Director of Research Operations (Computational Biology)

St. Jude is seeking a Director of Scientific Research to lead wet laboratory operations in the Department of Computational Biology. This position is key to supporting the development of leading-edge computational tools and improved data analysis of pediatric cancer.

About the lab and St. Jude:

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a world-class research institution dedicated to pediatric cancer and other catastrophic diseases of childhood. The first and only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Our 300 faculty work across the spectrum of basic, translational, clinical, and population science in a highly collaborative multidisciplinary environment that includes a Nobel laureate and members of the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Medicine. St. Jude is ranked on Fortune Magazine’s “Best Workplaces in Health Care & Biopharma” and Glassdoor’s “Best Places to Work,” and is located in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee, a vibrant and friendly city at the historic American crossroads of music, trade, food and culture.

The selected candidate will work with faculty within the Department of Computational Biology to further faculty research and facilitate grant applications by ensuring that laboratory staff generate the highest quality data to meet project requirements. This individual will leverage their expertise in NGS platforms and related evolving technologies to inform faculty of potentially useful developments for their research projects. This expertise will also be used to evaluate new technologies and platforms for recommendations for capital purchase. Supervision and management of laboratory infrastructure and common equipment in support of both direct reports and other wet lab personnel within the department will be a component of this position. The selected candidate will supervise 1st level managers and scientists to ensure that the St. Jude ideals of working with purpose and urgency are fulfilled.

Job Responsibilities:

• Lead and direct multiple large/ critical complex lab research areas/teams within area of laboratory research/ focus.

• Drive and manage scope, schedule, and resources to ensure relevant projects are delivered in line with the needs of the area of laboratory research/focus.

• Collaborate with cross-functional leadership (e.g., departmental/institutional shared resources, partner laboratories within area of laboratory research/focus and partner/vendor organizations) to optimize research outcomes.

• Propose innovative & differentiating capabilities/technologies within area of laboratory research/focus (e.g., relevant laboratory research SOPs; research databases; technology platforms) and oversee implementation and adoption.

• Actively guide budget development, implementation of strategic initiatives and ongoing fiscal review within area of laboratory research/ focus.

• With Principal Investigator and/or laboratory or research area leadership, actively drive processes for team management, including hiring, goal setting, performance, training and development, and engagement.

• Perform other duties as assigned to meet the goals and objectives of the department and the institution.

• Maintain regular and predictable attendance.

Minimum Education and/or Training:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant scientific discipline is required.

Minimum Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in relevant technical field (industry or academia) is required.

• 8+ years of experience in relevant technical field is required with a Master’s degree.

• 5+ years of experience in relevant technical field is required with a PHD.

• Significant experience in a research functional area with experience managing mid-large teams in a leadership capacity with focus on both achievement of objectives as well as critical skill-building preferred.

• Experience having led large-scale projects/processes through to implementation preferred.

• Experience with operational mgmt., budget planning, & stakeholder and resource management preferred.

• Prior experience in building external connections with peers, emerging technology communities, and expert networks preferred.

• Experience driving research objectives across area through collaboration with internal and external stakeholders preferred.

• Proven performance in earlier role/comparable role.

Special Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities:

• Expertise, knowledge, and experience in all aspects of Next Generation Sequencing

• Expertise in molecular biology.

• Knowledge of standard biology methods such as tissue culture, immunoblotting, and drug sensitivity assays.

• Understanding of the organization of computational clusters.

• Familiarity and experience using command line operations in a shell environment.

• Ability to translate strategic goals and objectives into actionable tasks, manage budget costs, efficiencies, and communications for optimal results.

• Skill in managing people, establishing goals and objectives, giving feedback, and having frequent career conversations with staff.

• Broad knowledge of multiple scientific/research areas and a strong ability to apply those in solving institutional/functional needs.

• Skills in sourcing, identifying and managing vendor relationships, contract negotiations and holding vendors accountable. Learning agility and strong grasp of vendor provided systems and technologies.

Strongly Preferred Skillset:

• Experience with approaches to generate single-cell sequencing data, such as droplet and combinatorial methods.

• Familiarity with spatial imaging assays and technologies.

• Experience using vendor pipelines to process single cell and spatial transcriptomic data (i.e. cell ranger, space ranger).

• Previous direct report experience.

• Familiarity with bioinformatics pipelines. 

• Previous experience with fluorescence microscopy.

Compensation

In recognition of certain U.S. state and municipal pay transparency laws, St. Jude is including a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This is an estimate offered in good faith and a specific salary offer takes into account factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the salary range and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is $125,840 - $238,160 per year for the role of Director of Research Operations (Computational Biology).

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St. Jude is an Equal Opportunity Employer

No Search Firms

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. Please do not call or email. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee or other representative at St. Jude via email, the internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written search agreement in place and approved by HR will result in no fee being paid in the event the candidate is hired by St. Jude.