New

Principle Bioinformatics Scientist

Children's National Medical Center
remote work
United States, D.C., Washington
Mar 13, 2026
Description The Principal Bioinformatics Scientist is the highest individual contributor role within the bioinformatics track, serving as a domain expert and scientific leader across multiple projects, technologies, and disease areas. This position requires a Ph.D. in a biological or computational discipline and 12-15 years of experience in applied bioinformatics, including leadership of independent computational research or development efforts. The Principal Scientist independently drives scientific collaborations, develops novel analytical strategies and tools, supports funded research programs, mentors across job functions, and shapes institutional standards in open science, reproducibility, and infrastructure. Ideal candidates bring a record of publications, tool or method development, open-source contributions, and a strong commitment to collaborative, high-impact science. Qualifications Minimum Education Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Biological or computational discipline (Required) Minimum Work Experience 12 years 12-15 years in applied bioinformatics, genomics, and computational work (can be inclusive of relevant years of a computational Ph.D. dissertation) (Required) Required Skills/Knowledge Technical Skills * Expert proficiency in UNIX/Linux environments. * Expert-level programming and data analysis skills in R, Python, or equivalent. * Deep experience with NGS, microarray, multi-omics, and other high-throughput platforms and their application to specific biological questions. * Expertise with a broad range of bioinformatics tools, pipelines, and genomic databases, such as GATK, UCSC Genome Browser, Bioconductor, ENCODE, NCBI, Kids First, gnomAD, ClinVar, OMIM, HGMD, and COSMIC. * Demonstrated expertise in GitHub, containerization (Docker, Podman, and/or Singularity), and workflow automation. * Strong grasp of workflow management tools (e.g., Snakemake, Nextflow, WDL, CWL). * Expertise using high-performance computing (HPC) environments and/or cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud) for large-scale analyses. * Ability to develop user-facing bioinformatics applications using tools such as RShiny or Python Streamlit. Scientific & Analytical Skills * Demonstrated ability to design and execute robust statistical analyses across diverse genomic and proteomic data types. * Deep expertise interpreting and visualizing results in biological or clinical contexts. * Deep domain expertise in at least one disease area or biological system through publications, pipelines, tools, and/or open-source contributions. * Experience writing scientific manuscripts, figure and methods development, and manuscript authorship. Collaborative and Professional Skills * Ability to lead complex interdisciplinary projects and guide teams from analysis to publication. * Strong mentorship skills and demonstrated ability to train junior scientists and analysts. * Excellent organizational, communication, and presentation skills. * Proven ability to interact effectively with investigators, clinicians, laboratory staff, peers, and institutional leadership. * Commitment to open and team science practices, including transparency, reproducibility, shared documentation, and collaborative problem-solving. * Familiarity with project management tools and methodologies such as Scrum, Agile, Jira, GitHub Projects, Trello, or Asana to coordinate timelines, tasks, and deliverables across teams. Functional Accountabilities Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Uphold the highest ethical standards and integrity in all scientific activities. Ensure data privacy and patient confidentiality standards. Maintain reproducibility and transparency in code, workflows, and documentation. Properly cite software tools, data sources, and collaborators. Comply with institutional policies and federal regulations governing research and data use. Independent Research & Method Innovation Lead and execute independent bioinformatics projects or tool development efforts aligned with institutional priorities. Innovate new methodologies, pipelines, or frameworks to address emerging challenges in multi-omics research. Drive the scientific vision for computational strategies used in collaborative studies and grant applications. Translate biological hypotheses into analytical designs and computational architecture. Infrastructure, Tool Development & Technical Leadership Resolve advanced, multi-layered bioinformatics and workflow issues independently. Guide platform architecture for reproducible and sustainable computational infrastructure. Resolve the most advanced technical challenges across data types, systems, and pipelines. Set best practices for code development, testing, versioning, and release management. Strategic Collaboration, Grant Support & Program Development Lead or co-lead institutional or multi-center research collaborations. Provide strategic consultation to faculty, core services, and program leads on bioinformatics infrastructure and project planning. Identify, apply for, and secure grant funding to support independent computational research or collaborative initiatives. Serve as a lead or co-investigator on research proposals, contributing analytical aims, budget planning, and team coordination. Align bioinformatics strategy with long-term research program goals and external partnerships. Coordinate timelines and deliverables using project management tools (e.g., Jira, GitHub Projects, Asana) and collaborative workflows. Mentorship & Scientific Leadership Mentor junior scientists, engineers, analysts, and trainees in technical and scientific development. Develop training curricula, technical guides, and best practice documentation for team-wide growth. Foster an inclusive, collaborative, and scientifically rigorous culture across teams and disciplines. Review and advise on institutional bioinformatics hiring, recruitment, and mentoring practices. Community Engagement, Open Science & Domain Expertise Lead development of open-source tools, datasets, and standards-aligned resources. Represent Children's National in national and international consortia, working groups, and conferences. Organize and deliver advanced workshops and training sessions for internal and external audiences. Deepen and disseminate domain-specific expertise (e.g., pediatric brain tumors, rare disease) through publications, invited talks, and community contributions. Shape institutional policies and infrastructure for data sharing, reproducibility, and sustainability. Organizational Accountabilities Organizational Accountabilities (Leader) Deliver Set and clearly communicate team goals and priorities in alignment with departmental goals and budgets Develop the budget and assign resources to meet the team goals Provide the resources and guidance required for employees to perform effectively Develop procedures to ensure high safety and quality, and course-correct as needed Identify customers' needs and ensure service excellence in meeting those needs Engage Be the link between the department and the team in defining the strategies to meet team goals Provide prompt and clear feedback to staff and support their performance Ensure team adherence to organizational regulations Manage the working environment to promote productivity and motivation Represent the team in clearing obstacles to high performance Hire staff and develop their capabilities Monitor and promote strong employee engagement Grow Encourage and share new ways of making the right work easier to do Recognize and share incremental improvements in operations Promote the success of organizational and department initiatives by clearly aligning programs to the mission Primary Location : District of Columbia-Washington Work Locations : Remote Work Location 111 Michigan Avenue NW Washington 20010 Job : Research Organization : Ctr Cancer & Immunology Rsrch Position Status : R (Regular) - FT - Full-Time Shift : Day Work Schedule : 40 Job Posting : Mar 10, 2026, 6:07:35 PM Full-Time Salary Range : 151217 - 252028