Project/Program Manager III (SDA)
King County
FreshPosted Feb 25
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Posted: February 25, 2026 (1 day ago)
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Bioinformatics Supervisor, Public Health Laboratories (DSIS 4) DOH8851
State of Washington
Dept. of Health
Location
Washington, 98504
Salary
$117,079 - $157,399
per year
Type
Full-Time
More Management & Supervision jobs →Closes
March 5, 2026
Job Description
Summary
This job involves leading a team of experts in analyzing genetic data from disease-causing microbes to help track and respond to public health threats like outbreaks.
The supervisor plans projects, ensures high-quality data processing, manages budgets and technology, and collaborates with health teams across states.
It's ideal for an experienced technical leader with a background in biology and data science who enjoys guiding others and making a real impact on community health.
Key Requirements
- Advanced knowledge in bioinformatics, genomics, and pathogen analysis
- Experience supervising technical teams, including hiring, performance management, and professional development
- Skills in designing, validating, and optimizing bioinformatics pipelines for next-generation sequencing data
- Ability to ensure compliance with laboratory accreditation, quality assurance, and data protection standards
- Proficiency in managing budgets, contracts, hardware planning, and IT infrastructure (cloud and local)
- Strong collaboration and consultation skills with cross-functional teams, including epidemiology and public health partners
- Experience in emergency preparedness and providing technical training regionally
Full Job Description
Bioinformatics Supervisor, Public Health Laboratories
This is a full-time onsite position sitting at our Public Health Laboratories located in Shoreline, WA.
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.
What You Bring:
You are a steady technical leader who is comfortable supervising experienced specialists and setting clear expectations while still staying close to the work.
You bring strong judgment, organization, and the ability to translate complex genomic and informatics concepts into practical guidance for laboratory, epidemiology, and IT partners.
You think critically, approach problems with rigor, and balance innovation with quality, compliance, and data integrity.
You are confident in making decisions in complex or evolving situations, communicating clearly with both technical and nontechnical audiences, and building collaborative relationships across programs.
Most importantly, you are motivated by public service and committed to using data responsibly to strengthen public health response and surveillance.
Minimum Qualifications
There are multiple pathways to qualify for this position. You must meet one of the options provided and any additional criteria listed.
Experience may have been gained through paid or unpaid activities. Please ensure any relevant experience defined below is outlined in your cover letter, resume, and/or applicant profile.
- Option 1: Eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional experience performing advanced bioinformatics or genomic data analysis in a public health, healthcare, or research setting, including demonstrated experience leading the design, validation, and operational implementation of bioinformatic workflows used to inform scientific or public health investigations AND demonstrated experience leading or supervising staff, projects, or programs.
- Option 2: A master’s degree in bioinformatics, computational biology, genomics, molecular biology, data science, or a closely related field; and at least Six (6) years of progressively responsible professional experience performing bioinformatics or genomic data analysis, AND demonstrated experience leading or supervising staff, projects, or programs.
- Option 3: A doctoral degree in bioinformatics, computational biology, genomics, molecular biology, data science, or a closely related field; and at least four (4) years of professional experience applying bioinformatics or genomic data analysis in a public health, healthcare, or research setting, AND demonstrated experience leading or supervising staff, projects, or programs.
Additional Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Experience
- Experience developing, validating, and maintaining bioinformatics pipelines for next-generation sequencing data
- Knowledge of genomic analysis methods such as phylogenetics, SNP analysis, genome assembly, and genome annotation
- Experience working with large, complex, and unstructured genomic datasets
- Proficiency in bioinformatics or data analysis tools, scripting languages, or workflow management systems commonly used in genomic analysis
- Ability to communicate complex technical information clearly to nontechnical audiences in writing and verbally
Preferred Qualifications
While these aren’t required, having them can help you stand out as a candidate.
- Two (2) or more years of experience leading or supervising staff, including assigning work, managing performance, and providing feedback or corrective guidance.
- Experience collaborating with epidemiologists, laboratorians, and IT professionals to support surveillance or outbreak response activities
- Knowledge of data quality, quality assurance, and quality control practices for laboratory or genomic data
- Experience ensuring data security, privacy, and compliance with applicable data retention and sharing requirements
- Experience developing, maintaining, or overseeing bioinformatics pipelines using Python and/or Bash scripting languages
- Experience supporting bioinformatics or genomic analysis workflows in cloud or hybrid computing environments
- Experience working with next-generation sequencing data in a public health, research, or applied genomics setting
- Experience designing, building, or maintaining databases to support bioinformatics or genomic analysis workflows
- Experience using command-line tools to execute, validate, or troubleshoot bioinformatics analyses and data processing workflows
Employee Benefits
We offer a solid benefits package that supports you and your family’s health, financial security, and work-life balance.
You’ll have access to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and long-term disability insurance, flexible spending and health savings accounts, and retirement plans that help you plan for tomorrow while you’re living today.
Paid holidays, vacation and sick leave help you recharge, and additional programs like dependent care assistance and professional development opportunities add value beyond basic coverage.
Join us and enjoy benefits designed to care for you as much as you care about public health. Learn more about DOH benefits and see how we support your life at work and beyond by visiting Work@Health.
The Public Health Laboratories – Where Science Protects Communities
At the Public Health Laboratories, every test matters.
From hunting emerging pathogens to ensuring every newborn in the state gets life-saving screenings, your work will drive disease detection, outbreak response, and protect Washington’s most vulnerable.
We’re the state’s reference lab, tracking rare threats like rabies, hantavirus, and West Nile virus, analyzing outbreaks, and safeguarding food and water safety.
Here, science meets service in a collaborative, equity-driven team committed to real-world impact and public health at scale.
About the Washington State Department of Health
We're nearly 2,000 professionals across Washington working together to protect and improve community health.
Guided by our values of Equity, Innovation, and Engagement, we address health disparities, respond to emerging challenges, and strengthen systems that support resilience.
At DOH, we help reduce barriers, collaborate with diverse communities, and champion equitable health outcomes. We’re passionate people who are driven to make a difference in public health.
Explore more about the Department of Health, our programs, and our impact by visiting our website.
Working Conditions:
The following describes the working conditions of this position, with or without reasonable accommodation.
Work Setting, including hazards:
This position may work from home, a DOH facility, or remotely from an alternate location. The official duty station for this position is located at the Public Health Laboratories in Shoreline, WA.
If onsite work is requested by the supervisor, the request will be planned and communicated in advance.
Schedule (i.e., hours and days):
This position has a work schedule of 40 hours per week; however, the position may be expected to work longer hours to complete projects assignments, and/or meet business demands/deadlines.
An alternative or flexible work schedule may be considered at the incumbent's request, subject to supervisory approval.
Travel Requirements:
- Travel is not required to perform the duties of this position; however occasional or infrequent travel may be expected to attend meetings, training, or conferences.
Tools and Equipment:
- This position uses standard office furniture and equipment, such as a desk, office chair, cell phone, computer, monitor(s), keyboard, and mouse; and when in the office, the position may also require the use of a printer, phone, fax machine, and/or copy machine.
Customer Interactions:
- Frequent contact (likely daily) with clients.
Other:
- This position does not have union representations and is not covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
- The DOH campus is a smoke-free, drug-free, alcohol-free, scent-neutral environment.
- This position may be required to conduct and/or participate in public health emergency preparedness and response activities.
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APPLICATION DIRECTIONS:
We’re committed to a fair and equitable hiring process. Only materials submitted through the official application will be considered. Emailed resumes or documents won’t be accepted or shared with the hiring manager.
Click “Apply” to complete your application. Attach your resume, cover letter, and DD-214 (if applicable).
List at least three professional references, directly in your Applicant Profile or as a separate attachment, including a supervisor, a peer, and someone you’ve supervised or led (if applicable).
DO NOT INCLUDE private details like your SSN or birth year, personal photos, transcripts, certifications, diplomas, projects, portfolios, or letters of recommendation.
Veterans Preference: Applicants wishing to claim Veterans Preference must attach a copy of their DD-214 (Member 4 copy), NGB 22, or a signed verification of service letter from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to their application.
Please remove or cover any personally identifiable data such as social security numbers and birth year
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: We regard diversity as the foundation of our strength, recognizing that differing insights and abilities enable us to reflect the unique needs of the communities we serve.
DOH is an equal-opportunity employer.
We prohibit discrimination based on race/ethnicity/color, creed, sex, pregnancy, age, religion, national origin, marital status, the presence or perception of a disability, veteran’s status, military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender expression, or gender identity.
Questions and Accommodations: If you have questions, need assistance with the application process, require an accommodation, or would like to request this posting in an alternative format, please contact Shawnelle Goalder, Talent Acquisition Consultant/Recruiter at employment@doh.wa.gov and reference DOH8851 in the subject.
Technical Support: Reach out to NEOGOV directly at 1-855-524-5627 for technical support and login issues.
Additional Information
This recruitment may be used to fill positions of the same job classification across the agency. Once all the position(s) from the recruitment are filled, the candidate pool may be used to fill additional open positions for the next sixty (60) days.
Only applicants who follow the directions and complete the Application Process in full will have their responses reviewed for consideration.
Experience and education selected, listed, or detailed in the Supplemental Questions must be verifiable on the submitted applicant profile.
This position is located in King County. The advertised pay includes a 5% location-based salary adjustment.
This position’s advertised salary includes a 5% premium for required dual-language duties.
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