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Position Summary

The McGill CERC in Genomic Medicine

The Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Genomic Medicine, hosted at the McGill Genome Centre, is a major research strategic initiative at McGill University. We are a fast-growing and highly interactive team of internationally recognized researchers whose goal is to accelerate the use of genomics in drug discovery and development using a combination of large-scale molecular genetic studies, quantitative analyses, and clinical investigations across a broad range of disease areas to accelerate the discovery, development and success of new therapies and diagnostic markers.

About McGill Genome Centre

McGill Genome Centre is a world-class genomics facility located at the heart of McGill University (740 Penfield Avenue, Montreal). The Centre advances genomics in medical research through its research programs and other major initiatives. We provide a cutting-edge integrated research environment that harnesses the most recent advances in genomics and other areas of large-scale biology, with quantitative methodology and computational analysis for breakthroughs in medical and life sciences research. The Centre operates technology platforms under mandates from the Canada Foundation for Innovation Major Science Initiative (CGEn) and Genome Canada’s Genome Technology Platform program. Our platforms serve as important resources supporting genomics for internal research, as well as for external research at the institutional, provincial, and national levels. The Centre is equipped with state-of-the-art genomics and computational facilities, including the capacity to generate, store and analyze more than 3,000 Tbp of sequencing data per year. The Centre provides a cutting-edge research environment for genomics, epigenomics, and computational biology, and hosts more than 200 faculty, students, and staff.

Equity Diversity and Inclusion

McGill University is committed to equity in employment and diversity. It welcomes applications from indigenous peoples, visible minorities, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, women, persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities, and others who may contribute to further diversification.

The McGill CERC program in genomic medicine recognizes the importance of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) principles in order to achieve our goal to advance health for everyone. We expect every member of our team to contribute to promoting a supportive, safe and welcoming environment for students, faculty and staff in our program, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion or nationality. The CERC team members are making the five following commitments and taking actions towards equitable, inclusive and diverse research projects, as well as training and work environment. To know more about our EDI commitments, please visit our website: https://www.genomic-medicine-cerc.online/edi.

Primary responsibilities:

The successful candidate will develop various software applications and perform data analyses for genetic research projects within the CERC team. They will manage the complete development cycle, including the design, implementation, testing, and release. The applications include web-based tools for genetic data visualization and querying, command-line tools for genetic data analyses on high-performance computing clusters, and cloud-based genetic data analysis workflows. In addition to the software development, the successful candidate will execute and manage genetic data analyses and participate in results interpretation. They will report directly to the principal investigators in the specific research project.

The responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Design, implementation, testing, and optimization of web-based applications and cloud-based software solutions for genetic data analysis.
• Design, implementation, testing, and optimization of software applications for genetic data analysis on high-performance computing clusters.
• Debug malfunctions and optimize existing software applications.
• Execute and manage workflows for genetic data quality checks and analysis.

Qualifications

• BSc/MSc in computer science, bioinformatics, biostatistics or related field.
• Strong programming skills in Python and C/C++ (or Java).
• Experience in web-based development and related tools/frameworks.
• Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Experience with cloud-based computing is not mandatory but is an asset.
• Knowledge of human genetics and experience with genetic data analysis are not mandatory but is an asset.
• Ability to read and understand academic research papers and software documentation written in English, and ability to write documentation in English.

Please ensure to submit your CV and Cover Letter

We will prioritize candidates who performed the skill test available at https://github.com/CERC-Genomic-Medicine/skills_test_3. Please add the .zip file with the other files from your application.

Other Qualifying Skills and/or Abilities

A successful candidate should have significant experience in large-scale data analysis with specific experiences in analysis of whole genome sequencing (WGS) and whole exome sequencing (WES) data. Strong computer programming skills (including object-oriented/procedural/functional programming, shell scripting) and experience with data processing workflows in a high-performance computing (HPC) or cloud computing environment are required. Familiarity with statistical methods for epidemiological and population genetic studies is an advantage. The candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in bioinformatics, statistics, computer science, genetics or related field. Ability to read and understand research papers and academic software documentation written in English, and ability to write documentation in English are required.