Computational Scientist (Bioinformatics)

We’re working on innovative foods and formulas that rival healthcare, pharma, human food, and tech companies around the world—foods and formulas that can extend the lives and cognitive function in maturing dogs and cats. We’re developing ways to improve the vision of cats and minimize pet allergies through quality nutrition. We were the first ever to extrude dry dog food and we’re backed by a lengthy list of patents—a portfolio of industry firsts. 

 

One priority mission of Purina is to utilize advanced technologies to increase our understanding of the biological processes that modulate health span and lifespan in dogs and cats and eventually design nutrition intervention that will promote a healthier and longer life.  

 

Purina is seeking a computational scientist who will be part of transversal team investigating how biological and external factors affect pet health span using a system biology approach based on integrated data from omics technology platforms including, genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics and microbiome. Multi-omics approach will lead to the development of accurate pet health span profiles and models that will allow the identification of the key physiological processes that may be targeted by nutrition and non-nutrition solutions to promote health span.  

 

• Collaborate with subject matter experts, analyze, and model data, develop algorithms (AI/ML/DL/NN) that translate a pet’s unique data into meaningful, actionable insights 
• Consult with scientists from different areas in the design and analysis of experiments 
• Utilize a diverse array of technologies and tools to deliver insights, such as R, SAS, Python, Spark, Hadoop, Google analytics, etc. in the development of these algorithms. 
• Keep current in the latest analytical methods and lead analytical method development and programming to address study requirements 
• Perform appropriate analytical modeling and/or analysis of project data, interpreting results and preparing summaries and reports 
• Perform exploratory analyses of data as requested to explore for patterns and trends from past studies 
• Propose, develop, and implement innovative concepts based on data and ongoing research strategies 
• Present key insights from data to various audiences including senior leadership, to support actionable next steps 
• Keep current in field and maintain a high level of expertise 
• Actively acts as a consulting expert within Nestlé Purina in area of technical expertise 
• Mentoring and guidance as required for assigned projects 
• Supervision required should be minimal   
• Practice safety in the work area  
• Travel as necessary 

 

Requirements: 

• PhD or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Physics, Biophysics, or related fields is required 
• 1 year experience extracting, cleaning, preparing, and modeling data (command-line scripting, data structures) is required 
• 5 years minimum experience in machine learning, artificial intelligence, deep learning and/or neural networks is a plus 
• Experience in statistical programming and programming languages (R, Python) is preferred 
• Experience with cloud computing platforms such as AWS and Azure is preferred  
• Proficiency in SQL (HANA/Azure) to execute basic data engineering activities is preferred