Job:Bioinformatics Specialist at USC, Los Angeles, California, USA

Question

[nmlbio]

The University of Southern California (USC) Health Sciences Libraries (HSL) is seeking an innovative service-oriented individual who is passionate about providing cutting-edge bioinformatics support to our research community. Since its inception in 2005, the Norris Medical Library (NML) Bioinformatics Service has provided bioinformatics support to USC faculty, postdoc, staff, and students, and is now one of the leading library-based bioinformatics service programs in the nation. Its recent implementation of an integrated software/hardware solution for the Next-generation sequencing data analysis has become the most used bioinformatics service at USC.

Reporting to the program coordinator, the Informatics Specialist provides educational and consulting support for faculty, postdoc, graduate students, and researchers in the USC scientific community, with a primary focus on the University Park Campus (UPC). The Informatics Specialist also supports publication and grant application via collaborative data analysis. For additional information about this program, see the library’s web site http://nml.usc.edu/bioinformatics/. This position will be the first bioinformatics library specialist located at UPC.

THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

The University of Southern California is one of the world’s leading private research universities. An anchor institution in Los Angeles, USC enrolls more international students than any other U.S. university and offers extensive opportunities for internships and study abroad. With a strong tradition of integrating liberal and professional education, USC fosters a vibrant culture of public service and encourages students to cross academic as well as geographic boundaries in their pursuit of knowledge. For more information, visit www.usc.edu. USC is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer that actively seeks diversity in the workplace.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide consulting service for the UPC life science research community on application of bioinformatics tools for their specific research questions.
• Develop and conduct workshops on bioinformatics software and databases relevant to the UPC life science research community.
• Assist with the maintenance of NML bioinformatics computing resources, as well as the implementation of open source bioinformatics tools such as our local Galaxy instance
• Provide collaborative genomic data analysis as well as support grant application for UPC principle investigators
• Manage UPC user access of the licensed bioinformatics software and our computing resources; maintain a web site to promote and support the use of our bioinformatics service by UPC research community.
• Work collaboratively with the bioinformatics specialists on the Health Sciences Campus (HSC) to support the library-based bioinformatics services program.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required:

• A Master’s degree in bioinformatics or computational biology and a bachelor degree in life sciences with at least two years of relevant experience in bioinformatics research and/or application.
• Proficient in biocomputational programming languages such as R, Perl, Python, as well as Linux OS.
• Extensive familiarity with key molecular, genomic, and proteomic databases, as well as with a variety of software tools for manipulation and analyses of these data.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively while in an independent setting.
• Experiences in developing and teaching bioinformatics workshops.
• Highly proficient in spoken and written English.

Preferred:

• Ph.D. in bioinformatics or in life sciences but with extensive bioinformatics training.
• Documented experience in bioinformatics tool development, coding, and publishing.
• Extensive knowledge and experiences of key bioinformatics software (such as Galaxy, Bioconductor, CLC Genomics, QIIME, Mothur, Partek, Ingenuity Pathways, etc.) for high-throughput molecular data analysis.
• Solid training in biostatistics.
• Experience with data analyses in single-cell sequencing, microbial genomics, metagenomics, population and evolutionary genetics is a major plus.
• Experience with bioinformatics applications in High-Performance Computing.

SALARY/STATUS:

Minimum starting salary is $72,000 for Master’s degree holder and $78,000 for PhD degree holder, adjustable based on credentials, qualifying skillset and experiences.

This is a university faculty position with a continuing-appointment track, the USC librarian’s equivalent to tenure track.

BENEFITS:

37½ hour week; 22 vacation days; paid sick leave; disability plan; retirement plan with up to 10% match of 401K contribution; tuition assistance; paid medical, dental and life insurance; credit union; group auto and homeowner's insurance available www.usc.edu/benefits

Closing Date: Until filled.

How To Apply

Applications must be submitted via USC’s online faculty application website: http://jobs.usc.edu/postings/72208 As part of the application, candidates must upload in Word or PDF a cover letter and curriculum vitae.

Closing Date: To ensure fullest consideration please apply by September 18, 2016. The position is open until filled.

For more information about this position, contact Leslie Jones, USC Norris Medical Library, [phone], email [e-mail] .

USC values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity in employment. Members of all racial and ethnic groups are encouraged to apply.