The National Library of Medicine (NLM), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and located in Bethesda, Maryland, is recruiting for a Staff Scientist 1 position within the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), Information Engineering Branch (IEB). NLM is one of 27 institutes at the NIH, under the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

The IEB conducts research in computational biology and develops and maintains information systems and computational tools for the biological research community. This position is in the IEB Sequence Enhancements, Tools, and Delivery Sequence Plus (SeqPlus) program. This involves the organization and enhancement of NCBI's sequence content and delivery of data, tools, and displays to accelerate research and maximize impact on human health. 

NLM Division: National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)

NLM Program/Office: Information Engineering Branch/SeqPlus

Application Period: Applications will be accepted from November 12, 2024 through December 11, 2024.

Overview: 

The Staff Scientist role in SeqPlus is a pivotal subject matter expert for NCBI Datasets, with a comprehensive understanding of the data provided by NCBI Datasets. This position serves as an advocate for biologists and bioinformaticians, ensuring that user needs are met efficiently. The individual engages with users professionally, applying advanced problem-solving skills to help them access and utilize data effectively. They are responsible for defining product enhancement specifications and rigorously testing new features and bug fixes with meticulous attention to detail. The ideal candidate is committed to continuous learning and eager to take on new responsibilities within a collaborative team environment.

Position Description/Responsibilities:

NLM’s NCBI-IEB seeks an exceptional candidate with a strong background in sequence data curation, analysis, delivery, and management. Core responsibilities include:

• Providing strategic insights and recommendations to SeqPlus leadership to enhance product development and user engagement, enabling researchers to leverage NCBI's sequence data for their scientific and analytical needs.
• Supporting SeqPlus operational objectives by collaborating with program product teams, including managers, SMEs, product owners, project managers, and developers.
• Coordinating work priorities for a multidisciplinary team of software developers, data curators, and analysts.
• Building and nurturing collaborations with external entities and institutions to inform the development of data and metadata delivery tools.
• Representing NCBI’s products, standards, and values through active participation in working groups, committees, and through presentations at conferences, webinars, and in publications.
• Utilizing Agile methodologies for product development.
• Acting as a liaison for biologists and bioinformaticians who rely on the datasets service.
• Crafting innovative solutions for user requests through the development of queries and workflows.
• Creating and implementing strategies for biological data validation.
• Testing and evaluating new software releases.
• Managing data and documentation updates within a version-controlled environment.
• Reporting progress, outcomes, and future initiatives to leadership.
• Publishing findings in peer-reviewed journals.

This role is ideal for an individual with strong analytical skills, collaborative spirit, and a commitment to advancing bioinformatics tools and data accessibility.

Position Requirements:

The ideal candidate may or may not be a United States citizen and must have a Ph.D. or equivalent postdoctoral experience from an accredited college in a biomedical science, public health, or related discipline and three or more years of postdoctoral or other job experience related to biological data sets, data analysis, and scientific data management.

We are seeking a highly qualified individual with the following expertise and experience:

• Comprehensive knowledge of biological data generation, curation, analysis, and management.
• Familiarity with industry standards for sequence data submission, annotation, and dissemination.
• Proven experience in organizing and delivering complex biological data sets.
• Strong understanding of community standards for biological data and expertise in sequence analysis tools.
• Demonstrated ability to initiate and deliver bioinformatics applications that effectively serve the scientific community.
• Proven track record of productive collaboration with product and technical teams.
• Established ability to engage successfully in multidisciplinary collaborative projects.
• Evidence of leadership, as shown through previous positions, active roles in working groups, collaborations, conferences, workshops, or strong letters of recommendation.
• Deep understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle, with best practices for testing, deployment, and maintenance.
• Proficiency in using Bitbucket and Hugo for the creation and maintenance of technical documentation.
• Experience with bioinformatics platforms and tools such as Conda, Galaxy, and GitHub.
• Strong command-line interface (CLI) skills, with extensive knowledge of UNIX-based systems.
• Expertise in structuring biological data in JSON format, with proven experience optimizing JSON for conversion to tabular formats, ensuring data integrity, schema consistency, and ease of downstream analysis.
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills.

This position requires a candidate who excels at balancing technical knowledge with strategic and capabilities.

Education Requirements:

Selectee who has completed part or all their education outside of the United States must have their foreign education evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that the foreign education is equivalent to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. We will only accept the completed foreign education evaluation. For more information on foreign education verification, visit the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. Verification must be received prior to the effective date of the appointment.

Salary and Benefits:

Salary is commensurate with research experience and accomplishments. A full package of benefits, including retirement, health, life, and long-term care insurance, Thrift Savings Plan participation, etc., is available.

The successful candidate will serve in a non-competitive and time-limited, renewable appointment in the excepted service.

How to Apply:

Interested individuals should send a copy of their CV, bibliography, a cover letter detailing research interests, and names of three references to at ncbijobs@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.  Please include the announcement number NLM9801-2024, in the cover letter. Review of applications will begin on or about December 12, 2024. Applications will be accepted until 12/11/2024. This position is eligible for remote work.

DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR BIRTH DATE OR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER (SSN) ON APPLICATION MATERIALS.

Commitment to Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity:

The NIH is dedicated to building a diverse community in its training and employment programs.  NIH/NLM encourages the application and nomination of qualified women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities. The U.S. government does not discriminate in employment based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, pregnancy, and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. NIH/NLM will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities as appropriate. If you require reasonable accommodation during any part of the application and hiring process, please notify us.

Contact Information:

oamhumanresourcesteam@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 

HHS, NIH, and NLM are equal opportunity employers.

Last Reviewed: November 8, 2024