Senior Research Scientist in Bioinformatics

Are you a motivated Bioinformatician with a strong analytical mindset? We are looking for individuals who are eager to leverage their computational skills to help us advance our approaches for in-silico drug target identification and validation. Is that you? If your answer is yes, we invite you to join us on our mission to develop novel medicines and improve the lives of millions worldwide!


We are looking for a Senior Data Scientist to join our team at our vibrant AstraZeneca R&D site in Gothenburg, Sweden. This position is located within the Data Sciences & Quantitative Biology department - a global, diverse and delivery focused department where we collaborate to support drug projects striving to impact patients' lives. The role is on-site in Gothenburg, Sweden and will not have the ability to be located remotely.

We are a diverse team of computational scientists from various backgrounds, representing over five nationalities and speaking more than ten languages. We pride ourselves on fostering an inclusive and collaborative work environment where innovation thrives, and diverse perspectives are valued. Our team is dedicated to continuous learning and scientific excellence, with a strong focus on next-generation sequencing (NGS) omics as our key technology.

Our mission is to advance patient care by gaining insights into human biology and facilitating the discovery of new therapeutics. This involves supporting the identification of novel drug targets and prioritizing targets within our drug discovery portfolio by delivering data analysis solutions for high-dimensional biological datasets.

What you'll do?
As a Senior Data Scientist you will be working in equal parts on capability development and project delivery. In other words, you'll be instrumental in both building data analysis pipelines, as well as to utilize these tools to help answer critical questions in drug discovery projects.

You will be empowered and encouraged to engage with your stakeholders and collaborators independently to ensure timely and accurate delivery to running projects, advise on experiment design and technological choices and interpretation of results.

Typical job accountabilities will include:
* Work in close collaboration with wet-lab scientists that are designing the experiments, sequencing facility and fellow bioinformaticians across the company to develop innovative data science approaches
* Maintain, extend, and further refine our analytical pipelines, as well as supporting ongoing projects with your computational expertise and domain knowledge
* Facilitate effective communication across diverse project teams, including wet-lab scientists and computational biologists, ensuring clear dissemination of your findings
* Foster scientific innovation and excellence by developing robust software and processes, following the advancements in literature and identify opportunities for improvement
* Ensure your work is efficiently communicated, well-documented, maintained, and shared or published when appropriate

Who are you?
We are looking for a skilled bioinformatician with a proven track record of delivering analytical solutions in business or academic setting, ideally both. Your ability to transform detailed requests into comprehensive insights through collaboration with colleagues, partners, and stakeholders will be crucial.

Essential requirements for the role
* A PhD or equivalent research experience in Bioinformatics, Genetics, Computer Science, or a Biology/Medicine degree with a strong focus on data analysis
* Knowledge of human genetics and cell biology, ideally within a disease context, as well as experience working with data from biological assays and in vivo/in vitro model systems
* A strong publication record demonstrating expertise in data analysis, management, and visualization in RNA/DNA-based omics or multivariate/high-dimensional omics integration
* A deep understanding of CRISPR technology and its applications in drug discovery, in particular familiarity with analytical protocols such as Change-Seq, Guide-Seq, CIRCLE-Seq, ONE-Seq is a big plus
* Proficiency in R, Bioconductor, RMarkdown, and related coding tools, along with knowledge of best practices for code structuring, documentation, and versioning using Git/GitHub
* Experience working in a Linux/Unix environment, including shell scripting and standard command-line tools
* A proactive professional approach with a curiosity for advances in research and an eagerness to learn new skills and explore new fields

Desirable qualifications for the role
* Experience working in a pre-clinical drug discovery environment within the pharmaceutical or biotech industry
* Experience with Python (including the Pandas and NumPy stack) or a similar programming language (e.g., C++, Rust)
* Familiarity with conda and tools for reproducible research like Snakemake or Nextflow
* Familiarity with high-performance computing (HPC) systems and their applications in data-intensive research

Why AstraZeneca?
At AstraZeneca, we follow the science to explore and innovate. We are working towards treating, preventing, modifying and even curing some of the world's most complex diseases. We are committed to making a difference by fusing data and technology with the latest scientific innovations to achieve the next wave of breakthroughs.

What's next?
Are you ready to make a difference? Apply now to join our team! We look forward to receiving your application (including CV and cover letter) no later than January 10, 2025. NOTE - Due to the holiday season, the screening process may take a bit longer than usual - please bear with us, and we will get back to you as soon as possible when we are back at work in January.