What do bioinformatics technicians do?
Apply principles and methods of bioinformatics to assist scientists in areas such as pharmaceuticals, medical technology, biotechnology, computational biology, proteomics, computer information science, biology and medical informatics. Apply bioinformatics tools to visualize, analyze, manipulate or interpret molecular data. May build and maintain databases for processing and analyzing genomic or other biological information.
This describes a U.S. occupation, not a live vacancy. Individual employers may use different titles and requirements.
Job titles to recognize in your search
O*NET reports these titles for this occupation. Compare the responsibilities in each posting before treating titles as equivalent.
- Biocurator
- Bioinformatics Analyst
- Bioinformatics Data Analyst
- Bioinformatics Specialist
- Biotechnician
- Research Scientist
- Research Specialist
- Scientific Informatics Analyst
Core tasks to compare with a job posting
- Conduct quality analyses of data inputs and resulting analyses or predictions.
- Confer with researchers, clinicians, or information technology staff to determine data needs and programming requirements and to provide assistance with database-related research activities.
- Analyze or manipulate bioinformatics data using software packages, statistical applications, or data mining techniques.
- Document all database changes, modifications, or problems.
- Monitor database performance and perform any necessary maintenance, upgrades, or repairs.
- Participate in the preparation of reports or scientific publications.
- Maintain awareness of new and emerging computational methods and technologies.
- Test new or updated software or tools and provide feedback to developers.
- Confer with database users about project timelines and changes.
- Create data management or error-checking procedures and user manuals.
Prepare an application for this occupation
- Check the employer’s requirements, location, schedule and any licenses against your situation.
- Choose two or three tasks above that match the posting and your actual experience.
- Build a resume evidence worksheet using the skills and software relevant to that employer.
- Practice explaining your contribution, decisions and results before an interview.
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