• Programmer/Data Analyst - Division of Informatics

    University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA 19133

    Job #2666947454

  • University Overview

    The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn's distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America's Best Large Employers in 2023.

    Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

    The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

    Posted Job Title

    Programmer/Data Analyst - Division of Informatics

    Job Profile Title

    Data Analyst C

    Job Description Summary

    The Romano Lab at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine is seeking a full-time programmer / Data Analyst to act as a developer for the lab's open-source software and data infrastructure applications. We are a group of researchers who use artificial intelligence and translational bioinformatics to gain new insights into toxicology and environmental health. Our mission is to use advanced computational approaches to predict and explain the clinical effects resulting from exposure to specific chemicals, including environmental toxins and pharmaceutical drugs.

    The Data Analyst will be responsible for ongoing development of biomedical knowledge bases and interfaces for interacting with those knowledge bases, with applications in artificial intelligence (AI) and biomedical ontology research. In most cases, these software products will be open-source and publicly available, and they will support infrastructure in Penn's Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) and the Institute for Biomedical Informatics (IBI). The Data Analyst will be a full-time member of the Romano Lab and will work with team members to advance biomedical informatics data infrastructure and cutting-edge techniques in AI and machine learning.

    Job Description

    The Romano Lab at the University of Pennsylvania is seeking candidates for a Data Analyst who will aid in the development and maintenance of open-source data infrastructure tools and knowledge representations to support artificial intelligence (AI) research in translational bioinformatics and environmental health science. These include knowledge graphs, graph databases, biomedical ontologies, and tools that allow various stakeholders to interact with them, such as web APIs, code libraries, and data standards. The Data Analyst will also work with other lab members to implement and evaluate machine learning models (including graph neural networks) that will be applied to these knowledge representations to answer exciting questions in environmental toxicology. In addition to the public and open-source knowledge representations mentioned above, there will also be opportunities to interact with clinical data collected through the Penn Medicine health system and elsewhere.

    Responsibilities

    • Work closely with the lab principal investigator (PI) and other members of the lab to design and implement biomedical knowledge graphs and data interfaces for interacting with those knowledge graphs.

    • Lead data acquisition, data cleaning, and data quality assessment for data collected from public biomedical databases.

    • Implement AI and machine learning solutions for research questions in translational bioinformatics and computational toxicology.

    • Build and maintain schemas for complex-structured biomedical data.

    • Use knowledge of software architecture and modern software frameworks to collaboratively determine code modifications and updates to ongoing software projects.

    • Maintain lab databases (SQL and NoSQL), manage database permissions, and perform user access control.

    • Maintain code documentation and track bug reports.

    • Perform code review of code contributed by other lab members and the open-source community.

    • Contribute to peer-reviewed scientific research papers authored by members of the lab, especially regarding computational methods and data analysis.

    • Other duties and responsibilities as assigned

    Qualifications

    Required

    • Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and 2 to 3 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.

    • 2+ years of computer programming experience with a BS

    • Experience working with one or more modern front-end web frameworks (e.g., React, Angular, Vue)

    • Experience working with modern database technologies (e.g., SQL, MongoDB, etc.)

    • Experience programming in Unix-based operating systems

    • Ability to work independently and apply critical thinking and sound judgment

    • Excellent organizational and time management skills

    • Ability to communicate effectively with team members

    Preferred

    • Familiarity with graph databases (e.g., Neo4j)

    • Experience with cloud computing via AWS

    • Experience with version control software (e.g., Git)

    • Experience with data science a plus

    • Experience with artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) a plus

    Position is contingent upon continued funding.

    Job Location - City, State

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Department / School

    Perelman School of Medicine

    Pay Range

    $51,824.00 - $80,000.00 Annual Rate

    Salary offers are made based on the candidate's qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, as well as internal and market factors and grade profile.

    Affirmative Action Statement Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.

    Special Requirements Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

    University Benefits

    • Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts : Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family's health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

    • Tuition : Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits . You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

    • Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn's Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

    • Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family-whatever your personal needs may be.

    • Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you're newly hired, you won't have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

    • Wellness and Work-life Resources : Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That's why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

    • Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

    • University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University's libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There's always something going on at Penn, whether it's a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you're right in the middle of the excitement-and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

    • Discounts and Special Services : From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

    • Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

    • Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

    • Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

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    The University of Pennsylvania's special character is reflected in the diversity of the Penn community. We seek talented faculty and staff who will constitute a vibrant community that draws on the strength that comes with a substantive institutional commitment to diversity along dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, veteran status, interests, perspectives, and socioeconomic status. Grounded in equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, and affirmative action, Penn's robust commitment to diversity is fundamental to the University's mission of advancing knowledge, educating leaders for all sectors of society, and public service. The University of Pennsylvania prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.