Senior Bioinformatics & Genomics Data System Engineer

This is an exciting opportunity at Natera (a global leader in precision medicine and genomics testing), for a Senior Bioinformatics & Genomics Data System Engineer position inside our Data Science Production Engineering (DSPE) department. You will have the opportunity to work with Natera's diverse and ultra-large data sets (up to PB size), build bioinformatics & genomics software tools and data systems for the most cutting-edge medical diagnostics and genomics applications, and make real impact by delivering reliable, efficient, high performance solutions to support Natera's Lab Operations and Genetic Counselor/Lab Director teams, and ultimately impact patients' medical outcomes.

Responsibilities

Ensure the timely and efficient delivery of DSPE's bioinformatics and genomics software tools and systems with correct and robust functionality; Contribute directly to the design, development, testing, deployment, maintenance, optimization and upgrade of DSPE's bioinformatics and genomics software tools and data systems; Working with DSPE leadership teams, create suitable system architecture and cloud infrastructure design documents that can be efficiently implemented and maintained; Maintain and optimize DSPE's bioinformatics and genomics software/system performance, by monitoring and studying different solutions' impacts on key system metrics, such as AWS cost, latency, network I/O, disk I/O, RAM usage, CPU usage, disk space usage; Contribute to technical documentation's creation, maintenance, distribution, and updates for all DSPE's bioinformatics and genomics software tools and data systems; Create training materials, and contribute to training activities, for DSPE's bioinformatics and genomics software tools and data systems; Train and coach DSPE team members on new tools, technologies, procedures, and guidelines/best practices; Represent the DSPE team in stakeholder meetings

Requirements

Minimal Bachelor's Degree in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field; Minimal 6 years of relevant industry experience for candidates with only a Bachelor's Degree, Minimal 3 years for a Master's Degree, Minimal 2 years for a Doctorate degree; Minimal 3 years of working experience in a highly regulated environment, e.g., CLIA and/or FDA compliant settings; Minimal 3 years of working experience in developing bioinformatics or genomics software tools or data systems; Demonstrable experience in developing and maintaining production-use bioinformatics or genomics software tools or data systems; Demonstrable experience in creating software design specification documents, verification and validation documents, and user manuals for bioinformatics or genomics software tools or data systems; Excellent understanding of key bioinformatics and genomics concepts, and NGS technologies; Excellent Python programming skills, with demonstrable bioinformatics or genomics application and/or automation system development experience; Excellent understanding of AWS services relevant to bioinformatics and genomics applications; Working experience with key AWS services, such as Batch, ECS, S3, EC2, HealthOmics, etc., preferably in developing for-production software tools/systems; Proficient with RDBMS systems such as PostgreSQL and/or MySQL, and demonstrable working experience in for-production database-based application development; Working experience with bioinformatics and genomics-specific file types, such as BCL, FASTQ, BAM, VCF files; Working knowledge in optimizing system architecture and individual components for performance, scalability, and/or reliability, especially for genomics-scale data; Working knowledge in tool/system performance evaluation methods; Working knowledge in SDLC and software development and testing methodologies; Working knowledge in Linux command line skills, and past Linux application development experience; Proficiency in Git workflow and version control systems like GitHub and/or GitLab; Past experience in developing automation solutions; Good documentation practices and coding style; Strong verbal and written communication skills; Strong interpersonal skills; Strong integrity; Team player

Nice to have

Advanced degrees preferred; IaC skills and experiences, such as CloudFormation, Terraform, and/or Ansible

Benefits

Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans for eligible employees and their dependents; Free testing for Natera employees and their immediate families; Fertility care benefits; Pregnancy and baby bonding leave; 401k benefits; Commuter benefits; Employee referral program