Sr Clinical Genomics Scientist, R&D

POSITION SUMMARY:

At Natera, our goal is to make personalized genomics and medicine a reality at scale. Clinical genomics focuses on the relationship between genes, and their variants, to clinical outcomes. As an R&D Senior Clinical Genomics Scientist - Somatic, you will be part of a small, focused team that is using science and data to build, support, and maintain a portfolio of germline and somatic genetic testing offerings, from panel concept to patient report. We shape Natera’s genomic tests via gene-disease curation, creating and automating scalable variant interpretation workflows, and providing expertise on a wide range of projects and products.

We are looking for a candidate who is passionate about the nuts and bolts of variant science, relentless about optimizing product quality, and most of all is excited about having their work used in the clinical care of millions of patients.

The Senior Clinical Genomics Scientist R&D - Somatic, supports product development activities for variant curation and reporting process development. They are tasked with applying a variety of scientific principles and concepts to potential products and problems, and can excel in a fast-paced environment. This role will be primarily focused on somatic cancer clinical genomics development. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Work with Clinical Genomics R&D team members to  support product/process development activities for the curation, interpretation, and reporting of somatic cancer variants. This role requires cross-functional collaboration with Laboratory Directors, Variant Curators, Bioinformaticians, Software Engineers, Product Management, and Regulatory/Compliance teams. The successful candidate will:

• Somatic Variant Curation & Interpretation Development: Support somatic variant curation, interpretation, and reporting product development activities for oncology, ensuring adherence to guidelines such as AMP, ASCO, NCCN, CAP, FDA etc. and leveraging tools and databases such as cBioPortal, OncoKB, therapy-related databases, and clinical trial databases.

• Protocol Development & Regulatory Compliance: Develop and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for somatic variant interpretation and reporting, ensuring they comply with the relevant regulations and recommendations.

• Product Development Support: Collaborate with the Product Development team to apply variant- and gene-level expertise, ensuring the development of clinically relevant somatic cancer genomics tools and reports.

• Data Management & Analysis: Summarize data in spreadsheets, graphs, and presentations. Ensure data quality and traceability for reporting and compliance purposes.

• Perform duties with minimal to moderate supervision.

• Produce high-quality, reproducible results to a high technical standard. Maintain accurate and well-organized records, worksheets, and notebooks; summarize data in spreadsheets, graphs and presentations.

• Perform other tasks as specified by the manager/director.

• This role will have occasional access to PHI both in paper and electronic form and have occasional access to various technologies to access PHI (paper and electronic) in order to perform the job.

• Employee must complete training relating to HIPAA/PHI privacy, General Policies and Procedure Compliance training and security training as soon as possible but not later than the first 30 days of hire.

• Must maintain a current status on Natera training requirements.

• The employee must pass a post-offer criminal background check. 

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in Molecular Biology, Genetics, Genomics, or a related field required. PhD strongly preferred.

• Minimum of 3 years of post-PhD clinical curation experience or 5 years of post-MS experience in clinical genomics.  

• Hands-on experience in somatic variant interpretation in a clinical diagnostic setting is required. 

• Product development experience, especially in somatic cancer diagnostics or variant interpretation tools, is highly valued.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

Must Have:

• Expertise in somatic variant curation using clinical guidelines for cancer variant classification.

• Deep understanding of the regulatory landscape, including FDA, CAP, CLIA, and NCCN recommendations for clinical somatic cancer genomics and variant reporting.  

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a proven track record of writing technical documentation, SOPs, and clinical reports.  

• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision while driving complex projects forward.  

• Strong organizational skills, with attention to detail in record-keeping,  documentation management, and the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.  

• Ability to work collaboratively across diverse teams, managing cross-functional communication and aligning somatic variant interpretation processes across departments.  

• Flexibility to occasionally work outside standard hours (evenings, weekends) to meet project deadlines.

Preferred:

• Familiarity with bioinformatics pipelines and variant interpretation software.  

• Strong analytical skills and ability to interpret complex somatic cancer genomic data.
   

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

This is a fully remote position that requires a high degree of self-motivation, organizational skills, and the ability to communicate effectively in a distributed team environment.