Senior Bioinformatics Engineer - DNA Synthesis Screening

We are pleased to support IBBIS in its development in Geneva under an exclusive mandate. As an international organization dedicated to biosecurity and biosafety, IBBIS strengthens international, regional, and national norms and develops innovative tools, including the Common Mechanism, a key system for screening synthetic DNA. In 2025, the focus is on expanding screening of synthetic DNA, supporting international standards, and assisting responsible research and innovation.

Description

The Senior Bioinformatics Engineer will play a key role in optimizing and expanding the Common Mechanism, IBBIS's open-source sequence screening tool. Over the past year, the tool has been validated on over 1 million sequences and proven resilient to AI-redesigned pathogens. Now, IBBIS is strengthening its team to establish it as a global standard for synthesis screening.

In this role, you will enhance homology search performance, improve pathogen detection, address vulnerability disclosures, and contribute to international biosecurity standards.

https://ibbis.bio/our-work/common-mechanism/

https://github.com/ibbis-bio/common-mechanism

https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/apb.2023.0033

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.02.626439v1

Profile

We are looking for a technically strong candidate with sound security judgment. You may have experience in pathogen detection, high-performance computing, or scientific software development. More than specific biosecurity expertise, we value your ability to build robust bioinformatics pipelines and make strategic technical decisions.

Key Requirements:

• At least 5 years in bioinformatics or computational biology
• Experience in classification and detection of pathogen sequences, including standard sequence analysis tools (e.g., BLAST, DIAMOND, HMMER)
• Strong Python skills for bioinformatics pipeline development
• Proven leadership and team collaboration
• Availability for core hours (15:00-17:00 UTC)

Job Offer

• Flexible Work Environment: The option to work either remotely or from the office in Geneva
• Global Impact: A chance to contribute to the development of biosecurity tools and influence global standards in biotechnology
• Professional Growth: Work alongside an expert team and gain exposure to cutting-edge technologies in bioinformatics and AI
• International Collaboration: Collaborate with global experts and contribute to international projects shaping the future of biotechnology and biosecurity
• Core Team Role: Be a key member of the technical team, taking a leadership role in the development of synthesis screening methodology