Senior Software Engineer - Full Stack Web Developer

Are you looking for a challenging and rewarding career in software engineering? Do you want to work with cutting-edge technologies and solve real-world problems?

The Babu group seeks a full-time fullstack web developer to build and deploy React web apps for interactive display of biological data to track viral pathogen evolution through time, across the world. This is a joint project between the Webby and Babu Labs at St. Jude, and is fully supported by a three-year grant from The Flu Lab. St. Jude is a world leader in influenza research and surveillance. Dr Webby is the Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Influenza, and a National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR). Their work places them at the unique and critical interface between basic research and public health. Dr. Babu is a world-renowned leader in the application of data science to biological discovery and is the Director of the Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Discovery, and is the Chief Data Scientist, Senior Vice President for Data Science, and Director of the Office of Data Science at St. Jude. The Babu group has recently introduced the concept of “variant accessibility,” in the Influenza A virus, developing a computational tool that predicts the likelihood of a viral genomic sequence reaching different parts of genotype space that might confer resistance to antiviral drugs or evade the human immune system (Science Advances 2023). This prediction tool will be further developed, implemented, and applied to global pandemic preparedness efforts including the response to the emerging avian and bovine H5N1 influenza viruses. Opportunities exist to interact with global public health partners, including the World Health Organization.

Virologists and computational biologists on this project are developing bioinformatic tools to survey currently circulating viruses and predict which are more likely to mutate and acquire resistance. The Senior Software Engineer will build a web interface to share our tools with the world and integrate them into international influenza vaccine and pandemic preparedness efforts to translate our generated models into real-world actions. The ideal candidate will be an expert in the creation of interactive React web apps using D3.js for customized bioinformatic data visualizations. When submitting your application, please include your CV and a cover letter that links to a portfolio of past projects. You must be able to present or provide links to a strong work portfolio that demonstrates your expertise in designing, building, and deploying modern web applications. Relocation to Memphis, TN is required; this is not a remote position.

The candidate should be a curious problem-solver who thrives in a fast-paced research group with diverse expertise. You will have a strong computer science and web development background, exceptional skills in designing interpretable and understandable visualizations to render complex, multi-dimensional biological data, and some understanding or willingness to learn bioinformatics tools in Python. You will be a team player and work as part of an interdisciplinary team of virologists and biological data scientists. Your work will help translate research discoveries into predictive tools to combat infectious diseases.

Tech stack:

JavaScript

React

D3.js

Python bioinformatic analysis tools

Nextstrain for phylodynamics analysis, and interactive visualization

Responsibilities:

• Independently identify and implement solutions to simple domain problems
• Modify and maintain existing systems for adaptation to business and/or technology changes
• Provide subject matter expertise for production systems, document maintenance, and system support procedures
• Support continuous improvement by investigating alternatives and new technologies and presenting these for architectural review
• Design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, and enhance web tools to help researchers visualize & understand biological data and track viral evolution
• Collaborate with designers and other software engineers and work directly with users to improve the user experience of apps 
• Gather user feedback, rapidly prototype new functionality, and develop high-quality front-end code 

Minimum Education:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, data science, information science, business, or related field
• Bachelor's degree in software engineer is preferred
• Master's degree is preferred

 Minimum Experience:

• Bachelor's degree with 3+ years of experience required
• Experience Exception: Master's degree with 1+ years of experience
• Experience with programming languages, databases, and software development lifecycle

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Strong background and experience working on frontend web tools using modern JavaScript frameworks like React, Vue, or Svelte
• Strong proficiency with visualization libraries like D3.js, Three.js, or Chart.js
• General Python programming proficiency and willingness to learn to run open-source bioinformatic analysis pipelines and adapt to the project
• A strong understanding of Rest API and consuming JSON data in frontend code
• Understanding and experience with Typescript for the frontend are a plus
• Experience with maintaining source code in version control tools like GitHub or Bitbucket
• Experience working on open-source GitHub projects is a plus
• Experience working with container systems like Docker is a plus
• Experience working with backend frameworks like Django, FastAPI, Node.js

Ranked #2 in the U.S. in Pediatric Cancer, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is the only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children and home to the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project. The St. Jude campus is a truly unique research environment, encompassing state-of-the-art HPC facilities, world-leading oncology basic research, outstanding Shared Resources and Core Facilities, and a dedicated translational Chemical Biology and Therapeutics department. The $412M Advanced Research Center, opened in 2021, is the new home of the Babu Group and the Center of Excellence for Data-Driven Discovery. There are diverse Basic Science, Translational Science, and Data Science communities at St. Jude, with opportunities to interact with researchers in the Biostatistics and Computational Biology departments and support from the Center for Applied Bioinformatics. The Group believes strongly in providing excellent support for competency and skill development. St Jude offers a well-defined career ladder with potential for growth and advancement. Industry-competitive salaries are based on your degree and years of experience.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is consistently named as one of Fortune magazine and Glassdoor.com's "Best Places to Work," as well as "Best Workplace for Women" and "Best Workplace for Diversity." We are in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee, a vibrant and friendly city at the historic American crossroads of music, trade, food, and culture. Mild winters and beautiful green outdoor spaces are part of the reasons why Forbes recently named Memphis the 4th happiest city in which to work. Low cost of living and high quality of life are other attractions; Money magazine listed Memphis as one of the least expensive cities to raise a child. St. Jude facilities and salaries are highly competitive. The Babu & Webby Groups strive to build and maintain a culture of respect, diversity, and inclusion. We strongly feel these values directly contribute to the dynamic and intellectually stimulating scientific environment we can provide.

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 $86,320 - $154,960 per year for the role of Senior Software Engineer - Full Stack Web Developer.

Explore our exceptional benefits!

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has a diverse, global patient population and workforce, built on the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. Our founder Danny Thomas envisioned a hospital that would treat children of the world—regardless of race, religion or a family’s ability to pay. Learn more about our history and commitment.

Today, we continue the mission to advance cures and means of prevention for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. As we accelerate this progress globally, we believe our legacy of diversity, equity and inclusion is foundational to success. With the commitment of leaders at all levels of the organization, we strive to ensure the St. Jude culture, leadership approaches and talent processes are equitable and culturally responsive. View our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report to learn about the hospital’s roots in diversity, equity and inclusion, where we are today and our aspirations for an even better future.

St. Jude is an Equal Opportunity Employer

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