Computational Biologist Jobs

The position

We are currently looking to hire a Computational Biologist / Biological Data Scientist to analyze and mine genome-wide datasets (such as single cell and bulk RNAseq data, ATAC-seq data, etc) to find insights into stem cell & ovarian cell biology. You will work closely with a talented group of biologists on a broad range of projects. Routine work includes data set processing, qc assessment, differential expression, pathway analyses, and boutique analyses where the biology leads. Understanding how to interpret complex low input datasets for biological utility and translate findings back to the bench is a vital key skill. You will collaborate broadly with biologists to identify ways the computational data can be leveraged to generate new hypotheses and scientific directions that can then be tested in the lab. Your work would include many opportunities to find custom solutions to interesting biological problems.

Our mission

Conception is a startup with the mission of generating viable human eggs from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Successful development of our research could have many benefits, such as removing age limits on motherhood, allowing for easy screening of eggs with harmful genetic mutations, and allowing same-sex couples to reproduce. This has been done in mice, and now we are working to translate it to humans.

Our research

To accomplish our goal, we must derive human germ cells from iPSCs (human germ cell-like cells, hPGCLCs) that resemble both the transcriptional and epigenetic profile of in vivo germ cells (PGCs) that are able to enter meiosis and develop to viable human eggs. We create ovarian organoids from primary cells and stem cell derived cells to help the eggs develop properly.

What we are looking for:

• Highly experienced & proficient in analyzing RNA-seq data, including experience with single cell RNAseq packages/workflows/algorithms.
• Comfort with use of a high performance computing cluster
• Understand how to translate computational findings into wetlab hypotheses & communicate with diverse stakeholders
• Prior experience with iPSC derivation & germ cell biology preferred
• Highly proficient in R and/or python; functional on linux command line
• Knowledge of publicly available databases & repositories
• General epigenetics or spatial transcriptomics knowledge is desirable
• Knowledge of wetlab techniques is beneficial but not critical
• Ability to read and understand code in R/python/bash
• Cloud computing experience a plus
• Ability to devise and execute data analyses independently is critical. Foundational data analysis skills are vital (grasp of basic statistical principles, understand how to clean/QC data, generate hypotheses and 'smell test' data before returning a result)
• Ability to evaluate & implement new software, ideally through pipeline automation
• Prior experience versioning and collaborating on code in github

Tasks & responsibilities:

• Track and collaborate on code via github
• Functionally interact with core Conception computational infrastructure including databases, automated pipelines, HPC cluster, etc
• Assess the literature for interesting new analysis methods and progress in the fields of stem- and germ cell biology
• Collaborate with biology teams to independently perform team-specific analysis projects using both in-house & publicly available data

Come and work with us:

We are well funded and well connected in Silicon Valley. We offer competitive pay, company equity, and excellent healthcare benefits for these positions.

To learn more about the original mouse proof of concept to live birth that inspired us, see https://www.nature.com/articles/nature20104

To learn more about us, our mission, and approach you can read two features published by The New Yorker and MIT Technology Review.