Principal Research Technician – Statistical Genetics and Bioinformatics

About the role

The Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland is seeking a Principal Research Technician for a full-time, fixed-term position of up to 2 years, based at the St Lucia campus. The role sits within a senior research team supporting Professor Yengo's Snow Fellowship Research Program, applying specialist statistical genetics and bioinformatics expertise to large-scale genomic and biobank datasets from genetically diverse populations. It involves developing scalable analysis pipelines, curating complex datasets and providing technical leadership.

Key responsibilities

• Develop, test and apply scalable, generalisable statistical genetics and bioinformatics pipelines for large-scale genomic and biobank datasets.
• Provide specialist scientific and technical expertise, conduct complex analyses and contribute to the design, implementation and refinement of research methodologies and protocols.
• Curate research datasets and manage their responsible use, including compliance with Data Access Agreements, Data Transfer Agreements, ethics approvals and research integrity requirements.
• Supervise, train and develop junior research engineers, scientists and technicians, and contribute to research outputs, publications and collaborative initiatives.

Required profile

• Postgraduate qualification in Genetics or Genomics, with subsequent experience in statistical genetics and biobank data analysis, or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
• Demonstrated expertise across the research cycle, including data quality control, software benchmarking, scientific analysis, reporting, publication preparation and oral presentation.
• Significant experience collaborating with analysis consortia or multidisciplinary teams in the statistical genetics community, including national and international collaborations.
• Demonstrated leadership, including supervising and training junior staff, and strong interpersonal and scientific communication skills.
• Unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of the appointment; employer-sponsored work rights are not available.

Required skills

• Advanced programming in R or another high-level language, with experience building robust bioinformatics or statistical genetics workflows.
• Advanced technical expertise in genome-wide association studies and downstream applications.
• Specialist expertise in methods for detecting identity-by-descent in biobanks containing relatives, and for detecting and characterising local ancestry.

What we offer

• Base salary in the range $106,709.01 - $116,198.52 plus 17% superannuation (HEW Level 7).
• Flexible and hybrid working options, and up to 26 weeks of paid parental and primary care leave.
• Health and wellbeing programs, a Study for Staff program, on-campus childcare, affordable parking and salary packaging.

Applications close on Sunday 8 November 2026. Candidates should submit a resume and a cover letter through the university's Talent Acquisition team, citing the job reference number in the subject line; email applications are not accepted.