BACKGROUND:
Position Vacancy Announcement
Interdisciplinary Scientist (Bioinformatics Analyst)
Staff Fellowship

Become a part of the Department that touches the lives of every American! At the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) you can give back to your community, state, and country by making a difference in the lives of Americans everywhere. It is the principal agency for protecting the health of all citizens. Join HHS and help to make our world healthier, safer, and better for all Americans.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), Office of Research, Division of Animal and Food Microbiology is seeking a qualified applicant for the position of Bioinformatics Analyst. The primary mission of the Division is to conduct basic and applied research to support regulatory decision-making by the Center for Veterinary Medicine. This position will be filled through FDA's Staff Fellowship program. The appointment is for two years with opportunities for renewal.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
The incumbent will be an independent scientist who participates as part of a research team consisting of principal investigators and support scientists. The major responsibility will be to provide bioinformatics expertise in support of next generation sequencing and metagenomics data analyses and assist with microarray design and analyses. This includes initiating and performing studies in accordance with Center priorities in collaboration with microbiologists in DAFM and other scientists within CVM/OR. The collaborations and research are expected to focus on genetics and genomics data supporting integrative analysis of next generation sequencing results, gene expression data, measurement data such as bacterial responses to drugs, and phenotypic data. The incumbent will work with principal investigators to understand their bioinformatics analysis needs and be able to quickly turn ideas into practical design and implementation, optimize non-production code, construct pipelines from building blocks, and conduct advanced data analysis and modeling. The incumbent also will lead experiments in which experimental theories and new analysis methods are developed and applied to problems whose analyses are not supported by usual data analysis methods.

REQUIREMENTS:
Applicants must have experience in the use of bioinformatics analysis tools, including publicly available and proprietary bioinformatics analysis software and resources, programming or working in a command-line computing environment such as Windows, Linux, or Unix to create specialized bioinformatics analysis pipelines, and obtaining, evaluating, and analyzing data generated from next generation sequencing platforms.

Further information regarding qualification requirements can be found at the following links:
Computational Biologist: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedulequalification-standards/0400/general-natural-resources-management-and-biological-sciences-series-0401/
Microbiologist: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualificationstandards/0400/microbiology-series-0403/
Geneticist: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualificationstandards/0400/genetics-series-0440/

LOCALE:
This position is located in Laurel, Maryland and is available immediately.

COMPENSATION:
The salary range is from $89,924 to $116,901 based on experience and education.

HOW TO APPLY:
Please submit your letter of interest, resume, and transcripts to: CVMOpportunities[at]fda.hhs.gov with the subject line of "Bio.Org DAFM Bioinformatics". Questions may also be directed to the CVM Opportunities mailbox.

DEADLINE:
The vacancy announcement will be open: December 5, 2014 through January 5, 2015

• *Applications will be reviewed and interviews will be scheduled on a first come, first serve basis.**

POLICY:
FDA is an equal opportunity employer and is a smoke-free environment.