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The George Washington University · 22 hours ago

Bioinformatics Specialist II

Washington, DC

Full-time

Hybrid

Mid, Senior Level

$62K/yr - $101K/yr

5+ years exp

The George Washington University is seeking a collaborative and experienced Bioinformatics Specialist II to support research in microbial genomics and the human microbiome. The role involves leading complex analyses of genomic datasets, developing analytical pipelines, and contributing to study design and interpretation in a public health research context.

Higher Education

No H1B

Responsibilities

Apply metagenomic, single-cell, and bulk transcriptomics approaches to characterize how microbiome composition and function modulate innate immune responses, and how immune-mediated pressures in turn reshape microbial communities and influence host susceptibility to infectious and inflammatory diseases

Develop and apply analytic pipelines integrating genomic and epidemiologic data to study the emergence, evolution, and transmission of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens across human, animal, and environmental reservoirs, with emphasis on resistance determinants, population structure, and transmission networks

Integrate microbiome–immune analysis, microbial ecology, and molecular epidemiology frameworks to elucidate how immune-driven and ecological selection pressures contribute to pathogen fitness, antimicrobial resistance emergence, and spread across interconnected One Health systems

Use bioinformatics, statistics, data science, and machine learning to build risk models and surveillance tools that connect host immunity, microbial ecology, and pathogen transmission dynamics, enabling targeted interventions, prevention strategies, and policy-relevant insights

Maintain and update bioinformatics pipelines and workflows

Perform data management, quality control, and documentation to ensure reproducible analyses

Work in a high-performance computing (HPC) environment

Work closely with principal investigators (Drs. Lance Price and Cindy Liu), senior scientists, and other members of the wet and dry lab team at ARAC to facilitate project management, study design, data curation and analysis

Work closely with external collaborators at other institutions to facilitate data curation and analysis for multi-omic datasets and clinical studies

Contribute to abstracts, posters, and manuscripts for scientific publications and presentations

Assist with training students or staff in bioinformatics methods, as appropriate

Performs other related duties as assigned

Qualification

BioinformaticsGenomics analysisMicrobiome researchR programmingPython programmingHigh-performance computingData scienceMachine learningStatistical analysisCollaborationCommunication skillsMentoring

Required

Bachelor's degree in an appropriate area of specialization plus 5 years of relevant professional experience. Degree must be conferred by the start date of the position

Demonstrated experience analyzing genomics and/or multi-omics datasets, preferably in microbiology, microbiome science, infectious disease, or antimicrobial resistance research

Proficiency in R and/or Python, with working knowledge of Bash or similar scripting environments for data processing and pipeline development

Experience with working in high-performance computing (HPC) environments using version control systems (e.g., GitHub), and developing reproducible, well-documented analytical workflows

Demonstrated peer-reviewed publication record required, including at least one first-author publication or clear evidence of leading analytical components of published studies

Strong conceptual understanding of microbial genomics, microbial ecology, and evolutionary processes, including relevance to host interactions or pathogen transmission

Excellent verbal and written English communication skills

Proven ability to work effectively in a collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment, interacting with biologists and clinicians

Preferred

MS in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, or a related quantitative field with 5 or more years of experience, or PhD with demonstrated research productivity preferred