Pairwise is a mission-driven food+tech company dedicated to building a healthier world through better fruits and vegetables. Founded in 2017 by eminent scientists in the gene editing and biotechnology fields, Pairwise holds licenses from Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital to base editing and high-fidelity enzymes. We also are tuned in to consumer food trends, and we believe that consumers deserve more variety and innovation in their fresh food choices. Our team is primed to deliver that innovation through one of the best gene-editing platforms in food and agriculture. Pairwise has an exclusive 5-year research collaboration with Bayer to develop products in corn, soybean, wheat, canola, and cotton. Plus, Pairwise is developing new types of leafy greens, berries, and stone fruit, with the first product expected in early 2023. Pairwise is based in the start-up friendly Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina.
About This Role: We have an open contractor position for a computational biologist who will leverage data driven methods for gene discovery and gene target characterization in plant crop species. This role will work with other members of the genomics team to play a key part in gaining insight from large genomic and phenotypic data sets. We are looking for a collaborative, team-oriented scientist with a PhD or equivalent level of training that is motivated by a desire to understand trait biology using genomics data and bioinformatic methods. This role’s contribution will be critical in helping Pairwise meet its goals and building a culture where science is fun.
Essential Functions:
- Remain current in genomics, bioinformatics, and crop science literature relevant to the role
- Combine information from genomics data analysis and other bioinformatics analyses to identify and/or improve our understanding of gene targets and their roles in trait biology
- Build models for principled identification and/or ranking of genes associated with various traits
- Design and collaborate with crop scientists and molecular scientists to design data acquisition experiments
- Collaborate with software engineering to deploy workflows in the cloud
- Collaborate with universities or scientific organizations to bring diverse insights and solutions to Pairwise
- Communicate plans and results to a broad audience, including scientists in different disciplines and non-scientists
Required Education & Experience:
- PhD or equivalent experience using computational biology approaches in Plant Biology, Crop Science, or related fields
- Strong track record of formulating research plans and executing projects in plant genomics
- Demonstrated experience with bioinformatics methods to accelerate gene discovery, such as orthology inference, gene expression analysis, genome assembly, genome annotation, and functional annotation
- Experience with command-line NGS data analysis approaches for standard file format handling, including read QC, read mapping, and data filtering
- Experience with common bioinformatics software and their use cases, e.g. SAMtools, GATK, BWA, Hisat, Minimap2, and others
- Familiarity with biological databases, e.g. Uniprot, NCBI GenBank, JASPAR, etc.
- Experience with AWS computing/storage, snakemake, and Docker are a plus but not required
- Ability to deliver scientific results in a collaborative, cross-functional environment
Offerings:
- Casual work environment.
- Mission-driven organization focused on creating healthier fruits and veggies
- A cutting-edge, driven community looking to lead the industry in innovation and nutrition
EEO Statement:
- We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.