Classification:
Exempt
Job Family:
Core Facilities
Reports to:
Director Genome Technology Core
Job Description Summary:
OVERALL RESPONSIBILITYThe Genomics Technology Core Technician serves as a central point of expertise for sequencing and analytical operations. This role bridges wet-lab execution and computational analysis, supporting both short- and long-read sequencing workflows. The Technician will help internal and external clients on sequencing technologies, guide project design, manage client communication, and deliver rigorous data pre-processing, quality control, and downstream analysis. Will contribute to hands-on support in the laboratory as needed.
CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES
- Advise clients on appropriate sequencing technologies (short-read, long-read, single-cell, spatial) and help define project parameters, expected outputs, and deliverables.
- Perform primary NGS data processing including demultiplexing, alignment, and quality assessment (FastQC, MultiQC, etc.).
- Conduct secondary analysis as required, including variant calling, differential expression, or genome assembly depending on project needs.
- Develop and maintain reproducible analysis pipelines.
- Use and update LIMS and genomics databases to track samples, datasets, and project metadata.
- Communicate effectively with researchers at all levels to ensure deliverables meet scientific objectives.
- Document protocols, analysis workflows, and results clearly for both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Assist with NGS related services, quality control (Bioanalyzer, TapeStation, Qubit), and sequencer operation as needed.
- Contribute to continuous improvement of core facility processes and standard operating procedures.
- Other tasks, as required.
QUALIFICATIONS
Required
- BS in Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, or a related field; or equivalent experience.
- 3+ years of relevant hands-on experience.
- Demonstrated expertise coordinating NGS workflows including short-read (e.g., Illumina, Elements) and long-read (e.g., Oxford Nanopore, PacBio) sequencing platforms.
- Demonstrated expertise in single cell technologies.
- Experience advising researchers or clients on sequencing technology selection and experimental design.
- Proficiency with NGS data pre-processing and quality control tools (e.g., Trimmomatic, MultiQC, Samtools, CellRanger).
- Familiarity with common bioinformatics data analysis workflows.
- Command-line proficiency in a Linux/Unix environment; ability to write and maintain analysis scripts in Python.
- Experience with genomics databases and data management (e.g., LIMS, SQL or similar).
- Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills; demonstrated ability to manage external client relationships.
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail in a high-throughput service environment.
- Willingness to contribute to bench-level laboratory work when scientific or operational needs arise.
Preferred
- Familiarity with spatial biology techniques.
- Familiarity with laboratory automation for liquid handling.
- Experience with workflow management systems (e.g., Snakemake, Nextflow) and version control (Git).
- Exposure to cloud computing environments or HPC clusters for large-scale data analysis.
Whitehead provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the Institute reasonably expects to pay for a position at the time of posting. The pay offered to a selected candidate during hiring will be based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate's work experience and education/training, and internal peer equity. This pay range represents base pay only and does not include any other benefits or compensation.
- Pay Range Minimum: 65,000
- Pay Range Maximum: 90,000
Whitehead Institute is an E-Verify employer
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