Technician, Sequencing & Bioinformatics - Genome Core (Relocation Assistance Available!)

Classification:

Exempt

Job Family:

Core Facilities

Reports to:

Director Genome Technology Core

Job Description Summary:

OVERALL RESPONSIBILITY

The Genomics Technology Core Technician serves as a central point of expertise for sequencing and analytical operations. This role bridges wet-lab execution and computational analysis, supporting both short- and long-read sequencing workflows. The Technician will help internal and external clients on sequencing technologies, guide project design, manage client communication, and deliver rigorous data pre-processing, quality control, and downstream analysis. Will contribute to hands-on support in the laboratory as needed.

CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES

• Advise clients on appropriate sequencing technologies (short-read, long-read, single-cell, spatial) and help define project parameters, expected outputs, and deliverables.
• Perform primary NGS data processing including demultiplexing, alignment, and quality assessment (FastQC, MultiQC, etc.).
• Conduct secondary analysis as required, including variant calling, differential expression, or genome assembly depending on project needs.
• Develop and maintain reproducible analysis pipelines.
• Use and update LIMS and genomics databases to track samples, datasets, and project metadata.
• Communicate effectively with researchers at all levels to ensure deliverables meet scientific objectives.
• Document protocols, analysis workflows, and results clearly for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Assist with NGS related services, quality control (Bioanalyzer, TapeStation, Qubit), and sequencer operation as needed.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of core facility processes and standard operating procedures.
• Other tasks, as required.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• BS in Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, or a related field; or equivalent experience.
• 3+ years of relevant hands-on experience.
• Demonstrated expertise coordinating NGS workflows including short-read (e.g., Illumina, Elements) and long-read (e.g., Oxford Nanopore, PacBio) sequencing platforms.
• Demonstrated expertise in single cell technologies.
• Experience advising researchers or clients on sequencing technology selection and experimental design.
• Proficiency with NGS data pre-processing and quality control tools (e.g., Trimmomatic, MultiQC, Samtools, CellRanger).
• Familiarity with common bioinformatics data analysis workflows.
• Command-line proficiency in a Linux/Unix environment; ability to write and maintain analysis scripts in Python.
• Experience with genomics databases and data management (e.g., LIMS, SQL or similar).
• Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills; demonstrated ability to manage external client relationships.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail in a high-throughput service environment.
• Willingness to contribute to bench-level laboratory work when scientific or operational needs arise.

Preferred

• Familiarity with spatial biology techniques.
• Familiarity with laboratory automation for liquid handling.
• Experience with workflow management systems (e.g., Snakemake, Nextflow) and version control (Git).
• Exposure to cloud computing environments or HPC clusters for large-scale data analysis.

Whitehead provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the Institute reasonably expects to pay for a position at the time of posting. The pay offered to a selected candidate during hiring will be based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate's work experience and education/training, and internal peer equity. This pay range represents base pay only and does not include any other benefits or compensation.

• Pay Range Minimum: 65,000
• Pay Range Maximum: 90,000

Whitehead Institute is an E-Verify employer

https://e-verify.uscis.gov/web/media/resourcesContents/E-Verify_Participation_Poster_ES.pdf