Job Description
Senior Bioinformatician, Vaccine Antigen Design

About the Company

DIOSynVax (Digital Immune Optimised Synthetic Vaccines) is a biotech spin-out from the University of Cambridge that specializes in novel vaccine antigen payload (VAP) design. With its proprietary IP based on structural and computational biology, pathogen genomics and synthetic biology, DIOSynVax is creating a pipeline of broad-spectrum vaccine antigen payloads that can be deployed in a variety of vaccine vectors, such as mRNA and viral vector technologies.

About the Role

The Senior Bioinformatician, Vaccine Antigen Design is the individual at DIOSynVax who
leverages bioinformatics theory and methods in areas such as pharmaceuticals, medical technology, biotechnology, computational biology, proteomics, computer information science, biology and medical informatics and applies it to synthetic vaccine antigen design. The post holder will design, supervise and personally undertake/participate in bioinformatics and statistical analyses for the development of a variety of VAPs, take an active role in developing and implementing the data management plan, as well as overseeing and coordinating the overall computational infrastructure and data management.

The role requires:

• Experience in planning, problem analysis, managing and delivering complex data analysis tasks
• The technical and managerial ability to acquire, structure, store and design and implement bioinformatics pipelines for complex multi-omics datasets
• Ability to promote an environment that delivers efficient code development/testing/verification including version control, unit tests, module tests and re-usability. Work towards creating a sustainable environment for the production of high-quality, verifiable and maintainable VAPs using agreed development standards.
• Ability to manage and coordinate the day to day running, data analysis and computational infrastructure aspects of a large multi-partner project.
• Leadership and management of a wide range of bioinformatics and statistical analyses, as well as standard pipelines, ensuring that they adhere to good practice, are consistent, reproducible and well-documented.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues, partners, and academic institutions to find solutions to project challenges.
  And …
• A desire and dedication to change the world, with the fortitude and commitment to navigate inevitable rocky roads while pioneering methods and ideas to unlock a new era of vaccine creation … one where protection is provided across virus families to prevent pandemic outbreaks when dangerous new variants cross into human.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Architect Duties

• Plan, manage and deliver complex data analysis tasks to arrive at VAPs that balance stability with immunological breadth.
• From initial design through to adjusted versions post in vivo feedback loop.
• Ensure knowledge-transfer from one design project to next.
• Manage and coordinate the day to day running, data analysis and computational infrastructure aspects of in-house or multi-partner projects.
• Produce high-quality, reproducible VAPs using agreed development standards
• Update and maintain data sets, data bases, lab manuals and all records.
• Assist in patent applications.
  Function Building and Management
• Work with the CTO to set the Company’s Bioinformatics strategy.
• Support the Head of Vaccine Antigen Design in the implementation of the bioinformatics strategy, as well as data quality and data security oversight.
• Establish development standards to produce high-quality, verifiable VAPs
• Establish and execute meeting cycle to disseminate the progress of VAP projects and attend periodic internal investment committee meetings.
• Manage a junior bioinformatician and co-supervise the bioinformatics-related activity of systems administrators
• Monitor performance and prepare progress and scientific reports as required by senior management.
• Identify potential risks and/or problems in a timely manner, propose and implement risk mitigation strategies to ensure effect on project deliverables is minimal.
• Identify additional resource requirements for the development of the department.
• Acquire, structure, store and design and implement bioinformatics pipelines for complex multi-omics datasets
• Create database architectures for diverse, heterogeneous data types on a wide range of architectures.
• Creation/curation/integration of databases for interaction by scientists and potentially collaborators and partners.
• Establish an environment that delivers efficient code development/ testing/verification including version control, unit tests, module tests and re-usability.
• Develop and implement standard procedures and data cataloguing using tiered storage and archive systems.
• Document VAP design protocols and SOPs; document algorithms and maintain instruction manuals.
• Regularly assess established procedures and VAPs against Target Product Profiles, emerging publications and best practice, and make recommendations to CSO and Head, Vaccine Antigen Design to improve and update VAP libraries.
• Oversee the design and implementation of scripts and interfaces to provide a seamless user environment across DIOSynVax computer systems and the data storage tiers.
• Establish Quality Control procedures in conjunction with wider department and company, in line with Company’s Quality Management System.
• Assist in liaison, communication and the building of relationships and scientific collaborations
• Liaise with the academic community, at all levels from post- graduate students to professors, seeking to harmonise collaborative goals and working relationships.
• Assist with grant proposals and publications.
• Lead on production and coordination of high-quality publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Qualifications/Education:

• Post-graduate qualification (in bioinformatics, computational biology, statistics, epidemiology, or other relevant quantitative sciences)
• PhD (in bioinformatics, computational biology, statistics, epidemiology, or other relevant quantitative sciences) or equivalent postgraduate research experience
• An ability to personally tackle a wide range of bioinformatics analyses, e.g. sequence-based analyses, proteomics, transcriptomics, genomics,
  metagenomics
• Experience of working in a multidisciplinary research environment
• Track record of publications and collaborative work commensurate with the level of appointment
• Demonstrated project management skills and experience, with success in executing research projects at a high-profile level
• Experience of using/coding analytics and statistics methods/software.
• Excellent understanding of the quantitative methodology and computational aspects of bioinformatics
• Strong Knowledge of scripting languages (e.g. Bash, Python, Perl) and comfortable working in a Linux environment
• Strong understanding and familiarity with key bio-data formats and data standards
• Understanding of relational databases, SQL
• Ability to plan, strategize and manage complex interdisciplinary tasks in
  Bioinformatics across multiple groups/sites
• Ability to supervise a wide range of bioinformatics analyses, including sequence- based analyses
• A high level of analytical capability and ability to take the initiative to develop solutions to complex data problems
• Ability to perform effectively under pressure and multitask to reach multiple tight deadlines
• Ability to assess priorities, working with a minimum of supervision and initiate action, resolving problems where appropriate
• Outstanding interpersonal, communication and presentation skills
• Strong experience in working effectively with a wide range of staff including an ability to build effective working relationships across academia at a minimum and preferably across commercial organisations.
• Ability to handle confidential information with tact and discretion
• Willingness to travel nationally and internationally for meetings, conferences etc. Ability to regularly review own training needs and attend training as necessary
• Flexibility to work out of hours on occasion and as required.

Equal Employment Opportunity
DIOSynVax is an equal opportunity employer. DIOSynVax evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, disability/handicap status or any other legally protected characteristic.