Group Leader Clinical Bioinformatics
80%-100%, Basel, permanent
The ETH Zurich technology platform NEXUS Personalized Health facilitates discovery and translational research aimed at personalized health. Our expertise spans Clinical Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, Software Engineering, Systems Operations, and Screening & Lab Automation.
Within this multi-disciplinary environment, the Clinical Bioinformatics group translates computational biology into clinically applicable outcomes, actively bridging the gap between biomedical research and clinical practice. Our work involves tailored analyses and the integration of high-dimensional molecular data, ranging from whole-genome variant calling and decision support to single-cell sequencing analysis. We establish and enhance robust analysis workflows and reusable components through close collaboration with academic institutions and hospitals.
Job Description
As the Group Leader in Clinical Bioinformatics, you will be responsible for leading a team of bioinformatics analysts and software engineers. Your role will ensure that analyses and workflows are reproducible, scalable, and suitable for translational and clinical contexts. You will drive innovation by assessing emerging technologies and analytical approaches, integrating cutting-edge methods into clinical and translational research. A critical aspect of your role involves securing, prioritizing, and managing clinical and translational projects through proactive stakeholder engagement.
- Project Management: Structure and oversee projects from inception to completion, ensuring well-defined scopes, milestone planning, risk management, and adherence to documentation standards aligned with clinical quality requirements.
- Technical Leadership: Lead the development and enhancement of pipelines using Nextflow and Snakemake. Establish standards for workflow engineering, ensuring thorough testing, documentation, and long-term maintainability.
- Delivery Ownership: Assume responsibility for timelines, quality, and stakeholder alignment across multiple projects with varying scopes.
- Project Acquisition and Customer Management: Cultivate relationships with researchers, clinicians, and partners, shaping projects and translating needs into clear deliverables and expectations.
- Clinical Reporting and Decision Support: Transform complex, multimodal, and large-scale results into clear outputs for physicians, including dashboards and web-based reporting for decision support.
- Clinician Partnership: Actively listen, clarify practical needs, and simplify interfaces while your team manages technical complexities.
- Innovation and Scientific Advancement: Remain at the forefront of developments in bioinformatics, AI, and data-driven medicine, evaluating novel methods and technologies to convert promising approaches into robust, clinically applicable solutions.
- Cross-Team Collaboration: Collaborate closely with the Software Engineering, Systems Operations, Biostatistics, and Screening & Lab Automation teams to deliver integrated solutions.
- People Leadership: Recruit, mentor, and develop team members, fostering a culture of knowledge sharing and high standards.
- Resource Management: Plan capacity, prioritize workload, and contribute to budgeting and reporting for the group.
Quick Self-Check
You will thrive in this role if you:
- Enjoy managing projects from inception to delivery, collaborating with clinicians and partners to create robust, reusable solutions.
- Value interdisciplinary work and building strong partnerships with clinicians and cross-functional teams.
- Are comfortable setting direction and making prioritization decisions while being accountable for timelines and quality.
- Relish the opportunity to develop workflows that others depend upon, continuously enhancing them for reproducibility, scalability, and impact.
- Can distill complex, multimodal data into clear, usable decision-support outputs that meet the needs of physicians.
- Set high standards for workflow engineering, testing, documentation, and Git-based collaboration, and enjoy leading your team to meet these standards.
Profile
Non-Negotiables:
- Proven leadership experience in clinical bioinformatics, genomics, or translational research delivery.
- Hands-on experience with developing and extending analysis pipelines and reusable components.
- Expertise in workflow management with Nextflow and/or Snakemake, with a capability to establish team standards.
- Daily practice with Git version control is essential.
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, particularly when engaging with clinicians.
- Excellent command of English communication.
Strongly Expected:
- Proficiency in programming with Python or R, along with a commitment to high code quality (e.g., reviews, testing, documentation).
- Demonstrated experience across diverse data types, including variant calling and expression analyses to single-cell sequencing analysis.
- Experience with quality control and reporting in genomics/transcriptomics.
Advantageous:
- Background in statistics or software engineering practices beyond scripting.
- Experience with HPC (High Performance Computing) and Bash.
- Knowledge of the German language.
Workplace
At NEXUS, we prioritize knowledge exchange and teamwork, valuing each individual's unique expertise. We uphold flat hierarchies and a proactive approach, offering flexible working hours, family-friendly working models, training opportunities, and an exciting landscape at the forefront of translational research.
We Value Diversity and Sustainability
In alignment with our values, ETH Zurich fosters an inclusive culture, promoting equality of opportunity and valuing diversity. We nurture a respectful environment where the rights and dignity of all staff and students are upheld. Sustainability is core to our mission, and we continually strive toward a climate-neutral future.
Curious? So Are We.
We invite you to apply online using the form below. Please ensure that your application includes the following documents:
- Cover letter (including examples of a workflow/pipeline you managed, a clinician-facing output you contributed to, and a project you shaped from initial contact to delivery)
- CV
- Reference letter(s) and contact details of referees
- Copies of relevant diplomas and certificates
Only applications matching the job profile will be considered. Further information about NEXUS Personalized Health can be found on our website. For inquiries regarding the position, please contact Dr. Daniel Stekhoven at stekhoven@nexus.ethz.ch or Dr. Franziska Singer at singer@nexus.ethz.ch (no applications).
About ETH Zürich
ETH Zurich is among the world's leading universities specializing in science and technology. Renowned for excellent education and pioneering research, we strive to directly transfer new knowledge into society. Over 30,000 individuals from more than 120 countries regard our institution as a place that nurtures independent thought and fosters an environment conducive to excellence. Positioned in the heart of Europe and forming global connections, we collaborate to address the pressing challenges of today and tomorrow.