Scientist 1, Bioinformatics

Company: Plexxikon
Location: Berkeley
Posted on: September 12, 2020

Job Description:

Plexxikon, a member of the Daiichi Sankyo Group, is a leader in the discovery and development of novel, small molecule pharmaceuticals. The company utilizes its proprietary discovery platform to successfully develop a portfolio of competitively differentiated clinical and preclinical stage compounds in a number of therapeutic areas. Plexxikon’s first marketed drug, Zelboraf™ (vemurafenib) was the first precision medicine to be approved for the treatment of BRAF-mutant metastatic melanoma. Plexxikon's demonstrated capability in discovery and early development uniquely positions the company to develop multiple commercial franchises for different therapeutic indications, and to create significant value for Plexxikon, Daiichi Sankyo and its collaborators. Plexxikon's novel discovery approach, combined with experienced management and scientific teams, a broad network of scientific and clinical experts, and partnerships supporting later stage development, have been key drivers of the company's success since it began operations in 2001. Plexxikon is a small business with approximately 65 employees based in Berkeley, California.

The Scientist 1 will be a critical member of the multidisciplinary research team reporting to the Director, Structural Chemistry and Informatics. This is an exceptional opportunity to gain experience in drug discovery and development in a successful, fast-paced biotech company.

Please note that this position will not be onsite at least through 2020 (possibly extended), but will be back onsite once our facilities are completely open in 2021.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Conduct multiomic bioinformatics analysis (RNA-seq, DNA-seq, Chip-seq, Single-cell, NanoString, CRISPR, RNAi, etc.), integrate with other preclinical and clinical data sources and execute exploratory analysis and reporting

Contribute to the strategic planning and design of functional genomic experiments that are critical for the evaluation and understanding of inhouse therapeutic agents

Query public data sources and perform necessary computational analysis to answer specific questions regarding target/disease biology; triangulate information from inhouse and public databases to identify novel therapeutic targets and to select biomarkers for preclinical/clinical study

Maintain and improve upon current bioinformatics pipelines and computational infrastructure, contribute to the development of new analytical methods, streamline the analysis to enable real time collaboration

Maintain a current understanding of bioinformatics literature and methodology, as well as other scientific literature related to drug discovery projects

Collaborate closely and effectively with researchers across disciplines and serve as a resource for colleagues in a team environment

Prepare and deliver scientific presentations and reports to communicate key findings to colleagues within and outside the Structural Chemistry and Informatics department

Influence discovery decisions and contribute significantly to corporate goals and project milestones

Follow the industry’s best practices for ensuring analytical reproducibility

Conduct other duties as assigned

Position Requirements & Experience:

Doctorate degree in Bioinformatics, System Biology, Computational Biology, Biostatistics, Data Science or a related discipline requiring strong computational and statistical skills

Strong proficiency in functional genomic data analysis, with solid understanding on the appropriate statistical and bioinformatics methodologies; experience analyzing high dimensional genomics and biomarker data from oncology/immuno-oncology studies

Hands-on experience with the wide range of bioinformatics methods for NGS sequence and expression analysis; practical knowledge of the latest sequencing technologies, library prep methods, etc.

Proficient in coding with the statistical packages in R and at least one scripting language such as Perl or Python in a Linux environment

Good understanding of molecular and cell biology relevant to cancer genomics

Proven track record of scientific publication in the fields of bioinformatics and genomics

Demonstrated technical proficiency, scientific creativity, problem solving ability, and capable of independently planning and executing functional genomic data analysis

Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills are essential in this collaborative and multi-disciplinary team work environment

Highly motivated and able to work in a fast-paced environment with a desire to learn and tackle new challenges

Candidates must be authorized to work in the U.S.

Plexxikon is located in Berkeley, just off interstate 80. We offer a chance to work with talented people in a collaborative environment and provide top-notch benefits including health insurance, generous time off and much more. As an equal opportunity employer, Plexxikon is committed to a diverse workforce. Employment decisions regarding recruitment and selection will be made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state and local laws. In order to ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact the careers email at www.plexxikon.com for assistance. For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the ‘EEO is the Law’ poster.

Keywords: Plexxikon, Berkeley , Scientist 1, Bioinformatics, Other , Berkeley, California