Berkeley Lab’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI ) Division is looking for a Supervisor to lead and oversee their Secondary Metabolites Computational Biology sub-team!

As part of the JGI Secondary Metabolites Science Program, the sub-team is responsible for designing, leading and conducting computational biology approaches for the discovery, prediction, investigation and data facilitation of biosynthetic pathways for secondary metabolites using genomic data.

In this exciting role, you will lead the development and deployment of advanced algorithms for the prediction of diverse secondary metabolite gene clusters in diverse organisms from diverse data types. Additionally, you will lead the further development of the Secondary Metabolism Collaboratory for incorporating these tools and their outputs into a system that facilitates the visualization and searching of this data, and its provision and curation to and by the natural products scientific community to serve as a world-leading resource. These tools will be applied for characterizing the biosynthetic pathways for diverse secondary metabolites to expand biochemical and chemical knowledge. 

A particular focus area will be Actinobacteria that are involved in plant-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions, and this research will contribute to deepen the understanding of the composition and roles of secondary metabolites in these interactions. You and sub-team will work in close partnership with the other members of the Secondary Metabolites Science Program, JGI, users and external collaborators to predict and validate secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters that will allow us to refine our methods for biosynthetic pathway prediction and characterization.

What You Will Do:

• Provide leadership of the Secondary Metabolites Computational Biology sub-team, providing supervision and guidance to member(s) of the team. 
• Design, lead, and conduct computational approaches for investigating the biosynthesis of novel secondary metabolites. 
• Develop optimized workflows for large-scale computational prediction of biosynthetic gene clusters from a variety of inputs – draft and isolate genomes, metagenomes, from a variety of potential hosts (bacteria, plant, fungi).  
• Develop and deploy advanced algorithms and benchmark existing algorithms. 
• Lead the further development of the Secondary Metabolism Collaboratory for incorporating these tools and their outputs into a system that facilitates the visualization and searching of this data, and its provision and curation to and by the natural products scientific community to serve as a world-leading resource. 
• Conduct user testing and use this feedback to improve and extend functionalities. 
• Actively lead and/or participate in specific research projects within the Secondary Metabolites Science Program. 
• Establish effective and productive collaborations with leading secondary metabolite users and researchers. 
• Support ongoing user projects using your own expertise and leveraging that of others. 
• Interface, collaborate and communicate with JGI management and other JGI scientists.
• Prepare results for publication and make presentations at seminars and scientific meetings. 
• Attend, participate and present in bi-weekly Secondary Metabolites Program meetings, and other internal meetings as relevant.
• Make presentations, both oral and as posters, at international scientific meetings, representing the Secondary Metabolites Science Program and the JGI.

What is Required:

• Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent knowledge/training) in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Computational Biology or a related field and a minimum of 6 years of relevant experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. 
• Demonstrated experience in sequencing and functional genomic annotation. 
• Demonstrated expertise in bioinformatics software development to support molecular and synthetic biology efforts. 
• Demonstrated ability to develop and deploy novel specialized genome sequence analysis pipelines. 
• Experience with database and web site development to deliver genomic information to drive construct and strain design, and bio(chemical) biosynthetic pathway characterization.
• Demonstrated ability to design and oversee projects resulting from genomic analyses.
• Experience with advanced data analysis, including integrating data from multiple OMICS technologies for visualization and statistical analysis. 
• Demonstrated oral and written communication skills including experience preparing information for publications, presentations, seminars and scientific meetings.
• Strong analytical skills including experience with problem-solving and decision-making. 
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills including the ability to perform individual and collaborative research and interact with a broad range of diverse colleagues in an interdisciplinary research environment.

What We Prefer:

• Advanced Degree (Master’s Degree and/or Ph.D.) in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Computational Biology or a related field. 
• At least three years of relevant postdoctoral experience in the discovery, analysis, annotation and prediction of chemical products of biosynthetic gene clusters. 
• Experience in the supervision or management of research staff.

Notes:

• For full consideration, please apply with a resume by January 2, 2023.
• This is a full-time career appointment, exempt (monthly paid) from overtime pay.
• This position may be subject to a background check. Any convictions will be evaluated to determine if they directly relate to the responsibilities and requirements of the position. Having a conviction history will not automatically disqualify an applicant from being considered for employment.
• This position has the option of working remotely. Work must be performed within the United States.

Learn About Us:

Berkeley Lab (LBNL) addresses the world’s most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab’s scientific expertise has been recognized with 16 Nobel prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

The JGI ’s mission is to provide the global research community with access to the most advanced integrative genome science capabilities in support of the DOE”s research mission to solve the world’s evolving energy and environmental challenges. The JGI supports projects in genome sequencing, synthesis, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and natural products in plants, fungi, algae, and microorganisms.

Working at Berkeley Lab has many rewards including a competitive compensation program, excellent health and welfare programs, a retirement program that is second to none, and outstanding development opportunities. To view information about the many rewards that are offered at Berkeley Lab- Click Here .

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