Senior Scientist - Bioinformatics (Target Validation)

Are you an engaged Bioinformatician with great understanding of target identification? Are you seeking a new challenge where your expertise can make an extraordinary impact? This is an opportunity to join a dynamic and enthusiastic environment - welcome to AstraZeneca!

We are in search of a Senior Research Scientist in Bioinformatics to play an important part in our Quantitative Biology team at AstraZeneca in Gothenburg, Sweden. Our focus includes supporting the identification of novel drug targets as well as prioritization of targets within our drug discovery portfolio by providing data analysis solutions to high dimensional biological datasets.

You'll be part of Data Sciences & Quantitative Biology - a delivery focused department where we collaborate to support drug projects aiming to impact patients' lives. In partnership with our experimentalist colleagues, we provide computational analysis and solutions to enable and enhance output from our technical platforms driving our drug discovery efforts. We encourage you to join us in our journey to develop novel medicines and improve lives of millions of people worldwide!

What you'll do:
This position includes the ability to collaborate with experimentalists and bioinformaticians across the company to develop novel data science approaches to target identification and validation. You will impact, prototype and build analytical pipelines for identifying novel drug targets as well as prioritizing and triaging existing portfolio of targets using computational expertise and domain knowledge.

You are responsible to organize and ensure effective communication between experimental scientists and computational biologists and improve the company's ability to prioritize target selection and portfolio projects based on probability of technical success. As well as show scientific excellence in software, processes and results.

Essential in this role:

* PhD or similar research experience in Bioinformatics, Genetics, Computer Science, or alternatively a Biology or Medicine degree with a strong emphasis on data analysis
* Knowledge of human genetics, cell biology and/or a solid understanding of a disease area
* An understanding of in vivo / in vitro model systems, as well as modern approaches to identification and validation of drug targets; an understanding of CRISPR technology
* Fluency in algorithms, approaches and databases for pathway identification and analysis (IPA, MetaBase, Reactome, etc)
* Proven experience in data analysis, management and visualization in at least one of the following core areas: RNA or DNA based omics, statistical genetics, multivariate and/or high dimensional omics integration, single-cell technologies, epigenomics, metagenomics
* Fluency in R, Bioconductor, RMarkdown and related tools
* Proficiency in working in a Linux environment, experience with shell scripting and standard command line tools

We also believe that our successful candidate have a consistent track record of delivering analytical solutions for business or academic needs. Your ability to convert details into holistic information by collaborating with colleagues, as well as customers will be of great importance.

Desirable in the role:

* Experience in either Python (Pandas and NumPy stack) or a lower level programming language (C++, Java, etc.)
* Experience with working in an environment focused on pre-clinical drug discovery
* Familiarity with git, conda and tools for reproducible research such as Snakemake or Nextflow

Why AstraZeneca?
Thrive in a place where the brightest and most curious minds seamlessly come together in our inclusive environment. We harness digital, data science & AI to fast-forward our research. Making sure work born in a lab can make a real difference. Everyday, impacting patients' lives across the world.

So, what's next! If this sounds like your next challenge - welcome to apply today! We look forward to get to know you better. Please send us your application as soon as possible, but no later than 1th of August, 2021.

More information:
For more information about the position please contact Hiring Manager, Petr Volkov at +46 31 776 14 78 or petr.volkov@astrazeneca.com

Additional information:
Our Gothenburg site: https://www.astrazeneca.com/our-science/gothenburg.html
Life in Gothenburg: https://www.movetogothenburg.com/

NOTE - Due to summer vacation our communication may be a bit delayed, but will get back with an update on your application later on in August. Thanks in advance for your patience and understanding.

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