BACKGROUND:
The Buck Institute is recruiting for a Programmer to work in the Mooney Laboratory. Dr. Sean Mooney is an Associate Professor and Director of Bioinformatics. The institute is the only independent institute in the U.S. devoted solely to research on aging and age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, arthritis, and stroke. Our mission is to increase the healthspan, the healthy years of life. Awarded a federal grant to establish interdisciplinary research in a new field called Geroscience, Buck scientists work in a unique, collaborative environment that allows scientists to initiate studies quickly and respond to new opportunities in fields such as stem cell research and regenerative medicine. Our scientists represent a variety of complementary fields, including genetics, epigenetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, age-associated disease; and technological disciplines such as genomics, proteomics, protein interaction networks and bio-informatics. The Buck Institute, which was designed by world famous architect I.M. Pei, is located in Novato, California, 25 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
Works under the direction of the Computational Biology lab and core Principal Investigator to develop, implement and maintain scientific software programs, standards and best practices, using the latest technologies. The Programmer will also develop, test, and deploy scientific programs and applications; and manage application(s) releases, develop interfaces with other systems and provide production system support. The Programmer will interact with Principal Investigators in multiple labs and with external collaborators to gather system and application requirements.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design complex software programs using a UNIX computer network, available software and programs such as PHP, PERL, and PYTHON for data analysis and data management of NIH-funded research studies.
• Meet with research investigators to determine the scope and design of software programs needed. Perform detailed studies and design, present detailed requirements and design to user and obtain agreement and approval. Communicate with user representatives and internal staff to express proposal, system requirements and problems.
• Design and develop database tables to accommodate collaborative research project data requirements. The database must be capable of scaling the size of the data submitted and that queries can easily be developed for arbitrary data.
• Design and develop flexible web interfaces using HTML and CGI scripts, generally in PERL or PHP.
• Translate system macro design to detailed program specifications using decision tables or flowcharts. Code computer programs; develop program module test procedures, generate required test data files, and execute testing procedures.
• Provide daily support of production systems. Provide software debugging support and technical management of systems that are running the software for production systems in order to provide adequate analysis of data for research collaborators.
• Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein.

REQUIREMENTS:
Education:
Requires a Bachelors or Masters Degree in Computer Science or Bioinformatics; recent graduates are encouraged to apply.

Experience:
Prefer SQL experience and basic knowledge of multiple platforms. (e.g., Windows, Linux, and Unix). Strong understanding of the fundamentals of software development and research is essential.

License or Certification: N/A

REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to lead and work independently on technical aspects of research projects, while collaborating in small teams with other bioinformatics and experimental researchers.
• Ability to take an active lead in proposing solutions to moderately challenging software engineering issues.
• Must have strong written and verbal communication skills.

Physical Requirements:

• Reaching by extending hand(s) or arm(s) in any direction
• Finger dexterity required to manipulate objects with fingers rather than with whole hand(s) or arm(s), for example, using a keyboard
• Communication skills using the spoken word
• Ability to see within normal parameters
• Ability to hear within normal range
• Ability to move about
• Repetitive motion and ability to life up to 50 pounds

Potential Job Exposure:
Work may require daily, weekly, or monthly exposure to the following:

• Drug substances, drug products, or research compounds
• Carcinogens or mutagens
• Developmental or reproductive toxicants or teratogens
• Ionizing radiation
• Potentially infectious materials
• Recombinant DNA
• Laboratory animals
• Human blood, body fluids, or tissue
• Video display terminal >4 hours/day
• Repetitive motion
• Microscope >4hours/day
• Wearing a respirator
• Lifting, pushing pulling over 25 pounds

HOW TO APPLY:
Please go to https://careers.buckinstitute.org and submit an application to the open job posting. You may also to http://www.buckinstitute.org and click onto "Jobs." Please attach cover letter and resume on the section provided when submitting your online application. Please indicate salary expectation on cover letter.