Senior Scientist - Bioinformatics
Auckland, New Zealand
The Ministry for Primary Industries' Plant Health & Environment Laboratory (PHEL) in Auckland has a fixed-term vacancy (36 months) for a senior bioinformatician to work on a project to develop a bioinformatics toolkit for the detection of known viruses and the discovery of novel viruses from high-throughput sequencing data. The toolkit will be used to support the work of both the PHEL and the Animal Health Laboratory in Wallaceville.
In this role, you will be expected to develop an in-house automated bioinformatics toolkit for the screening of viruses in plant and animal samples of biosecurity importance. The work will involve developing an in-house viral protein database, a statistical model-based profile of conserved domains and k-mer based-approaches for virus detection. For the toolkit to be intuitive and user-friendly, it will be supported by the development of software with an easy-to-use graphical user interface to allow the laboratory diagnosticians to easily perform data analysis.
Our ideal candidate will be a highly motivated individual with the following qualifications and experience
- PhD or postgraduate qualification in biology, computer science or a related discipline
- Experience in developing software packages and/or bioinformatics tools
- Skills in one or more programming languages, e.g. Python, Perl, R, Java, C++.
- Good knowledge of molecular biology and statistics
- Proven project management skills
- Proven planning and organisational skills
- Outcome focused
- A team player with the ability to easily form relationships
- Leadership ability, initiative, and sound judgment with an ability to think outside of the square
- Excellent communication skills
The Ministry for Primary Industries is committed to providing a working environment that embraces and values inclusion and diversity. Your unique talents and experience will help us deliver exceptional services to our communities in Aotearoa. In return, you'll enjoy an inclusive and flexible working environment in a diverse team of people while you're growing your career here in NZ and internationally. We actively encourage applications from all backgrounds. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to tell us when you apply so that we can assist you through the recruitment process.
How to Apply:
To apply for this role you must hold the right to work in New Zealand or be eligible to obtain it - click here to find out more about work visa eligibility and options.
To view the position description and/or apply for the role visit the MPI Careers Site. For tracking and reporting purposes, all applications must be submitted through our online careers portal.
For detailed information on this role please refer to the position description or contact Michelle Pearson, Senior Recruitment Adviser, michelle.pearson@mpi.govt.nz
Applications close: 22 August 2019
For more info and position description, please visit https://careers.mpi.govt.nz/jobs/MPI19-1410388
is this an international job opportunity? @ bioinfo
Yes, anyone can apply. Applicants from outside of New Zealand and Australia can apply for a work visa with our sponsorship/appointment letter, once selected.
Excellent ..thanks... bioinfo