About this role
Classification: Exempt Job Family: Core Facilities Reports to: Director Genome Technology Core Job Description Summary:
OVERALL RESPONSIBILITY
The 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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