Skip to main content

Informatics Specialist | Small Molecule Discovery Center

We are no longer accepting applications for this recruitment. Browse open recruitments

Position description

Informatics Specialist
Small Molecule Discovery Center
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
University of California, San Francisco

The Small Molecule Discovery Center (SMDC) is looking for an Informatics Specialist. The SMDC is a research facility in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco (Mission Bay Campus). The SMDC has a well-established group for high-throughput screening (HTS), fragment-based discovery, and medicinal chemistry. When biomedical research at UCSF uncovers new potential targets for drug discovery, the SMDC works with researchers to develop chemical tools and drug leads to further understand and exploit these targets for human health. Informatics plays a central role in research at the SMDC, and thus a vital part of the informatics role involves collaborating with a wide range of chemists, biologists, engineers and principal investigators.

The successful candidate will be responsible for using design thinking principles to design software and maintain technical infrastructure used in support of the SMDC’s high-throughput screening and medicinal chemistry efforts. Day-to-day work revolves around using Pipeline Pilot to extract, transform, and load inventory, chemical information, and completed screening data into a MySQL database before being visualized within an in-house Grails web application, HiTS. There is ample opportunity to develop and apply new tools to extract information from drug-discovery data. Scientists who enjoy working in diverse areas of biology and thrive in a team-oriented, multi-disciplinary environment are ideally suited for this position. The position will report to Dr. Michelle Arkin, Professor and Chair of Pharmaceutical Chemistry.

To learn about our science, visit our websites at:
https://pharm.ucsf.edu/smdc
https://pharm.ucsf.edu/arkin
Required Qualifications
• PhD in relevant life science, physical science, or computer science
• Solid understanding of basic chemoinformatic concepts such as fingerprinting, similarity metrics, fragmentation methods, druglikeness metrics, and structural alert flags
• Familiarity with open-source chemical and biological data repositories such as PubChem and ChEMBL
• Proficiency with Pipeline Pilot or other ETL technology
• Aptitude and desire to engage in team-based research and collaboration
• Strong sense of data integrity
• Experience with machine-learning models
• Candidates must meet the required qualification at the time of appointment.
• Candidate’s CV or cover letter must state qualifications (of if pending) upon submission.

Preferred Qualifications
• 1+ year experience with database design and management
• 3+ years of experience with at least two of Java, Perl, Python, Groovy, Ruby
• 3+ years of experience building HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript front ends
• Motivation to publish in peer reviewed journals
• Knowledgeable in statistics and statistical methods
• Experienced with domain driven design, design thinking principles
• Experienced with biological and chemical based ontologies
• Experienced with Linux systems
• Pharmaceutical experience in drug discovery

Salary will be commensurate with the applicant’s experience and training

Applicants should submit a brief cover letter and a curriculum vitae. Please apply online and submit these documents along with the contact information for at least two references to: https://aprecruit.ucsf.edu/JPF03373.

UCSF seeks candidates whose experience, teaching, research, or community service has prepared them to contribute to our commitment of diversity and excellence. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status.

Application Requirements

Document requirements
  • Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.

  • Cover Letter

  • Statement of Research (Optional)

  • Statement of Teaching (Optional)

  • Statement of Contributions to Diversity (Optional)

  • Misc / Additional (Optional)

Reference requirements
  • 2 required (contact information only)

About UC San Francisco

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

UC San Francisco seeks candidates whose experience, teaching, research, or community service has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and excellence. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status.

Job location

San Francisco, CA