Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre (GSC)
Vancouver
, British Columbia
 Canada
Programmer/Developer
Bachelor's
Job Reference No. CB_P01060_HSA194507_CCG_2026_01_30
Job Summary
In accordance with the Purpose, Vision, Values and Coast Salish Teachings, and strategic direction of PHSA, safety, including both patient and employee safety, is a priority and a responsibility shared by everyone at PHSA. As such, the requirement to continuously improve quality and safety is inherent in all aspects of this position.
The Computational Biologist performs bioinformatics analyses and contributes to software development related to the operation of a large-scale clinical sequencing facility.
Benefits:
Every PHSA employee enables the best possible patient care for our patients and their families. Whether you are providing direct care, conducting research, or making it possible for others to do their work, you impact the lives of British Columbians today and in the future. That’s why we’re focused on your care too – offering health, wellness, development programs to support you – at work and at home.
- Join one of BC’s largest employers with province-wide programs, services and operations – offering vast opportunities for growth, development, and recognition programs that honour the commitment and contribution of all employees.
- Access to professional development opportunities through our in-house training programs, including +2,000 courses, such as our San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training course, or Core Linx for Leadership roles.
- Enjoy a comprehensive benefits package, which includes statutory benefits – Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance and WorkSafe BC plus the PHSA group benefits plan which includes medical & dental extended health, and group life insurance coverage, and psychological health & safety programs and holistic wellness resources.
- Annual statutory holidays (13) with generous vacation entitlement and accruement.
- PHSA is a remote work friendly employer, welcoming flexible work options to support our people (eligibility may vary, depending on position).
- Access to WorkPerks, a premium discount program offering a wide range of local and national discounts on electronics, entertainment, dining, travel, wellness, apparel, and more.
Job Type:
Temporary Full-Time, 7.5 hrs. per day
Hybrid
Salary Range:
Grid 9 – $37.89/hour for the 1st year – $47.20/ hour for the 6th year
The starting salary for this position would be determined with consideration of the successful candidate’s relevant education and experience, and would be in alignment with the provincial compensation reference plan and grant fund availability.
Higher salary offers above the midpoint range require additional review and approval.
Duties
- Contributes to the design, development, implementation, validation, running, and maintenance of clinical bioinformatics pipelines and related databases.
- Contributes to incorporation of third-party software into clinical bioinformatics pipelines, including:
- identifying candidate software to consider
- comparing software candidates to aid in selection.
- determining optimal parameters for the chosen software
- developing interfaces to integrate the chosen software and
- validating integration of the chosen software
- Participates in the development of novel software solutions, as directed by the Assistant Bioinformatics Coordinator or Clinical Bioinformatics Coordinator.
- Participates in peer code review.
- Contributes to writing and updating official procedures and other documentation related to clinical bioinformatics pipelines.
- Verifies results produced by clinical bioinformatics pipelines.
- Performs exploratory analyses to identify potential root causes of issues encountered during production processing, and implements corrective actions as directed by the Assistant Bioinformatics Coordinator or Clinical Bioinformatics Coordinator.
- Performs bioinformatics analyses to answer questions from the Clinical Director, Clinical Bioinformatics Coordinator, or Assistant Bioinformatics Coordinator.
- Presents implementation plans, analysis results, and validation results internally and externally, in oral presentations and written documentation.
- Contributes to the development of research papers by providing materials, methods, and/or analyzed data.
- Participates in the training of others through orientation, informal instruction, and sharing of job information.
- Performs other related duties as required.
Education, Training and Experience
- Graduation from a recognized Bachelor of Applied Science or Bachelor of Science Program in either Biological Sciences or Computer Science.
- Two (2) year’s of recent related experience or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience acceptable to the GSC Group Leaders.
Skills and Abilities
- Demonstrated skill with Python or other similar high level languages
- Functional knowledge of distributed version control systems, such as Git.
- Demonstrated ability in R or other similar statistical programming languages.
- Familiarity with relational databases, such as PostgreSQL, and with ORMs
- Ability to program and run analyses in a production environment.t
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Comfortable working in a Unix environment, including experience with shell scripting and common command-line tools.
- Demonstrated interpersonal skills including the ability to work effectively with others in a team environment.
- Demonstrated ability to efficiently organize work assignments to complete required tasks on time.
- Familiarity with next-generation sequencing, cancer genetics, principles of clinical testing, experimental design, statistical hypothesis testing, and/or machine learning would be considered an asset.
- Ability to use related equipment.
- Demonstrated skills in CPR techniques.
Advancing Genomics Technologies for Health and Life Sciences
The Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre (GSC), a provincial program within the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), is a recognized international leader in genomics, bioinformatics, and genome technology innovation. By developing and deploying cutting-edge sequencing and computational platforms, the GSC supports breakthrough research across cancer, rare and infectious diseases, and the broader life sciences. Our work enables earlier diagnosis, novel therapeutic approaches, and transformative applications of genomics to improve human health and environmental resilience—delivering both social and economic impact through science.
Python
Git
PostgreSQL
ORMs
Unix
next-generation sequencing
cancer genetics
clinical testing
experimental design
statistical hypothesis testing
machine learning
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