The International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS) is seeking an experienced bioinformatician to build free, globally-accessible, open-source tools for screening DNA synthesis.

Starting compensation: 90,000 – 125,000 CHF
Work location: Remote or in person (Geneva office)
Application link: submit an expression of interest here if applying in Geneva or here if applying remotely

Who are we?

IBBIS is an international organization with the mission of safeguarding modern bioscience and biotechnology so it can advance and flourish safely and responsibly. We work with global partners to strengthen biosecurity norms and develop innovative tools to uphold them.

The Common Mechanism, our first major project, is a tool for identifying potentially risky sequences within orders for synthetic DNA. This allows synthesis providers to ask additional follow-up questions if a customer orders sequences of concern (e.g. toxins, viral genomes, virulence factors) while preserving uninterrupted access for customers ordering most sequences.

In 2025, IBBIS’s second year, our focus is on expanding the share of nucleic acid synthesis orders for which sequences and customers are screened; supporting international, inclusive, and rigorous standards for managing access to biotechnology; and working with international, regional, and national partners to reduce the risk of catastrophic events that could result from deliberate abuse or accidental misuse of bioscience and biotechnology.
The role

The Senior Bioinformatics Engineer will aid in the continued development and optimisation of the Common Mechanism, our open-source sequence screening software.

In the past year, IBBIS released our software package, acquired our first users, validated our performance against >1,000,000 sequences as part of an international testing collaboration, and demonstrated resilience to pathogen sequences redesigned with AI. We are now looking to expand our team to ensure that the Common Mechanism can act as an effective global baseline for synthesis screening.

You’ll join as a core member of our technical team, directly impacting how DNA synthesis is screened worldwide and helping to advance our mission of responsible, flourishing biotechnology. You’ll solve thorny sequence classification problems, handle vulnerability disclosures, and participate in international standards development.
What you’ll do day-to-day

Improve homology search speed while maintaining screening accuracy
Improve detection rates of obfuscated toxin and pathogen sequences
Participate in an international consortium developing definitions for sequences of concern
Ensure the common mechanism evolves alongside the global regulatory and threat landscape, particularly concerning AI-bio capabilities
Respond to vulnerability disclosures via coordinated response among tool providers

Qualifications

We’re looking for someone who combines strong technical skills with careful judgment about security implications. You might be a bioinformatician who’s worked on pathogen detection, a computational biologist with experience in high-performance computing, or a software engineer who’s developed scientific computing tools. We care more about your ability to develop robust bioinformatics pipelines and to make sound technical decisions than specific experience in biosecurity or biotechnology governance.
Key Requirements

6+ years of experience in bioinformatics and computational biology
Experience with classification and detection of pathogen sequences
Advanced knowledge of sequence analysis and homology search algorithms (e.g. BLAST, DIAMOND, HMMER)
Experience with bioinformatics pipeline development in Python
A track record of technical leadership and decision-making, including strong team skills
Ability to work during core hours (15:00-17:00 UTC) to overlap with the global team

Experience with any of the following is preferred but not required:

Machine learning models for DNA sequences and protein structures
High-performance computing and Python software optimization
Building user-facing, production-level software interfaces
Developing open-source bioinformatics packages
Biosecurity and responsible innovation

Details

Reports to: Tessa Alexanian
Flexible work: join the team remotely as a contractor or through our Employer of Record provider, or join our office in Geneva
Relocation support: may be possible for candidates interested in working from our Geneva, Switzerland office
Travel opportunities: Team meetings in Geneva (1-3 times annually) and relevant conferences