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Job Summary
The Ismagilov Lab at Caltech is hiring a full-time Bioinformatics Support Specialist for a 2-year term position. Reporting to Professor Rustem Ismagilov, the successful candidate will contribute to the lab's key projects and collaborations in human health, which include: developing novel tools that improve biological AI models by orders of magnitude; developing closed-loop systems that combine robotics and AI for rapid autonomous experimentation; discovering in human tissues novel bacteria, fungi and viruses (and corresponding genes and pathways) responsible for heath and disease; developing novel diagnostic approaches; understanding microbial origins of human diseases. Additional details about the lab can be found at http://ismagilovlab.caltech.edu/
Essential Job Duties

• Assist graduate students, postdocs, and research staff with bioinformatics/computational components of all ongoing projects.
• Contribute to manuscript preparation and grant proposals, data visualization, and scientific presentations.
• A highly motivated and qualified candidate may additionally develop their own independent aspects of ongoing projects.

Bioinformatic Analyses

• Learn and apply state-of-the-art statistical and computational methods for analyzing datasets from shotgun metagenomics, amplicon sequencing, and RNA-sequencing experiments.
• Assist in the design, implementation, and benchmarking of in-silico experiments.
• Generate computational results and publication-quality figures for clear communication of results to lab members and external collaborators.

Scripting and Automation

• Collaborate with lab members and external colleagues to learn and implement best practice methods and packages for data analysis and processing in the lab.
• Work with lab members to understand needed bioinformatic capabilities and develop tools to accomplish them.
• Work with lab members and external collaborators to help them develop, execute, and maintain state-of-the-art data processing pipelines on Caltech high-performance computing (HPC) clusters.
• Develop and maintain scripts for routine analysis tasks such as qPCR quantification.
• Develop and maintain scripts for automated robotic platforms to perform laboratory procedures.
• Help lab members test and integrate LLM-based AI tools to improve efficiency of research tasks such as experimental design and technical writing.

Bioinformatic Maintenance

• Maintain well-organized computational workspaces, including data storage, version-control systems, containerization, and documentation in a neat, detailed electronic lab notebook.
• Maintain reference databases of microbial genomes, gene clusters, antimicrobial resistance markers, and metabolic pathways.
• Maintain organized and version-controlled repositories and containerized computational environments (Docker/Conda), using Python and/or R.
• Assist with data management on remote computing clusters and back-up servers, including organizing raw and processed data, maintaining version control, and ensuring data integrity and reproducibility.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in science with educational emphasis in computational sciences, bioinformatics, biology, microbiology, computer science, bioinformatics, computational biology, data science, or a related field required at time of application.
• Experience with programming languages for scripting and data analysis: Python, R, and Bash required.
• Familiarity with basic molecular biology topics.
• Experience (including coursework or internships) in data analysis using at least one scripting or programming language (e.g., Python, MATLAB, R).
• Experience working with next generation sequencing data and/or big data (e.g. genomics, RNA-seq, single-cell RNA-seq, epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc.).
• Experience working in Linux/Unix environments.
• Strong drive to learn and to make positive impacts on the lab and lab's mission.
• Ability and desire to collaborate and support collaborative projects.
• Highly detail-oriented; must have examples of well-documented code (e.g., Git repositories) involving complex technical tasks or data analyses available upon request.
• Ability to rapidly learn technical skills, particularly in computational methods and bioinformatic workflows.
• Strong organizational, time-management, and project-management skills; ability to professionally and continuously communicate priorities, workload, and current progress to all lab members.
• Must be able to use sound judgment to handle multiple simultaneous tasks, prioritize effectively, and troubleshoot problems independently.
• Must be able to work independently as well as part of a collaborative team in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Ability to write clean, well-documented, and reproducible code for data processing and analysis.
• Ambition to develop research skills and advance scientific understanding through high-quality computational analyses and interpretation of biological data.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with cloud computing environments (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud, or institutional equivalents) and using High-Performance Computing (HPC) clusters with the Slurm workload manager.
• Experience performing bioinformatic analyses involving shotgun metagenomics, RNA sequencing, or 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
• Experience with workflow management systems for pipeline automation (e.g., Snakemake, Nextflow).
• Proficiency with Git for collaborative coding, project tracking, and version control.
• Experience performing statistical analyses or modeling of complex biological datasets.
• Experience with containerization (Docker, Conda, Singularity).
• Experience creating visualizations or interactive notebooks (e.g., Jupyter, R Markdown, Dash).
• Experience fine-tuning LLMs for analysis or writing tasks.
• Co-authorship on a scientific publication.
• Solid understanding of statistical analysis methods (NHST, probability distributions, etc.)
• Ambition to pursue advanced training or career in computational biology, bioinformatics, ambition to enter a top medical or graduate school or a similar high-performance, high-impact environment in industry or academia.

Required Documents

• Resume (describe relevant experiences and accomplishments).
• Cover letter with specific examples demonstrating a) candidate's alignment with lab's mission, b) candidate's level of ambition, motivation, and drive; c) candidate's attention to detail and ability to produce data others can trust; d) the level of technical mastery of the top three most relevant experimental skills described in the resume.
• GitHub (preferred) or code examples.

Hiring Range
$19.00 - $25.75 per hour
The salary of the finalist(s) selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, internal equity, experience, education, specialty and training.
As one of the largest employers in Pasadena, CA, Caltech is committed to providing comprehensive benefits to eligible employees and their eligible dependents. Our benefits package includes competitive compensation, health, dental, and vision insurance, retirement savings plans, generous paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick time, parental leave, bereavement, etc.), tuition reimbursement, and more. Non-benefit eligible employees will have access to some benefits such as onsite counseling and sick time. Learn more about our benefits and staff perks.
EEO Statement
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Caltech is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.
To read more Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) go to eeoc_self_print_poster.pdf.
Disability Accommodations
Caltech complies with the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We consider reasonable accommodation measures that may be necessary for eligible applicants and employees to perform the essential functions of a position.
If you would like to request an accommodation to complete this application, interview, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please contact Caltech Recruiting at employment@caltech.edu.
Additionally, if you do not meet the basic qualifications of a role but believe you can perform the essential functions of the job with reasonable accommodation, please reach out to Caltech Recruiting at employment@caltech.edu.