Computational Biologist - Academic Graduate Appointee

Company Description

Join us and make YOUR mark on the World!

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has turned bold ideas into world-changing impact advancing science and technology to strengthen U.S. security and promote global stability.

Our mission spans four critical national security areas nuclear deterrence, threat preparedness, energy security, and multi-domain defense empowering teams to take on the toughest challenges of today and tomorrow. With a culture built on innovation and operational excellence, LLNL is a place where your expertise can make a real impact.

Job Description

NOTE:   This is a one-year Academic Graduate Appointee with the possibility of extension to a maximum of two years.

We have an opening for an Academic Graduate Appointee to support the development and application of computational analytics, reproducible data workflows, and interactive dashboards for biosurveillance applications. You will contribute to multidisciplinary efforts supporting syndromic surveillance, environmental metagenomics, and related public health and biological threat preparedness applications. In this role, you will assist with computational methods and reproducible bioinformatics workflows, including the evaluation of approved artificial intelligence-enabled tools. You will work with diverse biological, environmental, clinical, and surveillance datasets to support data quality assessment, analysis, visualization, and timely scientific interpretation. You will use, with guidance, high-performance computing resources to execute scalable analyses and help develop robust, maintainable computational capabilities. Under close supervision and in accordance with established procedures, you will support analytical workflow development, perform data analysis, develop reporting tools, and communicate technical results to team members and collaborators. This position is in the Advanced Biotechnologies Integration Group in the Biosciences and Biotechnology Division within the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate.

This position requires full-time on-site presence due to the nature of the work.

You will

- Assist with development of computational analytics and interactive dashboards for biosurveillance, syndromic surveillance, and environmental metagenomics applications.
- Build, test, document, and maintain reproducible bioinformatics and data processing workflows using workflow management frameworks.
- Analyze structured and unstructured biological, environmental, and surveillance data to identify trends, assess data quality, and support scientific decision making.
- Assist with processing, characterization, and visualization of metagenomic sequencing data, including taxonomic, functional, and quality-control analyses.
- Apply high-performance computing resources to execute established bioinformatics, statistical, and machine learning workloads.
- Evaluate approved agentic tools, with guidance, to support code development, data exploration, documentation, and analytical reporting, consistent with project requirements and established computing practices.
- Assist with development of data-ingestion, transformation, and validation processes that support reliable downstream analysis and dashboard visualization.
- Create clear visualizations, reports, and dashboard interfaces that communicate analytical results to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
- Assist in developing, testing, and documenting computational workflows, software tools, and analysis pipelines.
- Present results to team members and collaborators.
- Contribute to technical reports, presentations, and, as appropriate, draft materials supporting publications.
- Work in a fast-paced interdisciplinary team supporting research in computational biology, bioinformatics, biosurveillance, and biological threat preparedness.
- Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

- Ability to secure and maintain a U.S. DOE Q-level security clearance which requires U.S. citizenship. 
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Biology, Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Engineering, or a related field.
- Experience with programming or scripting in Python, R, Bash, and/or a comparable scientific-computing language.
- Experience or coursework involving analysis of biological, genomic, metagenomic, epidemiological, environmental, or other complex scientific datasets.
- Familiarity with data visualization, dashboard development, or reporting tools.
- Familiarity with Linux-based computing environments and command-line tools.
- Ability to follow established computational workflows, troubleshoot routine analysis issues with guidance, and document methods and results.
- Proficient verbal and written communication skills necessary to effectively communicate technical information.
- Interpersonal skills necessary to work in a collaborative research environment and interact with a diverse set of team members.

Qualifications We Desire

- Experience with next-generation sequencing analysis, metagenomics, microbial genomics, biosurveillance, or syndromic surveillance data.
- Experience developing reproducible workflows using tools such as Nextflow, Snakemake, WDL, or similar workflow management systems.
- Experience using high-performance computing systems, including job schedulers such as Slurm and distributed or parallel computing environments.
- Experience with data dashboard and visualization technologies, such as Plotly Dash, Shiny, Power BI, or JavaScript-based visualization frameworks.
- Experience with software engineering practices, including Git-based version control, testing, code review, and technical documentation.
- Familiarity with relational databases, APIs, biomedical informatics data formats, cloud-compatible data processing tools, and data catalog or metadata management platforms such as DataHub.
- Familiarity with designing data-quality controls, metadata standards, and provenance-tracking approaches for scientific data workflows.

Pay Range

$6,748 - $7,718 Monthly

Please note that the pay range information is a general guideline only. Many factors are taken into consideration when setting starting pay including education, experience, the external labor market, and internal equity.

Additional Information

#LI-Onsite

Position Information

This is a one-year Academic Graduate Appointee, open to those who have been awarded a degree at the time of the employment offer.

Why Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory?

- Included in 2026 Best Places to Work by Glassdoor!
- Flexible Benefits Package (https://www.llnl.gov/join-our-team/culture/benefits)
- 401(k)
- Relocation Assistance
- Education Reimbursement Program
- Flexible schedules (*depending on project needs)
- Our values - visit https://www.llnl.gov/inclusion/our-values (https://www.llnl.gov/diversity/our-values)

Security Clearance

This position requires a Department of Energy (DOE) Q-level clearance.  If you are selected, we will initiate a Federal background investigation to determine if you meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information or matter. Also, all L or Q cleared employees are subject to random drug testing.  Q-level clearance requires U.S. citizenship.

Pre-Employment Drug Test

External applicant(s) selected for this position must pass a post-offer, pre-employment drug test. This includes testing for use of marijuana as Federal Law applies to us as a Federal Contractor.

Wireless and Medical Devices

Per the Department of Energy (DOE), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory must meet certain restrictions with the use and/or possession of mobile devices in Limited Areas. Depending on your job duties, you may be required to work in a Limited Area where you are not permitted to have a personal and/or laboratory mobile device in your possession.  This includes, but not limited to cell phones, tablets, fitness devices, wireless headphones, and other Bluetooth/wireless enabled devices.

If you use a medical device, which pairs with a mobile device, you must still follow the rules concerning the mobile device in individual sections within Limited Areas.  Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities require separate approval. Hearing aids without wireless capabilities or wireless that has been disabled are allowed in Limited Areas, Secure Space and Transit/Buffer Space within buildings.

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To learn more about recruitment scams:  https://www.llnl.gov/sites/www/files/2023-05/LLNL-Job-Fraud-Statement-Updated-4.26.23.pdf

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are an equal opportunity employer that is committed to providing all with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, protected veteran status, age, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.

Reasonable Accommodation

Our goal is to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates applying and interviewing at the Laboratory.  If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please use our online form to submit a request.

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The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) grants privacy rights to all California residents. The law also entitles job applicants, employees, and non-employee workers to be notified of what personal information LLNL collects and for what purpose. The Employee Privacy Notice can be accessed here .