Senior Principal Computational Scientist

Senior Principal Computational Scientist

Job ID: req2737
Employee Type: exempt full-time
Division: Biomedical Informatics & Data Science
Facility: Frederick: Ft Detrick
Location: PO Box B, Frederick, MD 21702 USA

The Frederick National Laboratory is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and operated by Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc.  The lab addresses some of the most urgent and intractable problems in the biomedical sciences in cancer and AIDS, drug development and first-in-human clinical trials, applications of nanotechnology in medicine, and rapid response to emerging threats of infectious diseases.

Accountability, Compassion, Collaboration, Dedication, Integrity and Versatility; it's the FNL way.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION  

The Frederick National Laboratory is dedicated to improving human health through the discovery and innovation in the biomedical sciences, focusing on cancer, AIDS and emerging infectious diseases. 

The Biomedical Informatics and Data Science (BIDS) directorate works collaboratively and helps to fulfill the mission of Frederick National Laboratory in the areas of biomedical informatics and data science by developing and applying world leading data science and computing technologies to basic and applied biomedical research challenges, supporting critical operations, developing and delivering national data resources, and employing leading-edge software and data science to effectively enable and advance science.  

The Advanced Biomedical Computing Sciences (ABCS), part of BIDS, provides scientific computing, modeling, imaging, and bioinformatics support, engages in scientific consultation and collaboration, and offers training to NCI and NIH scientists and staff. The Data Solutions and Systems Biology (DSSB) group in ABCS strives to streamline and provide innovative solutions for the NCI/NIH community to access and use biological information collected across different sources and formats. Integrating diverse data sources to streamline project requests and analysis workflows, enable disease agnostic access and analysis, variant impact annotation, identifier conversions across species, and merging clinical and research data enabling translation from basic to the goal of precision medicine. 

KEY ROLES/RESPONSIBILITIES  

This position provides leadership and support for the Advanced Biomedical Computational Science, computational chemistry and mathematical analysis initiatives. Specific responsibilities include the following: 

• Managing a group providing quantum chemistry, protein modeling, bioinformatics, and mathematical/statistical support to investigators at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) 
• Actively participating in collaborative research with NCI scientists, including experimental design, creating analysis pipelines, performing the analysis and comprehensively communicating the results 
• Working effectively as a member of a team that includes non-computational scientists 
• Write, revise and submit scientific manuscripts on significant research findings 
• Provide proactive communication about projects and staff to all relevant stakeholders 
• Follow established procedures and suggest updates to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of procedures 

**THIS POSITION IS CONTINGENT UPON FUNDING APPROVAL**

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS 

To be considered for this position, you must minimally meet the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed below: 

• Possession of a PhD from an accredited college or university according to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in Computational chemistry, Bioinformatics, Biomedical Science or a related field or eight (8) years of related experience.  Foreign degrees must be evaluated for U.S. equivalency 
• In addition to the education requirement, a minimum of twelve (12) years of experience in computational chemistry and mathematical analysis 
• Have experience and a working knowledge of quantum chemistry and molecular modeling, including ab initio, semi-empirical, and molecular mechanics methods 
• Ability to multi-task across projects and collaborators 
• Deep understanding of and experience in the mathematical analysis of experimental data, including parametric and non-parametric correlation and regression, decision trees and random forest, statistical tests of significance including permutation testing, and hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering 
• Proficiency in at least two of the following programming/scripting languages: Python, R, Fortran, or C/C++ 
• Ability to write custom algorithms as required for analysis 
• Experience with reporting scientific and technical accomplishments 
• Experience leading successful collaborative efforts involving multiple stakeholders 
• Self-motivated and results-oriented, able to effectively handle multiple projects concurrently 
• Ability to multi-task in complex/dynamic operating environment 
• Ability to identify issues and apply problem solving skills 
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills 
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS 

Candidates with these desired skills will be given preferential consideration:  

• Co-authored manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals on the use of computational chemistry and/or mathematical analysis in the life sciences 
• Experience managing individuals in a scientific group 
• Experience with self-guided learning in a quickly evolving technical environment 
• Hands on experience of large scale computational tasks in HPC environments 

Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) | Minority/Female/Disabled/Veteran (M/F/D/V) | Drug Free Workplace (DFW)

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