Project Trainee Jobs in Delta, BC (NOW HIRING)

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Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

This position is expected to be filled by promotion/reassignment and is included here to inform you of its vacancy at the University.

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary
The Kobor Lab is seeking a highly motivated, ambitious, and senior Research Scientist to provide strategic, technical, and operational leadership across our diverse research portfolio. Operating with a high degree of autonomy, the successful applicant will assume full accountability for leading and managing multiple funded research streams. This includes overseeing project workplans, establishing timelines and protocols, directing resource allocation, and resolving complex scientific and operational issues. Current key streams within this portfolio include multi-cohort human population studies investigating the genomic embedding of life experiences across the lifespan, as well as cell-based simulation studies examining molecular marks associated with environmental exposures. The incumbent will be responsible for the technical direction and execution of high-dimensional data generation (genotyping, DNA methylation, proteomics, and mRNA expression) and the strategic oversight of integrative bioinformatic analyses combining these datasets with phenotype and environmental exposure data.

As a senior leader within the laboratory, the ideal applicant will possess a proven track record of managing independent and collaborative research streams, alongside a deep expertise in statistical genomics, epigenetics, and gene regulation. Beyond technical execution, this role requires a candidate who can effectively supervise and mentor research staff and trainees, coordinate with international collaborators, and ensure the successful delivery of high-throughput data generation and complex bioinformatics pipelines.
Organizational Status
This position reports to the lead Principal Investigator Dr. Michael Kobor (Medical Genetics), and works in conjunction with other investigators and research personnel within the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics (CMMT) and BC Children's Hospital Research Institute (BCCHRI). The position will provide supervision and mentorship to trainees, technicians and graduate students, and interact with local, national, and international collaborators on a regular basis.
Work Performed

Leads the planning, organization, implementation, and delivery of assigned funded research projects or research streams, including developing and managing workplans, timelines, milestones, protocols, budgets, resource requirements, project documentation, and deliverables.

Designs, performs, and evaluates data quality of bench-based high-throughput microarrays (DNA methylation, genome-wide SNP typing) studies

Provides scientific and technical guidance to collaborators regarding sample collection, sample preparation, assay selection, study design considerations, data generation requirements, and quality control expectations to ensure successful execution of experiments. Reviews current literature, evaluates emerging methodological developments, and recommends, develops, and implements new or revised sequencing-based, proteomic, transcriptomic, and multi-omic approaches to support assigned research objectives and enhance the lab's technical and analytical capacity.

Manages, trains, and supervises research technicians in microarray and sequencing-based sample processing

Performs, oversees, and interprets complex statistical and bioinformatics analyses of high-throughput epigenomic, genotyping, sequencing, proteomic, transcriptomic, phenotype, and environmental exposure data; identifies associations between molecular profiles, environmental exposures, stress, disease, development, and health outcomes in human and cell-based studies.

Provides senior-level scientific and technical guidance to collaborators, lab members, and project teams across CMMT, UBC, and BCCHRI on the application of bioinformatics and epigenomic approaches, including resolving complex analytical, methodological, and data interpretation issues across model systems and population-scale studies.

Acts as project lead for assigned local, national, and international collaborations, including coordinating research activities, setting project expectations, facilitating meetings, tracking deliverables, resolving project issues, and ensuring collaborators receive timely scientific and technical information related to projects on the biological embedding of life experiences and environmental exposures.

Presents research findings, methodological approaches, project updates, and interpretation of results to collaborators, research teams, funding partners, and the broader scientific community.

Contributes to strategic planning for the lab's bioinformatics and high-throughput data generation needs by identifying emerging methodological requirements, technical gaps, infrastructure needs, and opportunities to strengthen analytical capacity; works with the Principal Investigator to identify funding opportunities and develops scientific ideas, methodological approaches, preliminary data, and project plans for inclusion in grant proposals.

Leads or substantially contributes to the preparation of scientific outputs, including manuscripts, reports, abstracts, presentations, grant materials, funding proposals, and other scientific communications related to assigned projects.

Provides regular updates to Dr. Kobor and research group regarding project status, risks, timelines, deliverables, data quality, staffing needs, collaborator issues, and scientific or technical concerns requiring resolution.

Performs other administrative and related duties in the lab.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
The incumbent will make important decisions affecting the productivity of the lab. Poor judgment could result in loss of experimental data and delay in conducting research, which could impact collaborations, publications, and future funding. Studies may be jeopardized if not conducted according to ethical requirements as laid out by the University and by regulatory authorities. Study files must be kept secured to ensure that patient confidentiality is not compromised. An error within the realm of a research study may result in biased or incomplete data and skewed study results. Errors made and poor decisions may be damaging to the reputation of the Principal Investigator, the School, and the University and could lead to incorrect or inappropriate policy recommendations being made.
Supervision Received
Direction is provided by the Principal Investigator, Dr. Kobor; however, the position requires a strong independent work ethic and a candidate capable of setting their own directions and priorities within a given framework and working within agreed-upon milestones and timelines.
Supervision Given
Manages and oversees research assistants, junior staff and students as required.

Assists and provides guidelines to other research members as required.

Minimum Qualifications
Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of three years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one's own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one's own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Extensive experience working with DNA-based microarrays and high-throughput sequencing experiments.
• Extensive knowledge with biospecimen collection (blood, saliva, buccal swabs) to effectively advise collaborators with sample preparation-related inquiries.
• Excellent record-keeping skills.
• Excellent programming skills and mastery in one or more high level programming language (R preferred).
• Experience in writing executable R scripts, and debugging code.
• Extensive experience working with DNA methylation, genotyping, expression, and/or multi-dimensional genomics or population data. Experience working with sequencing data. Knowledge with the development of novel packages/analysis pipelines.
• Intermediate to high level understanding of statistical modeling and tests.
• Experience with cluster computing and working in a Unix environment would be an asset. Proficiency with MS Word, Excel and databases.
• Ability to troubleshoot and optimize bench-side experiments with high efficiency.
• Accuracy and attention to detail required.
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
• Ability to develop and maintain cooperative and productive working relationships. Ability to deal with a diversity of people in a calm, courteous, and effective manner.
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities and work effectively under pressure to meet deadlines.
• Excellent leadership skills and experience leading small teams.
• Ability to keep abreast of current developments and trends in the field of information technology.
• Must conduct all activities in an ethical manner and treat funding information and research data confidentially.