Bioinformatician / Research Officer (12840-RE-200-2025)

About the job

Research

Bioinformatician / Research Officer

The Genetic Medicine Service is looking for a project manager / bioinformatician for a fixed-term contract of one year, with an activity rate between 80% and 100%.

Context

The Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) is one of the 5 Swiss university hospitals. Thanks to its collaboration with the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne and EPFL, CHUV plays a leading role in medical care, medical research, and education.

The CHUV Genetic Medicine Service consists of a clinical unit and molecular and chromosomal diagnostic laboratories. The clinical unit includes 3 senior physicians, 3 clinic heads, 3 assistants, 4 genetic counselors, and 1 psychologist. More than 5000 patients are seen annually in consultations (neurogenetics, oncogenetics, cardiogenetics, nephrogenetics, etc.).

The molecular and chromosomal diagnostic laboratories include 4 FAMH biologists, 6 scientific experts, 1 bioinformatician, and 10 laboratory technicians. More than 2500 analyses are performed annually using various methods (karyotype, FISH, array CGH, Sanger, MLPA, NGS, etc.). Some patients benefit from short-read sequencing after exome capture and trio Mendeliome analysis.

You will join a newly formed research team. The projects focus on patients followed in the Genetic Medicine service for whom no molecular diagnosis could be made despite multiple analyses. We work on identifying new genes responsible for rare monogenic diseases and understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms explaining these dysfunctions through various functional validations (organoids, in vivo models). We are particularly interested in genes responsible for neurodevelopmental disorders on one hand and monogenic ataxia on the other.

Collaborations with research teams from the University of Lausanne and EPFL are planned.

Mission

Participate in research and development axes

You design, develop, and maintain automated pipelines for the analysis of human genome sequencing data (short-read and long-read) within research activities (80%) and, complementarily, in a diagnostic context (20%), in close collaboration with the service bioinformatician.

You integrate and evaluate open source and proprietary tools (alignment, variant detection, annotation, quality control) and develop new computational tools (statistical methods, software) adapted to the data generated by the different projects.

You participate in the interpretation of genomic data in coordination with the service bioinformatician, the postdoctoral researcher, and all involved collaborators.

Contribute to the management, organization, and standardization of genomic data

You ensure the structuring, secure storage, and harmonization of data to guarantee their traceability and reuse.

You contribute to the implementation of data management and standardization strategies to promote their integration, interoperability, and scientific exploitation.

Participate in writing quality procedures in bioinformatics

You develop, document, and update standardized procedures to ensure compliance with quality and regulatory standards, as well as alignment with best practices in bioinformatics.

Contribute to training

You contribute to bioinformatics teaching within the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne, to master and doctoral students, as well as to pre- and post-graduate teaching activities in biomedical data science.

Communicate and interact

You communicate and interact effectively with internal and external collaborators to ensure optimal coordination of research and development activities.

Profile

• You hold a PhD in biostatistics, bioinformatics, or a similar field (desired), or a Master’s degree in bioinformatics applied to human genomics, complemented by at least two years of post-master professional experience (required)

You master Python, R, and Bash languages, which you use to develop, automate, and optimize complex bioinformatics analyses

You have experience implementing workflows (e.g., Nextflow or Snakemake) for processing and analyzing sequencing data

You possess confirmed skills in NGS analysis, including the use of tools such as BWA, GATK, SAMtools, bcftools, VEP/ANNOVAR

You work efficiently in Linux environments, with HPC or Cloud infrastructures, and are familiar with managing and processing large-scale data

You rigorously apply quality control best practices, as well as version control tools such as Git, to ensure reliability, traceability, and reproducibility of analyses

You demonstrate rigor, autonomy, and a strong team spirit, and show proven ability to collaborate in interdisciplinary scientific contexts.

Depending on your profile, the position will be classified as class 10 or 11 according to the DECFO system of the State of Vaud.

We offer

Becoming a collaborator of the Lausanne University Hospital means benefiting from:

• Top-tier social benefits, 20 days paternity leave, and 4 months maternity leave (with the possibility of an additional month of breastfeeding leave)
• Regular salary progression adapted to responsibilities
• A 13th salary and 25 days of vacation per year
• A right to at least three days of training per year, with access to a varied offer within the CHUV Training Center and partner training centers of the State of Vaud
• Facilitated access to one of the 500 furnished apartments offered in the surrounding neighborhoods for people relocating to Switzerland from abroad
• Social, cultural, and economic benefits offered to members of the H-Oxygène association
• Benefits offered within the mobility plan (discounts on public transport subscriptions, promotion of "Mobility" vehicles, and discounts on electric bike purchases)
• Quality hotel-style company restaurants in each hospital building with preferential rates.

Contact and application submission

Contact for information about the position: Ms. Alexa Buseyne, Administrative, at 021 314 40 65

Since all our applications are processed electronically, we kindly ask you to apply exclusively online by clicking the APPLY button at the bottom of the announcement.

If you have difficulty applying, you can consult our procedure on how to apply online. If for technical reasons you cannot apply online, we invite you to contact our Recruitment Unit, which will assist you in your process, either by email at e.recrutement@chuv.ch or by phone at 021 314 85 70

CHUV applies the highest quality requirements in its recruitment processes. Furthermore, committed to promoting diversity among our collaborators, we pay attention to different life paths and do everything possible to ensure equal treatment and avoid any discrimination. We look forward to receiving your application.

We kindly ask placement agencies to note that applications submitted directly by them on our recruitment platform are not accepted and cannot be invoiced. Thank you for your understanding.