Research & Science

Bioinformatician

Sunnyvale, California, United States

Who We Are

Since 2006, 23andMe’s mission has been to help people access, understand, and benefit from the human genome. We are a group of passionate individuals pushing the boundaries of what’s possible to help turn genetic insight into better health and personal understanding. With the world’s largest database of more than 15 million genotyped customers, 23andMe is at the forefront of using human genetics to advance biomedical research and transform healthcare. 

We are seeking an accomplished and collaborative Bioinformatician to join our Research Team! You will directly contribute and provide thought leadership on a diverse range of bioinformatics and statistical genetics code bases. You will also implement state-of-the-art methods and workflows to analyze genetic data at an unprecedented scale (millions of samples and thousands of phenotypes).

What You'll Do 

• Design and implement novel workflows to perform statistical genetic analyses in distributed computation environments
• Maintain and develop databases and infrastructure to support analysis pipelines and visualization platforms
• Develop cutting-edge methodology when third-party options are not available
• Follow genetics/bioinformatics literature and attend appropriate conferences to maintain awareness of desirable and state-of-the-art methods for processing bioinformatic data
• Build data visualization platforms for genetic analyses to display genomewide and locus-specific results from GWAS and downstream analyses on demand

What You’ll Bring

• Ph.D. in Genetics, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, or similar quantitative field and 2 years of bioinformatics work experience or a Master’s degree with 5 years of related work experience
• Familiarity with the basics of genetics, genomics, and cell biology
• Knowledge of core statistical genetics algorithms such as phasing, imputation, linkage disequilibrium, GWAS, fine-mapping, and PRS
• Familiarity with public bioinformatics resources (e.g. GENCODE, dbSNP, Ensembl, UKBB) and tools (e.g. plink, bcftools, VEP)
• Fluency in Linux, bash, R, and Python and familiarity with debugging tools such as pdb, gdb, RStudio and/or VSCode
• Experience with distributed computation, specifically AWS and one or more of UGE/SLURM/Kubernetes
• Familiarity with workflow management systems with a strong preference for Nextflow 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Collaborative personality with strong interpersonal skills
• Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional team
• Ability to work 3 days onsite (Tuesday-Thursday) in our Sunnyvale, CA office

Strongly Preferred

• C++
• Proficiency in DevOps tools and practices, including CI/CD, version control, and automated testing.
• Some front-end experience as might be applicable to bioinformatics (e.g, Rshiny)
• Experience with containerization technologies (preferably Docker).
• Expertise in bioinformatics tools such as VEP, Beagle, bcftools/htslib/samtools, DeepVariant, DNAnexus, GLnexus, Minimac4, Plink, Shapeit5, SuSiE

About Us

23andMe, headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, is a leading consumer genetics and research company. Founded in 2006, the company’s mission is to help people access, understand, and benefit from the human genome. 23andMe has pioneered direct access to genetic information as the only company with multiple FDA authorizations for genetic health risk reports. The company has created the world’s largest crowdsourced platform for genetic research, with 80 percent of its customers electing to participate. The platform also powers the 23andMe Therapeutics group, currently pursuing drug development programs rooted in human genetics, including two new cancer treatments currently in clinical trials. More information is available at www.23andMe.com.

At 23andMe, we value a diverse, inclusive workforce and we provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. All qualified applicants for employment will be considered without regard to an individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local laws. If you are unable to submit your application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at accommodations-ext@23andme.com. 23andMe will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities to the extent required by applicable law.