Senior Bioinformatician
full-time•Toronto•CA$111k - CA$123k
About this role
About OICR
OICR is Ontario’s cancer research institute. We bring together people from across the province and around the world to improve the lives of everyone affected by cancer. We take on the biggest challenges in cancer research and deliver real-world solutions to find cancer earlier and treat it more effectively. We are committed to helping people living with cancer, as well as future generations, live longer and healthier lives.
Launched in December 2005, OICR is an independent institute funded by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security.
Position Details
Position: Senior Bioinformatician
Location: MaRS Centre, Toronto
Department: Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH)
Reports To: Executive Lead
Hiring Range: $111,000 - $123,500, commensurate with experience; total compensation includes a competitive benefits plan, plus a defined benefit pension plan (HOOPP)
Hours: 35 hours/week
Job Type: Hybrid
Status: Full-time, Permanent
Position Summary
The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) is looking to fill an existing vacancy for a Senior Bioinformatician to join the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) program.
The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH), an international consortium based at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), is looking for a Lead Bioinformatician to join the GA4GH Tech Team at OICR and help build, evolve, and operate standards-based software that enables secure, interoperable genomic and health data sharing and analysis across institutions and cloud environments.
You will provide technical leadership and hands-on delivery across GA4GH-aligned data/software products, including workflow and pipeline development, API-driven services, reference implementations, and operational support. The role blends bioinformatics, modern software engineering, and collaborative standards work with an emphasis on reliability, scalability, and excellent documentation and communication.
This position is permanent, full-time.
Position Responsibilities
Technical leadership and delivery
- Lead the design, development, testing, and maintenance of production-grade bioinformatics software and services that support GA4GH technical initiatives and community adoption.
- Architect and implement pipelines/workflows for genomic and other ’omics analyses, including automation of data processing and quality control.
- Build and maintain data services and APIs to enable flexible, standards-based access to genomic/biomedical data (e.g., RESTful APIs and related web service patterns).
- Develop and maintain project databases and data models; ensure data consistency, lineage, and fitness-for-use across projects and releases.
- Apply advanced analytical/statistical approaches as needed to transform raw sequencing or multi-omic data into information useful for researchers and clinicians.
Operational excellence
- Contribute to the planning and execution of releases, deployments, and upgrades; ensure smooth operations across environments (cloud and/or on-prem).
- Improve team practices around coding standards, testing, CI/CD, containerization, and reproducibility; champion best practices across the team.
- Provide second-/third-level support for technical issues, operational incidents, and stakeholder queries; troubleshoot complex systems across tooling, infrastructure, and data.
Collaboration, mentorship, and communication
- Work closely with GA4GH colleagues, OICR teams, and external partners to deliver shared objectives and solve informatics problems collaboratively.
- Mentor junior team members; support onboarding and knowledge sharing through technical discussions, documentation, and code reviews.
- Communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders; contribute to presentations, reports, and (where applicable) publications.
- Represent the team in community or scientific forums as needed (e.g., GA4GH working meetings, partner presentations, conferences).
Quality, security, and stewardship
- Practice strong data management to ensure data is handled efficiently, securely, and without loss or corruption across its lifecycle.
- Follow and promote OICR safety and policy requirements; model responsible research and computing practices.
Position Requirements
- Master's degree in bioinformatics, computer science, genomics, or a related discipline, or a recognized equivalent.
- Advanced related experience delivering bioinformatics and/or data-intensive software solutions, including independent ownership of complex deliverables.
- Strong programming ability (commonly: Python, plus one or more of SQL/R/Java/others), with experience in Linux environments and professional software development practices.
- Experience building or operating workflow/pipeline systems (e.g., Nextflow, WDL, or similar) and working with standard bioinformatics tooling and formats.
- Experience with containers and reproducible computing (e.g., Docker/Singularity and related practices).
- Experience with collaborative development workflows (Git/GitHub, code review, issue tracking) and producing high-quality documentation.
- Ability to lead complex work, set technical direction, and mentor others while remaining hands-on in implementation.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to diverse audiences.
- Familiar with deploying and supporting systems across cloud platforms (e.g., GCP/AWS/Azure) and/or Kubernetes-based environments.
- Familiar with designing and implementing web services/APIs for genomic or biomedical data exchange, including interoperability and standards-oriented development.
- Demonstrate interest in federated or privacy-preserving data analysis and cross-institution collaboration.
- Comfortable operating in an agile, collaborative environment; able to manage priorities across multiple projects with competing timelines.
- Proactive, self-organizing, and improvement-oriented—identifies opportunities to strengthen systems, processes, and team effectiveness.
- Formal line management may not be required; but this role is expected to provide technical leadership.
For more information about OICR, please visit the website at www.oicr.on.ca.
To learn more about working at OICR, visit our career page.
POSTED DATE: January 28, 2026
CLOSING DATE: Until Filled
OICR is committed to fostering a climate of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. This commitment is central to, and mutually supportive of, our research excellence mandate. We welcome and respect the diversity of all members of our community and we support an inclusive culture for all. We welcome all applicants, and encourage applications from racialized persons, Indigenous Peoples, women, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S persons, and others who may contribute to furthering a diversity of ideas within our community. OICR is committed to fair assessment of a candidate’s abilities, and consideration for diversity of thought, method, and experience. Providing an accessible workplace and recruitment process is important to us, as described in our Accessibility Plan (https://oicr.on.ca/accessibility/). Should you require accommodation during any stage in the recruitment process, please complete the form at the bottom of page https://oicr.on.ca/careers/. Information received related to accommodation will be handled confidentially.
OICR hiring managers may use approved Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to assist with an initial screening or assessment of applications, and selection of applicants in accordance with OICR’s privacy policies. Personal information associated with any job application will not be shared with or retained by any third party for the purpose of training an AI model. Hiring managers shall determine which applications proceed through the recruitment process.
Resume Format: If you elect to apply, please click on the “Apply for this Job” button. You will be required to enter contact details, and to attach your resume to your application. Please attach your resume as a .pdf or .doc file.
The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research thanks all applicants. However, only those under consideration will be contacted.
Location
MaRS Centre, Toronto , Ontario (Hybrid)
Department
Global Alliance for Genomics and Health
Employment Type
Permanent
Compensation
$111,000 - $123,500 per annum
What you'll do
- The Senior Bioinformatician will lead the design, development, testing, and maintenance of bioinformatics software and services. They will also contribute to operational excellence and mentor junior team members.
About OICR
Each year, more than 14 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer and more than eight million people die from the disease. New tools are urgently needed to better prevent, detect, diagnose and treat cancer so that people can live longer and healthier lives.
The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) is a collaborative, not-for-profit research institute that conducts and enables high-impact translational cancer research to accelerate the development of discoveries for patients around the world while maximizing the economic benefit of this research for the people of Ontario.
OICR is ensuring Ontario’s world-class cancer research findings are benefiting patients and the Ontario economy. Here’s how we make that happen:
-We conduct cross-disciplinary research in fields such as genomics, immuno-oncology, informatics, drug discovery, and molecular pathology with partners in health care, research, government and the private sector;
-We enable research in Ontario and worldwide by building collaborative networks, securely sharing data and making tools and resources available to the research community;
-We translate our research findings to the clinic by developing clinical guidelines, supporting clinical trials and commercializing our innovations with our partner Fight Against Cancer Innovation Trust.
Our vision
Cancer Solved Together.
Our mission
Partner with the Ontario oncology community to accelerate the development and implementation of clinically important knowledge, products, services and policies to improve cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment and enable patients in Ontario and worldwide to live longer and better lives.
To explore career opportunities with OICR, please visit https://oicr.bamboohr.com/careers.
OICR is funded by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does OICR pay for a Senior Bioinformatician?
OICR offers a competitive compensation package for the Senior Bioinformatician role. The salary range is CAD 111k - 124k per year. Apply through Clera to learn more about the full compensation details.
What does a Senior Bioinformatician do at OICR?
As a Senior Bioinformatician at OICR, you will: the Senior Bioinformatician will lead the design, development, testing, and maintenance of bioinformatics software and services. They will also contribute to operational excellence and mentor junior team members..
Is the Senior Bioinformatician position at OICR remote?
The Senior Bioinformatician position at OICR is based in Toronto, Canada. Contact the company through Clera for specific work arrangement details.
How do I apply for the Senior Bioinformatician position at OICR?
You can apply for the Senior Bioinformatician position at OICRdirectly through Clera. Click the "Apply Now" button above to start your application. Clera's AI-powered platform will help match your profile with this opportunity and guide you through the application process.