Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Professional

Description Are you passionate about identifying, defining, and solving some of the hardest problems faced by the nation? Do you love transitioning research into real‑world solutions? Do you enjoy working with interdisciplinary teams? If so, we are looking for someone like you to join our team at APL! The Applied Biological Sciences Group (QLA), located within the Asymmetric Operations Sector (AOS), is committed to APL's mission to provide critical contributions to critical challenges. We seek a highly motivated scientist or engineer with expertise in molecular biology, bioinformatics, and computational biology to develop technical solutions to address the biological threats facing our nation. Candidates should be curious, collaborative, and dedicated to leveraging world‑class expertise to develop real‑world solutions for national security and health application spaces as part of a dynamic and innovative interdisciplinary team. APL works across the US Government applying the full spectrum of science and engineering to improve the nation’s ability to safely mitigate biological threats. We partner closely across the Johns Hopkins enterprise, and with collaborators in government, academia, and industry, to develop innovative science and technology solutions to biosecurity challenges. We strive to ensure the health of individuals and the nation through applied research, which drives development and implementation of ground‑breaking capabilities in sensing and detection, threat characterization, modeling and simulation, and more. Responsibilities Lead and support bioinformatics and data science aspects of genomics and systems biology projects. Perform and lead analysis using open‑source tools and custom pipelines on a high‑performance computing cluster. Perform and lead bioinformatics tasks operating in a Linux environment, using at a minimum BASH, Python, and R languages. Lead and support sequence analysis on Illumina, PacBio, and Oxford Nanopore data. Identify and implement analysis tools for multi‑omics data mining and fusion. Lead and support novel bioinformatics and computational biology analysis approaches and tool development. Leverage your technical expertise and passion for applied research to lead the development of new proposals for intramural and extramural research aimed at pursuing high‑risk, high‑reward ideas. Qualifications A master’s degree in bioinformatics, computer science, molecular biology, applied mathematics or another field relevant to the duties. At least one year of professional work experience. Experience developing and leading bioinformatics and computational biology efforts. Exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability to clearly communicate complex topics. Competent understanding of statistics and ability to compare and contrast traditional and biostatistics methods to separate noise or quantify significance within multiple‑omics data sets. Ability to work across Windows/iOS and Linux systems, and efficiently manage large data sets for a variety of projects. Familiarity with industry‑accepted tools and approaches for biological data analysis including but not limited to metagenomics classification, RNA‑Seq, differential expression, etc. Understanding of assembly and alignment techniques of next‑generation sequence fragments and computational resources required to achieve high‑throughput results. Ability to model and simulate biological systems in silico using mathematical concepts such as matrices, differential equations, and standard modeling concepts. Familiarity with algorithms in computer science and applied mathematics commonly used for analyzing complex biological data, such as Expectation‑Maximization, Dynamic Programming, K‑Nearest‑Neighbors (KNN), Support Vector Machines (SVMs), Universal Differential Equations (UDEs), and other AI/ML approaches to data analysis and decision support. Ability to troubleshoot algorithms and implement software programs for the analysis of such data. Experience with cluster computing environment and/or resource schedulers for high‑throughput (parallel) computations, and heuristics for dealing with large data sets; ability to scale analyses across computational loads. Demonstrated ability to keep up to date with open‑source software and published literature of new tools and examine capabilities and limitations of such tools for sponsor related requirements. Eligibility to obtain Secret‑level clearance and U.S. citizenship. Additional Qualifications Experience performing (or familiarity with) laboratory sequencing preparations and workflows. Experience with wet‑lab molecular biology techniques. Experience developing and leading multidisciplinary teams and projects. Experience with BASH, Python, R and Linux environments. Familiarity with Julia, Claude, and Rust. Ability to utilize and implement Agentic AI tools. Experience working in Unclassified and Classified areas. A publication record in computational biology and/or bioinformatics analysis. A Ph.D. in bioinformatics, computer science, molecular biology, applied mathematics. About Us The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) brings world‑class expertise to our nation’s most critical defense, security, space and science challenges. While we are dedicated to solving complex challenges and pioneering new technologies, what makes us truly outstanding is our culture. We offer a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere where you can bring your authentic self to work, continue to grow, and build strong connections with inspiring teammates. Why Work at APL? At APL, we celebrate our differences of perspectives and encourage creativity and bold, new ideas. Our employees enjoy generous benefits, including a robust education assistance program, unparalleled retirement contributions, and a healthy work/life balance. APL’s campus is located in the Baltimore‑Washington metro area. Learn more about our career opportunities at All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, occupation, marital or familial status, political opinion, personal appearance, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. APL is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals of all abilities, including those with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in any part of the hiring process, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io. Compensation Minimum rate: $100,000 annually. Maximum rate: $245,000 annually. #J-18808-Ljbffr Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory