Director Bioinformatics

Job Title: Director Bioinformatics

Grade F

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Salary: Competitive & Excellent Benefits Package 

Introduction to Role:

Are you ready to explore and innovate in a dynamic environment? AstraZeneca is seeking a highly skilled Bioinformatics leader with a strong desire to enable multi-omics biology, at the bulk and spatial level, in drug discovery and development. This position offers a rare opportunity to gain experience in a variety of computational approaches, work with industry leaders, and contribute directly to the development of future drugs across many diseases. 

Responsibilities:

• Manage a team of expert bioinformaticians and oversee the design and execution of multiple novel informatics solutions

• Leads data science projects of defined scope, potentially across multiple locations

• Define and oversee training and advice to collaborators on optimal use of key data, platforms and the appropriate use of complex informatics solutions

• Collaborates across the Astrazeneca Informatic communities to develop best practices and cross functional opportunities that drive value

• Oversight of partnerships with multiple third-parties, academic or outsourced partners to shape and drive project outcomes and knowledge building

• Build in-silico capabilities to advance multi-omics technologies that measure transcripts, proteins, and metaboloites at both the bulk and spatial levels to discover novel mechanisms of action for our compounds

• Drive hypothesis generation by applying computational biology approaches, data integration, and combining biological knowledge

• Implement new predictive capabilities using computational biology to translate omics data into biological insights 

• Collaborate with academic research groups and contribute to publications in peer-reviewed journals

• Help educate and train AstraZeneca colleagues in omics data intepretation and related areas

Requirements:

• PhD in computational biosciences (e.g., computational biology, bioinformatics, genomics or computer science) is preferred; or MSc (or equivalent) with experience in independent research in high-throughput omics data will also be considered

• Experience designing bioinformatic solutions for computational toxicology, predictive safety and off-target liabilities.

• Demonstrated experience in transcriptomics, proteomics or metabolomics data analysis. Skill-sets in additional computational biology domains are a plus.

• Demonstrated expertise in R or Python, together with data visualisation frameworks (e.g., ggplot2, matplotlib or others)

• Use of basic statistics (e.g., parametric and non-parametric tests, p-values, correlation metrics, PCA) and good experimental design practices (e.g., batch effects, confounding factors)

• Demonstrated experiences or a keen interest in learning data science techniques, such as machine learning, for biological problems

• Team player mindset and ability to explain complex topics to scientists from other disciplines

Desirable:

• Proven track record of publishing relevant results and tools in peer-reviewed journals, conferences, and other scientific proceedings.

• Experience in independent scientific research

• Knowledge of molecular mechanisms of disease or human biomedicine, particularly in a drug safety context

• Excellent written and verbal communication, business analysis, and consultancy skills 

• Experience in a complex global organization

• Excellent ability to work on multiple projects at the same time

• Knowledge of drug discovery or pharmaceutical development

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

At AstraZeneca, we are a dedicated distributed team that's powering the company to better serve patients every day, and we follow the science to explore and innovate. We are working towards treating, preventing, modifying and even curing some of the world's most complex diseases. We have built our business around our passion for science. Now we are fusing data and technology with the latest scientific innovations to achieve the next wave of breakthroughs. We are always listening and learning from people who live with the diseases our medicines treat. It enables us to better understand their needs and, ultimately, diagnose and design the right treatments to impact patients' lives.

Are you ready to make an impact on patients' lives? Join us at AstraZeneca where we are driven by our shared belief in what science can do. Apply today!