Bioinformatics Team Lead at Georgetown University in Medical Center

Job description

Georgetown University comprises two unique campuses in the nation’s capital. With the Hilltop Campus located in the heart of the historic Georgetown neighborhood, and the Capitol Campus, just minutes from the U.S. Capitol and U.S. Supreme Court, Georgetown University offers rigorous academic programs, a global perspective, and unparalleled opportunities to engage with Washington, D.C. Our community is a close-knit group of remarkable individuals driven by intellectual inquiry, a commitment to social justice, and a shared dedication to making a difference in the world. Requirements Job Overview Under the limited direction of Dr. Cathy H. Wu, Professor of Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology and Director of Protein Information Resource, the Bioinformatics Team Lead will assume responsibilities for leading and developing novel algorithms and software tools supporting the NIH-funded UniProt Consortium project listed below, as well as collaborative projects being established. The candidate will be expected to work in a team environment, working closely with collaborating organizations. UniProt: AI-Driven Scaling of Protein Knowledge for Biomedical Research 09/02/2026 – 08/31/2031, U24HG007822-13 $23,920,712 (total costs); GU-PIR Component: $4,276,115 MPI: Dr. Cathy Wu (contact PI), GU-PIR (Georgetown University-Protein Information Resource), USA; Dr. Alex Bateman, EMBL-EBI (European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute), UK; Dr. Paul Thomas, SIB (Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics), Switzerland Additional duties include, but are not limited to: Lead bioinformatics and software engineering efforts for the UniProt Consortium project. Oversee algorithms, databases, and application development, including system design and implementation. Coordinate key informatics activities such as UniRef production, ID mapping, bibliography systems, Peptide Search, and website/FTP maintenance. Develop and improve bioinformatics tools and systems, including databases, analytics tools, web interfaces, workflows, scalability, and performance. Contribute to the scientific community through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and staying current with emerging technologies. Work Interactions This position serves as a technical and collaborative link among Georgetown University and external partners, working closely with bioinformatics and data curation colleagues at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), and the PIR curator team. The position coordinates and contributes to cross-institutional activities involving protein sequence databases, annotation, data curation, and bioinformatics services, and provides technical expertise for resolving complex data and infrastructure issues. Through these collaborations, the position influences the quality, interoperability, and reliability of resources used by researchers and the broader scientific community. The position supports Georgetown University’s mission in biomedical research, data science, and the advancement of scientific knowledge. Requirements and Qualifications Master’s degree in computer science A minimum of ten years of experience in bioinformatics software engineering A minimum of ten years of experience in developing software to support the PIR bioinformatics infrastructure for the UniProt project, including the parallelization, optimization and scaling of the UniRef clustering methods for database production in regular releases Extensive experience in programming with C, C++, Perl, Python Extensive experience in database management, including Oracle Extensive experience in bioinformatics databases, web applications, and web interface development Experience in advanced algorithm design, including artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) methods Experience in high-performance computing and cloud computing Experience in system administration and server maintenance Pro