Interested in bioinformatics, metabarcoding, and want to work in Hawaii?
Join the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (CIMAR) at NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) ‘Omics Network as a Bioinformatics Assistant Researcher. Contribute to improving the analytical workflows needed to operationalize environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding surveys to enhance biodiversity exploration and monitoring across marine ecosystems from coral reefs to the deep-sea. Together with other new hires at NOAA Science Centers across the nation, be a part of the newly established NMFS ‘Omics Network designed to collaboratively develop powerful, reproducible, and streamlined end-to-end operational workflows that automate the analysis of eDNA metabarcoding data.
About Us: PIFSC provides science to support the conservation and management of fisheries and living marine resources across the Pacific Ocean. Our group in the Ecosystem Sciences Division has already generated two big 6-assay ecosystem-scale eDNA datasets from both pelagic and coral reef ecosystems in the Hawaiian Islands, each of which offer exciting opportunities to explore new ecological patterns and generate novel biodiversity products.
The Opportunity: We are seeking a Bioinformatics Assistant Researcher (Postdoc/early Career Researcher) to co-lead the improvement of analytical workflows for eDNA metabarcoding in our marine ecosystem surveys. This is a 3-year, full-time position supported by the Inflation Reduction Act, located at NOAA’s Inouye Regional Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Annual Salary range $67,200-$75,600, commensurate with experience. You’ll work closely with a collaborative team of researchers to improve data analysis techniques, refine existing resources and/or develop novel tools to build reproducible, flexible, and automated workflows for multi-marker, multi-trophic level eDNA metabarcoding data streams using rich existing datasets.
Opportunities include: Working with two robust datasets, which couple eDNA with classical field survey techniques to deepen our understanding of ecosystem structure and generate novel products in both Pacific coral reef and pelagic ecosystems. Leading and contributing to impactful scientific papers advancing the integration of eDNA with existing surveys. Collaborating with a diverse and inclusive team of researchers at PIFSC, and the broader NMFS ‘Omics Network.
Qualifications: We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with a strong background in Bioinformatics and a PhD in Bioinformatics, Molecular Ecology, Data Science, Biology or related field. You should ideally be knowledgeable of current metabarcoding pipelines, have strong programming skills in one or more languages, and be proficient in R. Ideally you will have a background in genomics, community ecology, biodiversity analyses, and data visualization. Knowledge of marine ecology is preferred, but not required. Skillsets and expertise in other systems could be easily applied.
How to Apply: Interested candidates should apply directly to RCUH Human Resources by the closing date, 03/29/2024. Applicants must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident Alien. For more information, refer to the job posting for the CIMAR PIFSC Bioinformatics Assistant Researcher recruitment (Job# 224157)
