H-1B Visa Senior Bioinformatics Scientist Jobs
Senior Bioinformatics Scientist roles sit firmly within H-1B visa specialty occupation territory, requiring at least a bachelor's degree in bioinformatics, computational biology, or a closely related field. Employers filing LCAs for this SOC code must meet DOL prevailing wage requirements, and many biotech and pharma sponsors have established H-1B filing histories you can verify before applying.
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Get Access To All JobsJOB SUMMARY
The Senior Bioinformatics (BI) Software Engineer holds a critical technical role, responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining scalable and efficient software solutions for Baylor Genetics’ bioinformatic pipelines. This role involves collaborating with and supporting cross-functional teams to deliver data-driven software solutions aligning with business needs.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- BI Development: Design, develop, and maintain robust software solutions using various tools, databases, and technologies to meet business requirements.
- Data Modeling: Create and optimize data models, ensuring the accuracy, integrity, and performance of the underlying computational algorithms, especially as pertains to assembly, mapping, variant calling, and variant annotation.
- ETL Processes: Develop and optimize ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes to efficiently extract data from various sources, transform it, and load it into the BI system, with an emphasis on utilizing APIs.
- Query Optimization: Analyze and optimize SQL queries and database performance to enhance data retrieval and reporting speed. Contribute to schema design and review sessions to ensure high performance and maintainable databases.
- Dashboard & Report Creation: Develop interactive dashboards and automated reports using BI tools (e.g., Azure Pipelines, Teams Power Automate, email, Nextflow) to provide actionable insights for stakeholders.
- Collaboration: Work and align closely with stakeholders, including data analysts, business users, clinical reviewers, laboratory personnel, and software developers, to scope their requirements and deliver timely integrations of new software.
- Data Integration: Integrate disparate data sources and ensure consistency, accuracy, and reliability of data across the BI system, with a focus on devising systems that have minimal to no code debt and are highly maintainable and flexible.
- Quality Assurance: Conduct rigorous testing of BI solutions to ensure data accuracy, system stability, and optimal performance, with the ability to automate testing suites using packages (e.g. pytest, doctest, Azure Pipelines).
- Documentation & Maintenance: Create comprehensive documentation for developed solutions and provide support and maintenance as necessary. This generally includes: (1) detailed in-line commenting noting Jira ticket request numbers, genomic diagrams, reasoning and personal thoughts, TODO comments, docstrings, BG headers, etc.; (2) wikis and README files instructing users on how to install and implement the software along with trace mappings detailing how the software is generally organized.
QUALIFICATIONS
Required
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Bioinformatics, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred.
- Experience: Minimum of 5 years of experience in software development, with a proven track record of designing and implementing scalable software solutions based on diverse user feature needs. Must have a proven track record of implementing production-ready software solutions from scratch. Prior experience or domain knowledge from collaborating with laboratory scientists, computational biologists, or clinical reviewers is a nice-to-have.
COMPETENCIES
Technical Skills:
- Deep knowledge and expertise in at least two programming languages (Python, Perl, R, or Bash; will also consider Java, C++, and Groovy).
- Proficient in a range of database technologies, including SQL Server, NoSQL, MongoDB, MySQL, and ElasticSearch, demonstrating comprehensive skills in database management, optimization, and query development.
- Proficiency in working in an Agile framework and implementing CI/CD practices using Git. Knowledge of Azure is a bonus. Implementation of object-oriented programming (OOP) is second nature, which includes building intuitive classes relevant to the science, system, or service.
- Standard software design practices relevant to that language is intuitive to you. Demonstrated ability to build entire software packages from scratch that are performant and highly maintainable, ensuring they are tested and are production-ready. Solid understanding and habitual practice of unit and integration testing of software.
- High regard for documentation and object/variable naming that is explicit, with the ability to relay or distill scientific concepts within supplemental documentation or inline code itself.
- Proficiency in designing and building APIs and microservices from scratch.
- Familiarity with Linux OS and HPC clusters (SLURM, Kubernetes, GCP, Azure, etc.) is a plus, but not essential.
- Solid understanding of package management practices (PIP, Conda, etc.) and containerization (Docker, Singularity, etc.).
- Proficiency or knowledge of workflow management or orchestration tools (Nextflow, Airflow, Snakemake, etc.) is a plus, but not essential.
Analytical Thinking: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate complex business needs into technical solutions and work independently to solve problems. Also requires good communication skills and flexibility to reach out to stakeholders and SMEs as necessary.
- Team Collaboration: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams. Should be open and willing to receive and give criticism and feedback in a measured manner, focused on solving the problem at hand.
- Adaptability: Ability to adapt to evolving technologies, learn new tools, and implement best practices in BI software engineering and development. Should be able to assess situations when a drop-in solution would be preferable to a custom software implementation and run proof-of-concepts as needed. Should be highly familiar with best practices in software development and an advocate of best practices, even under pressure.
- Project Management: Experience in managing individual projects and adhering to timelines while delivering high-quality solutions, ensuring good communication in situations where project scopes may fluctuate.
- Performs other advanced job-related duties as assigned.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT
- Frequently required to sit.
- Frequently required to stand.
- Frequently required to utilize hand and finger dexterity.
- Frequently required to talk or hear.
EEO STATEMENT
Baylor Genetics is proud to be an equal opportunity employer dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse workforce. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender identity, veteran status, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.
Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.
JOB SUMMARY
The Senior Bioinformatics (BI) Software Engineer holds a critical technical role, responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining scalable and efficient software solutions for Baylor Genetics’ bioinformatic pipelines. This role involves collaborating with and supporting cross-functional teams to deliver data-driven software solutions aligning with business needs.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- BI Development: Design, develop, and maintain robust software solutions using various tools, databases, and technologies to meet business requirements.
- Data Modeling: Create and optimize data models, ensuring the accuracy, integrity, and performance of the underlying computational algorithms, especially as pertains to assembly, mapping, variant calling, and variant annotation.
- ETL Processes: Develop and optimize ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes to efficiently extract data from various sources, transform it, and load it into the BI system, with an emphasis on utilizing APIs.
- Query Optimization: Analyze and optimize SQL queries and database performance to enhance data retrieval and reporting speed. Contribute to schema design and review sessions to ensure high performance and maintainable databases.
- Dashboard & Report Creation: Develop interactive dashboards and automated reports using BI tools (e.g., Azure Pipelines, Teams Power Automate, email, Nextflow) to provide actionable insights for stakeholders.
- Collaboration: Work and align closely with stakeholders, including data analysts, business users, clinical reviewers, laboratory personnel, and software developers, to scope their requirements and deliver timely integrations of new software.
- Data Integration: Integrate disparate data sources and ensure consistency, accuracy, and reliability of data across the BI system, with a focus on devising systems that have minimal to no code debt and are highly maintainable and flexible.
- Quality Assurance: Conduct rigorous testing of BI solutions to ensure data accuracy, system stability, and optimal performance, with the ability to automate testing suites using packages (e.g. pytest, doctest, Azure Pipelines).
- Documentation & Maintenance: Create comprehensive documentation for developed solutions and provide support and maintenance as necessary. This generally includes: (1) detailed in-line commenting noting Jira ticket request numbers, genomic diagrams, reasoning and personal thoughts, TODO comments, docstrings, BG headers, etc.; (2) wikis and README files instructing users on how to install and implement the software along with trace mappings detailing how the software is generally organized.
QUALIFICATIONS
Required
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Bioinformatics, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred.
- Experience: Minimum of 5 years of experience in software development, with a proven track record of designing and implementing scalable software solutions based on diverse user feature needs. Must have a proven track record of implementing production-ready software solutions from scratch. Prior experience or domain knowledge from collaborating with laboratory scientists, computational biologists, or clinical reviewers is a nice-to-have.
COMPETENCIES
Technical Skills:
- Deep knowledge and expertise in at least two programming languages (Python, Perl, R, or Bash; will also consider Java, C++, and Groovy).
- Proficient in a range of database technologies, including SQL Server, NoSQL, MongoDB, MySQL, and ElasticSearch, demonstrating comprehensive skills in database management, optimization, and query development.
- Proficiency in working in an Agile framework and implementing CI/CD practices using Git. Knowledge of Azure is a bonus. Implementation of object-oriented programming (OOP) is second nature, which includes building intuitive classes relevant to the science, system, or service.
- Standard software design practices relevant to that language is intuitive to you. Demonstrated ability to build entire software packages from scratch that are performant and highly maintainable, ensuring they are tested and are production-ready. Solid understanding and habitual practice of unit and integration testing of software.
- High regard for documentation and object/variable naming that is explicit, with the ability to relay or distill scientific concepts within supplemental documentation or inline code itself.
- Proficiency in designing and building APIs and microservices from scratch.
- Familiarity with Linux OS and HPC clusters (SLURM, Kubernetes, GCP, Azure, etc.) is a plus, but not essential.
- Solid understanding of package management practices (PIP, Conda, etc.) and containerization (Docker, Singularity, etc.).
- Proficiency or knowledge of workflow management or orchestration tools (Nextflow, Airflow, Snakemake, etc.) is a plus, but not essential.
Analytical Thinking: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate complex business needs into technical solutions and work independently to solve problems. Also requires good communication skills and flexibility to reach out to stakeholders and SMEs as necessary.
- Team Collaboration: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams. Should be open and willing to receive and give criticism and feedback in a measured manner, focused on solving the problem at hand.
- Adaptability: Ability to adapt to evolving technologies, learn new tools, and implement best practices in BI software engineering and development. Should be able to assess situations when a drop-in solution would be preferable to a custom software implementation and run proof-of-concepts as needed. Should be highly familiar with best practices in software development and an advocate of best practices, even under pressure.
- Project Management: Experience in managing individual projects and adhering to timelines while delivering high-quality solutions, ensuring good communication in situations where project scopes may fluctuate.
- Performs other advanced job-related duties as assigned.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT
- Frequently required to sit.
- Frequently required to stand.
- Frequently required to utilize hand and finger dexterity.
- Frequently required to talk or hear.
EEO STATEMENT
Baylor Genetics is proud to be an equal opportunity employer dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse workforce. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender identity, veteran status, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.
Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.
See all 59+ H-1B Visa Senior Bioinformatics Scientist Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new H-1B Visa Senior Bioinformatics Scientist Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding H-1B Visa Sponsorship as a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist
Align your degree to the role
USCIS scrutinizes specialty occupation claims when your degree field doesn't directly match the job. A degree in bioinformatics, computational biology, or biostatistics maps cleanly. A general biology or CS degree may require a detailed credentials evaluation to satisfy the direct-relationship requirement.
Check LCA filings by SOC code
Bioinformatics scientist roles file under SOC 19-1029 or 15-2099 depending on the employer's framing. Pull DOL LCA disclosure data filtered by those codes to find which biotech, pharma, and research institutions have active H-1B filing histories before sending applications.
Target employers with cap-exempt status
Universities, nonprofit research institutes, and government-affiliated labs are cap-exempt H-1B employers, meaning you can file any time of year without entering the lottery. Many senior bioinformatics roles exist at NIH-funded institutions and academic medical centers where this exemption applies.
Use Migrate Mate to filter verified sponsors
Pull up the Senior Bioinformatics Scientist listings on Migrate Mate and filter by employers with confirmed H-1B LCA filing history. That narrows your list to organizations that have already navigated the process for roles at this level, saving you outreach to non-sponsors.
Request prevailing wage documentation early
Before the I-129 is filed, your employer must certify the offered wage meets DOL prevailing wage for your location and experience level. Use the OFLC Wage Search to verify Level III or IV wages for your job site ZIP code so you can flag discrepancies before the LCA is submitted.
Negotiate H-1B filing costs into your offer
USCIS prohibits employers from passing mandatory I-129 filing fees to H-1B workers. Premium processing, however, is negotiable. If your start date is time-sensitive, confirm in writing whether the employer will cover premium processing before you accept the offer.
H-1B Visa Senior Bioinformatics Scientist: Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist role qualify as an H-1B specialty occupation?
Yes. Senior Bioinformatics Scientist positions require at least a bachelor's degree in bioinformatics, computational biology, biostatistics, or a directly related field, which satisfies the USCIS specialty occupation definition. Roles involving genomic pipeline development, statistical modeling, or algorithm design for biological data have consistently met this standard. If your employer describes the role broadly, a strong job duties letter from a supervisor strengthens the petition.
Which employers regularly sponsor H-1B visas for bioinformatics roles?
Biotech companies, pharmaceutical research divisions, academic medical centers, and government-affiliated research institutions are the most consistent H-1B sponsors for bioinformatics positions. Cap-exempt employers like universities and NIH-funded nonprofits can file outside the annual lottery. You can browse verified H-1B-sponsoring employers hiring for this role on Migrate Mate, filtered by LCA filing history.
What happens to my H-1B status if my bioinformatics project ends and I'm laid off?
You have a 60-day grace period after involuntary termination to find a new employer, file a change of status, or depart the U.S. Your new employer must file an H-1B transfer petition before that window closes. If you're working at a large pharma or biotech with a track record of layoffs, negotiate a severance clause that keeps you on payroll through the grace period while you transition.
Can my employer file my H-1B as a concurrent position if I already hold H-1B status elsewhere?
Yes. H-1B holders can work concurrently for multiple employers as long as each employer files a separate I-129 petition. This is relevant for senior bioinformatics scientists who consult for biotech startups while employed full-time at a research institution. Each employer must independently satisfy prevailing wage and specialty occupation requirements. USCIS reviews each petition on its own merits.
Does my SOC code affect my H-1B prevailing wage determination?
Directly. Employers filing LCAs for bioinformatics roles may use SOC 19-1029 (Biological Scientists) or 15-2099 (Mathematical Science Occupations) depending on how they define the role's primary function. The SOC code determines which wage level USCIS and DOL apply. A mismatched code can expose the petition to a wage-related Request for Evidence. Cross-check the SOC your employer intends to use against the O*NET occupation profile before the LCA is certified.