Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Job Description

We are seeking a Senior Computational Biologist with experience and expertise in driving forward biological discoveries to join Vertex. This position is part of a global Computational Genomics team that designs and analyses genomic studies to advance Vertex’s drug discovery programs. You will collaborate closely with the Oxford Research group in designing and executing genomic studies to impact multiple disease projects across the drug discovery pipeline using genomics. Example areas of impact include target validation, pre-clinical model characterisation, and understanding the mechanisms of action of novel therapeutics. You will play a key role in innovating, evaluating, and applying cutting-edge computational methods that will enable us to make rapid, data-driven decisions. Leadership skills, proactive communication, and seamless cross-functional collaboration will be required for success in this role. This is an on-site or hybrid eligible position based out of our site in Oxford, UK, requiring at least 3 days/week onsite.

Key responsibilities:

• Proactively collaborate with project teams, acting as the bioinformatics expert, to identify key project needs that can be addressed using genomics, sequencing, or bioinformatics contributions.
• Partner with teams to propose and plan studies that leverage sequencing, genetic, and genomic data to answer biological questions and enable the development of novel therapeutics.
• Perform sophisticated computational analyses of sequencing data and other biological data, through deep critical thinking, published findings and best practices from the field, strong statistics, and data science visualisations.
• Distil complex analyses and scientific results into key take-home messages and recommendations for next steps to a broad audience.
• Partner with genomics method development team members, identifying opportunities to improve usability, accuracy, and robustness of internal computational methods.

Minimum Qualifications:

• PhD degree in computational biology, bioinformatics, human genetics, genomics, systems biology, bioengineering, or a related field, with 3+ years of productive, relevant industry or post-doctoral experience
• Master’s degree in computational biology, bioinformatics, human genetics, genomics, systems biology, bioengineering, or a related field, with 8+ years of productive, relevant industry experience
• A proven track record of stand-out excellence in the analysis, visualisation, and interpretation of genomic and next-generation sequencing (NGS) data.
• Demonstrated ability to work across cross-functional teams, ensuring timely progress.
• Expertise in applying computational methods and bioinformatics tools to large-scale data; proficiency with R or Python, Linux/Unix systems, and high-performance computing systems. Experience with workflow language and cloud computing is a plus.
• Solid understanding of statistics and genetics, including the role of genetic variation in human disease.
• Superior communication skills, demonstrating confidence and versatility in presenting verbally to diverse audiences and writing technical documents
• A team-oriented growth mindset that welcomes feedback from others and supports other team members; a positive attitude that enthusiastically tackles and overcomes challenges

#LI-hybrid #LI-SG-1

Flex Designation:

Hybrid-Eligible Or On-Site Eligible

Flex Eligibility Status:

In this Hybrid-Eligible role, you can choose to be designated as:

1. Hybrid: work remotely up to two days per week; or select

2. On-Site: work five days per week on-site with ad hoc flexibility.

Note: The Flex status for this position is subject to Vertex’s Policy on Flex @ Vertex Program and may be changed at any time.

Company Information

Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation.

Vertex is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person's race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Vertex is an E-Verify Employer in the United States. Vertex will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities, in accordance with applicable law.

Any applicant requiring an accommodation in connection with the hiring process and/or to perform the essential functions of the position for which the applicant has applied should make a request to the recruiter or hiring manager, or contact Talent Acquisition at ApplicationAssistance@vrtx.com