Overview
The Opportunity
The Bioinformatics Supervisor is a Data Science & Informatics Specialist 4 who will oversee the bioinformatics function within the Public Health Laboratories, supervising a team of senior informatic specialists and serving as a bioinformatics subject matter expert in the Division of Disease Control and Health Statistics. This role sets direction for genomic data analysis, infrastructure development, and operational standards that support pathogen surveillance, outbreak detection, and laboratory accreditation.
Day-to-day work includes planning and prioritizing projects, managing staff performance and development, guiding the design and validation of bioinformatics pipelines, and ensuring quality control for next generation sequencing data. The position partners closely with epidemiology, IT, quality assurance, and laboratory teams to align systems, data structures, and reporting tools with public health needs. It also oversees budgets, contracts, hardware planning, and data governance practices, while recommending infrastructure improvements to keep pace with evolving technology.
Beyond Washington, this role serves as a regional bioinformatics resource, supporting multiple states with technical assistance, training coordination, and sustainable informatics solutions. The impact is practical and measurable: stronger genomic surveillance, clearer data for decision makers, and a laboratory system equipped to respond to emerging health threats.
Key Responsibilities Include:
Supervise and develop a team of bioinformaticians, including hiring, performance management, workload planning, and professional development
Direct the design, validation, and optimization of bioinformatics pipelines for pathogen characterization, comparative genomics, and evolutionary analysis
Ensure compliance with laboratory accreditation standards, quality assurance requirements, and data protection protocols
Partner with IT and cross functional teams to strengthen cloud and local computing infrastructure, data retention practices, and reporting systems
Manage program budgets, contracts, hardware planning, and grant supported activities
Provide expert consultation to internal leadership, local health jurisdictions, academic partners, and national public health partners
Serve as a regional technical resource, coordinating training and supporting informatics capacity across multiple states
Contribute to emergency preparedness and surge response for communicable disease events
Why You’ll Love This Role:
Oversight of a highly specialized team working at the intersection of genomics, data science, and public health practice.
Opportunity to shape bioinformatics infrastructure and standards that influence laboratory operations statewide.
Work that directly strengthens outbreak detection, surveillance, and public health decision making.
Regional and national collaboration that advances genomic epidemiology beyond a single agency.
About Washington Department of Health
At DOH, we safeguard public health in an ever-evolving world. Through collaboration with local health jurisdictions and state, federal, and private partners, our programs, and services impact every Washingtonian and visitor daily. We're driven by Equity, Innovation, and Engagement, as outlined in our Transformational Plan for the future of Washington health.
