the biggest and best sports genetics company. We will offer extensive personalized training tools based on genetics and build an engaged community of athletes, coaches, and scientists.
As a Bioinformatics Programmer and Analyst at Athletigen you will join a fast-paced and creative team in building a personalized genomics product people will love. A major part of our platform is generating content for our web application by mining genetics research papers for markers that affect athletic performance, human physiology, and other relevant traits. Your primary role will be to program bioinformatic rules and analytics for associating genetic markers with outcomes based on scientific literature mining and analyzed by Athletigen's science team. You will also be engaged in developing and testing enhanced analytics for both internal use or for use within the web application, or new components for end users. You may be asked to provide input and feedback on the scientific research and report generation process. As part of the Athletigen Scientific and Engineering Teams you also may be engaged in research collaborations with outside partners, engage in internal research, be involved in scientific publications, and participate in other areas of research and development.
Requirements
The person we are seeking will fulfill the following minimum requirements:
- MSc (Preferred) or BSc + 2 years work experience in Bioinformatics or a biological science with extensive and documented programming experience/knowledge
- Comfortable programming in Python and R
- Some experience with relational databases and systems (MySQL)
- Knowledge of Java an asset
- Experience using Git-based version control
- Follows good code documentation practices
- Experience running analyses in a linux environment
- Experience with Amazon Web Services an asset
- Team member with experience working in interdisciplinary teams
- Clear thinker with strong organizational skills
- Ability to communicate intelligently and clearly
- Familiarity with public resources and databases such as Ensembl, dbSNP, the 1000 Genomes Project, HapMap, etc
- Experience with human genetics data, particularly SNP genotyping data preferred
Ideal Candidate
You will have experience in programming and working with data from human genetics projects and be excited about using your knowledge to develop a product that provides value to people. You have a strong interest in learning new skills, particularly from areas of emerging web technologies. You have some experience working with interdisciplinary groups. You demonstrate effective time and task management. You are familiar with current bioinformatics tools and techniques, particularly for working with genotype or sequencing data. An understanding of how genetics and biochemical processes influence physiology and physical performance would be an asset.
To be a part of the Athletigen team, any applicants must have a strong work ethic and be self-motivated. The ability to manage time effectively and complete tasks independently is a must. We are seeking team players who can complete tasks in an independent manner but will also seek guidance and advice from fellow team members when required and in a timely fashion. The ideal candidate will be living in, or willing to relocate to, Halifax. Individual's without a MSc but who possess a BSc and appropriate research experience may be considered.
You may be asked to complete a small programming assignment as part of the pre-interview selection process.
Hours: Full-time @ Athletigen HQ in downtown Halifax, N.S.
Contact: Please send a resume and cover letter to jobs@athletigen.com, or drop into our office at Volta Labs on 5415 Spring Garden Rd. Halifax, N.S.
