We are seeking a talented highly motivated research scientist to join our new Sequencing Research capability in San Diego. The successful candidate will work on novel NGS profiling approaches to elucidate disease state from patient biospecimens, PDX and organoid models, and multi-cellular pre-clinical disease models. Work performed will contribute to therapeutic discovery and early translational research programs in oncology, autoimmune and neurological indications.

The role will involve extensive partnership with scientist colleagues from across Celgene Research & Early Development (R/ED) to drive new experimental, data capture and sample rescue strategies, and will include inter-disciplinary collaboration with analytical research colleagues to maximize the depth and robustness of insights derived from transcriptional, mutational and epigenetic profiling datasets. Areas of technical research focus include the successful profiling of rare, damaged or low-yield samples, and collaborative pursuit and assessment of diagnostic assay hypotheses.

Key stakeholders include researchers in our thematic centers of excellence (TCoEs), our Translational Development and Diagnostics (TDD) function, and colleagues in the Research Informatics and Knowledge Utilization (RIKU) department, engaged in work towards key objectives for Celgene Research and Early Development (R/ED).

This position suits an individual with demonstrated scientific talent and future leadership potential, with excellent communication and collaboration skills. Keen interest in inter-disciplinary application of high-throughput molecular profiling methods to life sciences data is imperative.

Applications are encouraged from those looking to impact delivery of truly innovative and life-changing therapies for complex diseases of unmet medical need.

Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Collaborative design and execution of NGS profiling experiments to elucidate disease state and therapeutic response, with focus on successful profiling of rare, damaged or low-yield samples, and collaborative pursuit and assessment of diagnostic assay hypotheses.
• Research at the leading edge of NGS sample preparation and profiling technologies, including implementation of novel protocols drawn from the literature, Celgene academic collaborators, and/or in-house efforts, aligned to Celgene scientific research objectives.
• Advise on sample extraction, library preparation and QC, guide collection of supporting metadata, liaise with computational research colleagues during analytical research, and translational scientists involved in diagnostics research.
• Design and perform pilot experiments to test new protocols, and assess new profiling platforms and external vendor capabilities.
• Contribute to the operation of internal next-generation sequencing resources and development of supporting infrastructures, including documentation of protocols developed and supervision of technical support staff as required.
• Present strategies, approaches, results and conclusions to Celgene colleagues and external audiences to a publishable standard.
• Contribute to enable strategic collaborations with academic and commercial collaborators to benefit therapeutic programs.

Skills/Knowledge Required:

• Ph.D. in biology, biochemistry or related discipline at a recognized higher-education establishment.
• At least 6 years of inter-disciplinary research experience with focus on cell or molecular profiling for elucidation of human disease in university, hospital or biotechnology research scenarios.
• Expertise in performing state of the art NGS studies with demonstrable record of innovative protocol development and peer-reviewed publication in relevant areas.
• Expertise in the generation of robust molecular profiling datasets from low-yield, damaged or contaminated human samples for translational research objectives. 
• Experience in use of NGS profiling methods to answer complex research questions in cancer biology, autoimmune disease, epigenetics and/or immune biology.
• Hands-on experience of sample and library preparation, operation and maintenance of high- and low-throughput NGS apparatus (Illumina preferable).
• In-depth knowledge of contemporary NGS technologies and experimental design considerations, and familiarity with downstream bioinformatics approaches applied to process, analyze, visualize and interpret NGS datasets.
• Awareness of contemporary LIMS schema, open-source bioinformatics tools and database structures.
• Experience in performing functional assays to validate experimental findings.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills, proven problem-solving skills, collaborative nature and adaptability across disciplines