Tumwater, Washington
Posted: 07-Jan-26
Location: Tumwater, Washington
Type: Full Time
Salary: $108,780 - $146,316 Annually
Internal Number: DOH8792
We are expanding how viral genomic data supports public health surveillance and response across the state. This Senior Epidemiologist role leads the Viral Genomics Unit within the Molecular Epidemiology Program and plays a central role in shaping how viral genomic surveillance systems are developed, and how viral genomic data are analyzed, interpreted, and applied to real public health questions. The position provides scientific and operational leadership to strengthen statewide disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and emergency preparedness, while supporting staff and partners who rely on viral genomic data to inform their work.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead the Viral Genomics Unit by setting direction, priorities, and standards for viral genomic surveillance work
- Design and oversee cloud based computational infrastructure that supports large scale genomic analysis and visualization
- Translate complex viral genomic data into insights that inform disease surveillance, outbreak investigations, and situational awareness
- Partner closely with epidemiologists, local health jurisdictions, IT teams, and academic collaborators to strengthen statewide genomic capacity
- Coach, mentor, and support epidemiology staff through clear expectations, feedback, and professional development
- Drive innovation by advancing new analytic approaches, tools, and methods in viral genomic epidemiology
- Contribute expertise during public health emergencies involving viral pathogens
Why You’ll Love This Role:
- You get to shape how viral genomic data are used across an entire state, not just within one project or lab
- Your work has immediate impact on public health, influencing real time decisions during outbreaks and emergencies
- You will lead a highly skilled team doing cutting edge work at the intersection of epidemiology, molecular evolution, and data science
- The role offers space to innovate, experiment, and modernize how public health uses advanced molecular detection
- You will collaborate with passionate public health professionals, local partners, and academic leaders who value science-driven solutions
Option 1: A Doctoral degree in epidemiology, public health, microbiology, bioinformatics, genomics, or another health science field AND one (1) or more years of experience in epidemiology, genomic data analysis, infectious disease work, or a related public health field.
Option 2: Eight (8) or more years of experience in epidemiology, genomic data analysis, infectious disease investigation, laboratory science, or public health surveillance. Experience must include working with data systems, genomic datasets, and command line-based analytic tools.
And the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience:
- Experience leading or supervising staff
- Experience analyzing genomic data using statistical tools and programming languages
- Experience leading or coordinating scientific or technical projects