National AI Awards 2025Discover AI's trailblazers! Join us to celebrate innovation and nominate industry leaders.

Nominate & Attend

Senior Bioinformatics Scientist

Illumina
Cambridgeshire
1 year ago
Create job alert

What if the work you did every day could impact the lives of people you know? Or all of humanity?At Illumina, we are expanding access to genomic technology to realize health equity for billions of people around the world. Our efforts enable life-changing discoveries that are transforming human health through the early detection and diagnosis of diseases and new treatment options for patients.Working at Illumina means being part of something bigger than yourself. Every person, in every role, has the opportunity to make a difference. Surrounded by extraordinary people, inspiring leaders, and world changing projects, you will do more and become more than you ever thought possible.

Senior Bioinformatics Scientist

Cambridge Hub and Hybrid

We have an exciting new opportunity for a talentedSenior Bioinformatics Scientist to join our Illumina team based in Cambridgeto support bringing the power of the genome to human health. This is a great opportunity to be part of Illumina’s continued growth, contributing to our mission of improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome!


Illumina's employee benefits are industry-leading and include flexible time off, private medical insurance, compassion, and care time off, leisure travel insurance, pension, employee stock purchasing program, volunteer time off, and much more!

Why us
Our teamspecializes in developing a fast and accurate FPGA-accelerated platform called DRAGEN,for the secondary analysis of NGS genomic data, together with integration in the ICA Cloud platform for scalability and data interpretation. The platform covers a wide range of pipelines including WGS and targeted (enriched/amplicon) germline, WGS and targeted somatic (T/N and tumor-only), DNA/RNA, small variants, CNV, and structural variants.

Why you
As aSenior Bioinformatics Scientist,you will be responsible for developing novel methods to extract biological meaning from genomic samples.
You will design solutions and implement them in software in collaboration with others in a team-focused workflow. You will be responsible for helping to define and drive the success of the complete product, including defining requirements, assessing accuracy, streamlining customer experience, and enabling end-user applications.

Key Responsibilities

Design, prototype and implement innovative computational and/or statistical algorithms to extract meaningful biological signal from sequencing assays. Implement algorithms in production-grade C/C++ software. Collaborate deeply with inter-disciplinary teams (QC/QA test teams, FPGA teams, SW teams, clinical genomics teams) as the platform has many different end-users with different requirements and applications to ensure a smooth, end-to-end workflow with external organizations. Analyze, integrate, model and interpret experimental data. Engage with external customers’ scientific teams to build product credibility and define emerging requirements. Clearly communicate technical methods and findings across internal teams with diverse expertise. Prepare internal and external facing technical documentation and marketing assets related to project research.


Listed responsibilities are an essential, but not exhaustive list, of the usual duties associated with the position. Changes to individual responsibilities may occur due to business needs.


Key experience and skills requirements

You will have astrong background in computer science, algorithms, statistics,and/or digital signal processing in addition to expertise in genomics, next generation sequencing, and a broad ecosystem of related assays and biotechnologies. Our ideal candidate will have a track record of bothinnovative and pragmatic bioinformatics methods developmentand delivery, be a proven team player with leadership skills and experience and have the following: Expertise in genomics and experience with analyzing error modes and actionable signal in genomic data sets Expertise in algorithms for NGS secondary analysis: Mapping-Alignment and Variant Calling Expertise in high-performance software development using C++/C or similar languages Expertise in next generation sequencing assays and related biotechnology ecosystems. Expertise in common sequencing applications such as research in rare disease, cancer and population genetics.

Experience/Education
Ph.D. in computer science, engineering, statistics, bioinformatics, or related field of study, or a Master's degree in one of these fields with a minimum of 3 years of related experience.


What can you expect
Our team members are bright, energetic and dedicated - they are the driving force behind our innovation and impact. To attract the best and brightest, we offer a competitive employee benefits program. We view it as a smart investment in our people, one that recognizes the tremendous value they bring to our business every day. At Illumina, we push boundaries. We think beyond the conventional. We dream big. With the energy of so many bright and accomplished people, the opportunities are endless.


We are a company deeply rooted in belonging, promoting an inclusive environment where employees feel valued and empowered to contribute to our mission. Built on a strong foundation, Illumina has always prioritized openness, collaboration, and seeking alternative perspectives to propel innovation in genomics. We are proud to confirm a zero-net gap in pay, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or race. We also have several Employee Resource Groups (ERG) that deliver career development experiences, increase cultural awareness, and offer opportunities to engage in social responsibility. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to providing employment opportunity regardless of sex, race, creed, color, gender, religion, marital status, domestic partner status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, pregnancy, military or veteran status, citizenship status, and genetic information. Illumina conducts background checks on applicants for whom a conditional offer of employment has been made. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal laws. Background check results may potentially result in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment. The background check process and any decisions made as a result shall be made in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal laws. Illumina prohibits the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the application and interview process. If you require accommodation to complete the application or interview process, please contact To learn more, visit: . The position will be posted until a final candidate is selected or the requisition has a sufficient number of qualified applicants.

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Senior Bioinformatics Scientist

Senior Bioinformatics Engineer – Pipeline Automation & Tool Development

Senior Bioinformatics Engineer – Pipeline Automation & Tool Development

Senior Bioinformatics Engineer – Pipeline Automation & Tool Development

Senior Bioinformatics Engineer – Pipeline Automation & Tool Development

Senior Bioinformatics Engineer – Pipeline Automation & Tool Development

National AI Awards 2025

Subscribe to Future Tech Insights for the latest jobs & insights, direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

How to Present Biotech Concepts to Non-Scientists: A Public Speaking Guide for Job Seekers

In today’s biotechnology job market, your ability to explain complex science clearly is just as important as your lab skills. Whether you're applying for a research role, pitching to investors, or collaborating with marketing teams, you'll often need to present technical information to people without a scientific background. This blog explores how biotechnology job seekers can develop and deliver compelling presentations that make sense to non-scientists. From structuring your content to designing effective slides and using storytelling to bring data to life, these techniques will help you stand out in interviews and on the job.

Biotech Jobs Employer Hotlist 2025: 50 UK Companies Actively Hiring Right Now 

Bookmark this guide – we refresh it every quarter so you always know who’s really expanding their life‑science teams. The UK biotechnology scene is on a tear in 2025. Venture & follow‑on funding hit £3.5 billion last year, up 94 % on 2023, and Q1 2025 alone brought in another £924 million of equity for scaling therapeutics, diagnostics & deep‑tech platforms  bioindustry.org. Meanwhile, Westminster’s new industrial strategy pledges a record £86 billion for science & tech, with life sciences top of the eight “high‑growth” priority sectors . The consequence? Hiring is white‑hot. From big‑pharma giants to gene‑editing start‑ups, employers need research scientists, QC analysts, bioprocess engineers, bioinformaticians, regulatory specialists & commercial leads – right now. Below you’ll find 50 organisations that have posted UK vacancies or announced head‑count growth during the past eight weeks. They’re grouped into five bite‑size categories so you can jump straight to the type of employer – & mission – that excites you. For every entry you’ll see: Main UK hub Example recent vacancy Why it’s worth your time (tech, culture, impact) Use the internal search on BiotechnologyJobs.co.uk to pull up live roles, or set a free alert so fresh openings land in your inbox.

Return-to-Work Pathways: Relaunch Your Biotechnology Career with Returnships, Flexible & Hybrid Roles

Returning to work after a career break can feel like stepping into a new frontier—especially in a fast-evolving sector such as biotechnology. Whether you’ve paused your professional journey for parenting, caring responsibilities or another life chapter, the UK’s biotech industry now offers a variety of return-to-work pathways designed to help you transition back smoothly. From formal returnships and part-time contracts to hybrid and fully flexible roles, these programmes acknowledge the value of your transferable skills and life experience. In this guide tailored for parents and carers, you’ll discover how to: Grasp the current demand for biotech talent in the UK Translate your organisational, communication and resilience skills into the laboratory and beyond Tackle common re-entry challenges with practical solutions Refresh your scientific and technical knowledge through targeted learning Access returnship and re-entry programmes specifically in biotech Find roles that fit around family commitments—be they flexible, hybrid or full-time Balance work with caring duties Navigate applications, interviews and networking in the biotech world Learn from inspiring returner success stories Get quick answers in our FAQ section Whether you’re keen to step back into a research lab, quality control, regulatory affairs or bioinformatics team, this article will map out the steps and resources you need to reignite your biotechnology career.