Principal Computational Biologist Job

Division: Biotechnology
Function: Bioinformatics
City: Durham
State/Province: North Carolina [NC]
Country: United States [US]
Position Title: Principal Computational Biologist
Job ID: 3039

Role Purpose/Accountabilities:
*Provide leadership to two global teams of bioinformatics scientists responsible for the areas of molecular marker development and comparative genomics
*Lead the development and implementation of approaches for providing bioinformatics capabilities and support to Syngenta's Biotech research site in China
*As a member of the Bioinformatics Leadership team, contribute to the development of the group's strategy and operational plans
*Contribute to the advancement of our capabilities for leading edge data integration and analysis, enhancing our ability to interpret complex, multi-dimensional data
*Enhance our ability to integrate bioinformatics datasets with breeding datasets in support of product discovery and development
*Provide leadership to, and participation in, key projects both within the Bioinformatics function and across multiple R&D functions
*Contribute to the development of a global bioinformatics strategy that supports the research and business objectives of the company
*Contribute to the enhancement and evolution of the bioinformatics platform, a collection of tools and datasets that support computational biology analyses
*Interface effectively with diverse stakeholders and team members to identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our delivery of capabilities and high quality analyses to our R&D clients
*Continually expand skill set by staying on top of key advances in bioinformatics, agricultural biotechnology and the application of biotechnology and genomics to agricultural product discovery and development

Knowledge, Skills & Experience:

Critical knowledge: *Ph.D. or equivalent experience in Bioinformatics, Molecular Biology or a related field
*Strong understanding of biotechnology research and product development
*Familiarity with field trials used to support evaluation and advancement of product candidates in an agricultural biotechnology environment highly desirable
*Experience with the scoping, design and development processes for software solutions as applied to dynamic and challenging research environments highly desirable

Critical Experience:
*8 years professional experience in bioinformatics or computational biology
*4 years professional experience leading a team or teams of bioinformatics scientists
*Experience leading teams located at multiple locations, preferably including experience leading teams located in multiple countries

Critical Technical, Professional & Personal capabilities:
*Track record of leading significant and effective multi-disciplinary project teams
*Excellent communication, organization and presentation skills
*Experience in negotiating and budgeting time between competing cross-functional demands for resources
*Extensive understanding of bioinformatics and professional experience carrying out bioinformatics analyses
*Knowledge of the life sciences, particularly genomics or genetics, required
*Experience with agricultural biotechnology and agricultural product development highly desirable

Critical Leadership Capabilities:
*Scans environment to look for needed change (anticipate need for change)
*Shows good judgment about which creative ideas and suggestions will work and suspends judgment until ideas are fully explained and vetted
*Involves many individuals in brainstorming sessions
*Listens carefully to customer needs and gains trust and loyalty from his/her customers; ensures quality of delivery by direct reports is high
*Identifies and mitigates cross functional barriers to enable better collaboration
Critical Success Factors & Key Challenges: *Establish enhanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with the convergence of biotechnology and traditional breeding
*Ability to deal with and influence senior people internal and external to Syngenta
*High level of negotiation, motivational and influencing skills
*Establish productive working relationships with key scientific users and informatics professionals across a number of functional groups within a matrix organization

Additional Information:
*Travel, including internationally, required for this position. Up to 10% per year.