Lead, Bioinformatics Platform
Department/Division
Bioinformatics Platform
Position Summary
The Lead of the Bioinformatics Platform provides scientific, technical, operational and financial leadership for the Platform's bioinformatics and software infrastructure teams. The position is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the delivery and continuous development of bioinformatics services, computational workflows, software tools and data infrastructure that support KAUST researchers and Core Labs. The role provides strategic and day-to-day leadership to a multidisciplinary team of bioinformatics and software professionals, ensuring that the Platform delivers reliable, scalable and high-quality services while developing new capabilities aligned with KAUST's research priorities. The Lead works closely with the Platform Chair and affiliated faculty, as well as the Bioscience Core Lab, KAUST IT, Supercomputing Core Lab, other Research Platforms and Core Labs, researchers, external collaborators and other stakeholders. The role spans the Platform's operation, infrastructure, service and research & development activities, with particular emphasis on integrating computational infrastructure, bioinformatics analysis, workflow automation and software development into robust and sustainable research capabilities.
Major Responsibilities
- Provide scientific, technical, operational and financial leadership for the Bioinformatics Platform team and ensure effective coordination across bioinformatics, software development and computational infrastructure activities.
- Lead project planning and resource allocation across the team, balancing routine service delivery, infrastructure development, software development and R&D activities.
- Plan and oversee the development of capabilities in key Platform areas, which may include genomics, metagenomics, microbiome analysis, spatial omics, short-read and long-read sequencing, structural biology, multi-omics and AI-enabled biological data analysis.
- Monitor developments in bioinformatics, computational biology, AI and software engineering and proactively identify opportunities to introduce relevant technologies and practices into the Platform.
- Ensure efficient day-to-day delivery of bioinformatics and data analysis services to KAUST researchers, faculty and Core Labs.
- Provide expert guidance on bioinformatics and computational approaches for complex research projects.
- Establish and maintain effective relationships with faculty, researchers, Core Labs, IT, research platforms and external partners.
- Contribute to development of new collaborations, externally funded projects and consultancy opportunities.
- Lead development and improvement of scalable bioinformatics workflows, analytical pipelines, software tools and computational services.
- Oversee development and maintenance of web-based bioinformatics services, databases and computational resources.
- Develop and implement software and computational asset management strategy.
- Contribute to FAIR data management practices.
- Plan and oversee SOPs, workflows, user and technical documentation.
- Coordinate with KAUST IT and the Supercomputing Core Lab on computational resources.
- Establish quality control, quality assurance, validation, reproducibility and documentation practices.
- Lead financial planning and budget management for the Platform.
- Identify opportunities for cost optimization, external funding and service revenue.
- Recruit, mentor, coach and develop staff.
- Foster a collaborative, inclusive and positive work environment.
- Lead development of new bioinformatics methodologies, software tools and AI-driven methods.
- Contribute to training, workshops, publications and grant proposals.
- Perform other applicable tasks and duties assigned within the realm of the position.
Competencies
- Leadership & People Management: Ability to lead and motivate multidisciplinary teams, prioritize competing demands, and make independent operational and technical decisions.
- Domain Expertise: Extensive expertise in bioinformatics, computational biology, data science and/or scientific software development.
- Strong knowledge of genomics and sequencing technologies; experience in multi-omics, spatial omics, metagenomics, microbiome analysis, structural biology or AI/ML is an advantage.
- Strong programming and computational skills in Python, R, C/C++ or Java, with strong Linux/command-line proficiency.
- Strong scientific and technical problem-solving skills.
- Strong project management and organizational skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong ownership, accountability and reliability.
Qualifications
PhD degree (MUST HAVE) in bioinformatics, computational biology, computer science, data science, software engineering, or a related field.
Experience
- At least 5-8 years of relevant professional experience in bioinformatics, computational biology, scientific software development, data science or a closely related field.
- Demonstrated experience in leading or managing multidisciplinary technical/scientific teams.
- Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining bioinformatics workflows, software tools, computational infrastructure and/or data analysis services.
- Experience working with large and complex biological datasets and modern sequencing technologies.
- Substantial experience working with HPC and Linux-based computational environments essential.
- Experience in financial planning, budget management and resource allocation.
- Experience in a research, core facility, research platform or similarly multidisciplinary environment preferred.
- Experience working with researchers and stakeholders from diverse scientific and technical backgrounds essential.
- Experience in an international and multicultural environment essential.
- Track record of scientific publications, software/tools, technical contributions or other demonstrable impact preferred.
