Job Opportunity: Group Leader Clinical Bioinformatics
The ETH Zurich technology platform NEXUS Personalized Health is dedicated to advancing discovery and translational research for personalized health. We offer extensive expertise in various domains including Clinical Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, Software Engineering, Systems Operations, and Screening & Lab Automation.
Within this multidisciplinary environment, the Clinical Bioinformatics group is committed to transforming computational biology into clinically applicable outcomes. We engage in comprehensive project-specific analyses and the integration of high-dimensional molecular data, covering a broad spectrum from whole-genome variant calling and decision support to single-cell sequencing analysis. Our team collaborates closely with academic institutions and hospitals to develop and refine robust analytical workflows and reusable components.
Role Overview
As the Group Leader of Clinical Bioinformatics, you will lead a team of bioinformatics analysts and software engineers. Your responsibilities will include ensuring the reproducibility, scalability, and clinical relevance of analyses and workflows. You will actively drive innovation by evaluating emerging technologies and analytical methodologies, integrating state-of-the-art approaches into clinical and translational research. An essential aspect of your role will be to secure, prioritize, and strategically manage clinical and translational projects through effective stakeholder engagement.
Key Responsibilities
- Project Management: Structure and oversee projects from inception to completion, defining clear scopes, planning milestones, managing risks, and adhering to documentation standards aligned with clinical quality requirements.
- Technical Leadership: Guide the development and expansion of pipelines using Nextflow and Snakemake. Establish standards for workflow engineering, testing, documentation, and long-term maintainability.
- Delivery Ownership: Assume responsibility for timelines, quality, and stakeholder alignment across multiple projects with diverse scopes.
- Project Acquisition and Customer Management: Foster relationships with researchers, clinicians, and partners to shape projects and translate needs into clear deliverables.
- Clinical Reporting and Decision Support: Simplify complex, multimodal, and large-scale results into understandable outputs for physicians, including dashboards and web-based reporting.
- Clinician Partnership: Engage with clinicians to clarify needs, ensuring user-friendly interfaces while managing the technical aspects of projects.
- Innovation and Scientific Advancement: Stay abreast of advancements in bioinformatics, AI, and data-driven medicine, translating innovative methods into robust, clinically applicable solutions.
- Cross-Team Collaboration: Work collaboratively with the Software Engineering, Systems Operations, Biostatistics, and Screening & Lab Automation groups to deliver integrated solutions.
- People Leadership: Recruit, mentor, and develop team members, fostering knowledge exchange and upholding high standards.
- Resource Management: Plan capacity, prioritize work, and contribute to budgeting and reporting for the group.
Qualifications
You will thrive in this role if:
- You enjoy managing projects from their inception through to the delivery of robust, reusable solutions.
- You value interdisciplinary collaboration and building strong partnerships with clinicians and cross-functional teams.
- You are confident in setting direction, prioritizing tasks, and being accountable for timelines and quality.
- You are committed to improving workflows for enhanced reproducibility, scalability, and impact.
- You can effectively distill complex data into clear, actionable outputs for physicians without overwhelming them.
- You uphold high standards in workflow engineering, testing, documentation, and collaborative practices.
Requirements
- Proven leadership experience in clinical bioinformatics, genomics, or translational research delivery.
- Hands-on experience with developing and extending analysis pipelines and reusable components.
- Experience in workflow management with Nextflow and/or Snakemake, with the ability to establish team standards.
- Proficient in Git version control as an essential practice.
- Strong communication skills, particularly in clinician-facing interactions and stakeholder management.
- Excellent proficiency in English communication.
Preferred Qualifications
- Solid programming skills in Python or R and a focus on code quality (reviews, testing, documentation).
- A diverse background in handling data types, including variant calling and expression analyses to single-cell sequencing analysis.
- Experience with quality control and reporting in genomics and transcriptomics.
- Knowledge of statistics or software engineering practices beyond basic scripting.
- Familiarity with high-performance computing (HPC) and Bash.
- Knowledge of German is an advantage.
What We Offer
At NEXUS, we value knowledge exchange and teamwork, fostering a culture where every member contributes their expertise. We maintain flat hierarchies and encourage a can-do attitude. Our benefits include flexible working hours, family-friendly work arrangements, training opportunities, and the chance to work at the forefront of translational research.
Application Process
We invite you to apply online using the form below. Please include the following documents:
- Cover letter (specifically detailing a workflow/pipeline you managed, a clinician-facing output you contributed to, and your process from project initiation to completion).
- CV.
- Reference letter(s) and contact details of referees.
- Copies of relevant diplomas and certificates.
Please note that only applications matching the job profile will be considered.
For further information about NEXUS Personalized Health, please visit our website. For inquiries regarding the position, contact Dr. Daniel Stekhoven at stekhoven@nexus.ethz.ch and Dr. Franziska Singer at singer@nexus.ethz.ch (no applications).
For recruitment services, the GTC of ETH Zurich apply.