Senior Bioinformatics Engineer

About BiomeSense

BiomeSense is a life sciences startup applying gut microbiome (GMB) technologies (GutLab, MetaBiome) to advance personalized medicine. We partner with UCSF, UCSD, NIH & the University of Chicago & are backed by LabCorp Ventures, Bluestein Ventures, Seerave Foundation & Emil Capital Partners.

About the role

Help build our MetaBiome platform, a software solution for collecting, curating & analyzing longitudinal GMB & health data at scale. Own the infra, pipelines & analytical workflows that turn raw sequencing data into intelligence, with room to grow into a platform leader.

Responsibilities

• Bioinformatics Architecture & Infrastructure – design, implement & maintain auditable backend for GMB data from raw shotgun metagenomic sequencing
• Data Engineering – build & maintain cloud infra: databases, distributed computing workflows & REST endpoints for microbial sequence & clinical metadata
• Statistical Analysis – Lead design, execution & documentation of reproducible computational experiments end-to-end
• Methods Development – Develop & implement novel analytical methodologies & algorithms informed by experimental findings & validated via rigorous evaluation
• Frontend / Backend Development – Design & implement robust data ingestion interfaces leveraging APIs & clinical ontologies, following best practices

Qualifications

• B.S. / M.S. / PhD in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics or a related field with 3+ yrs industry experience (biotech start-up ideal)
• Proficiency in Python & JavaScript & experience in production-quality software
• PostgreSQL or other relational SQL database proficiency
• Familiarity with clinical ontologies (SNOMED, ICD-11, ATC, LOINC)
• Familiarity with AWS & best practices in computer security
• Proficiency with modern frontend web technologies
• Excellent communication; translates complex scientific concepts to diverse stakeholders
• Strong ownership mindset & the ability to execute in fast-moving environments
• Expertise in bioinformatics pipelines, QC & reproducibility

Preferred

• NGS data experience
• Familiarity with longitudinal / repeated-measures biological datasets & GMB-specific challenges (compositional data, variability, confounders)
• Experience integrating ontologies / standardized vocabularies
• Exposure to cloud infrastructure, workflow orchestration or containerization
• Interest in AI/ML for large biological datasets

Compensation

$125K – $200K base + 0.25% - 0.5% equity stock options