About the team/job
We are looking for an enthusiastic, user focused, collaborative software engineer to join the Archival Infrastructure and Technology team at EMBL-EBI. Our team offers a friendly work environment with room for growth and personal impact, and we’re looking for someone who shares our team’s values of practicality, supportiveness, continuous learning and diversity.
Within the Archival Infrastructure and Technology team, we are building tools to process large quantities of heterogeneous data – we aim to make data easy to submit, validate and standardise, before making it available to the wider scientific community to facilitate a better understanding of human health and disease. In this position, your main focus will be on the Data Coordination Platform for the Human Cell Atlas (HCA – https://www.humancellatlas.org), a project that is creating a reference map of all human cells, and we are planning to extend our technology and support additional projects.
Our technology stack is diverse and modern. We’re using container technologies (Kubernetes, Docker, Helm, etc.) hosted on the public cloud running various frameworks (e.g. Spring, Angular, RabbitMQ, etc.) and with various languages (Java, Python, Javascript and Typescript). Our code is open source.
EMBL-EBI itself is located on the Wellcome Genome Campus near beautiful Cambridge in the UK. Informal enquiries can be made to Amnon Khen, HCA Project Technical Lead, [email protected].
Your role
Your responsibilities
- Develop software across the stack, from server side code and APIs to web based graphic user interfaces to support data submission and/or make data more FAIR.
- Have responsibility for the entire development and release process, including problem analysis, design, coding, testing, deployment, monitoring and documentation.
- Write comprehensive and understandable technical documentation to be used by users in the scientific community as well as fellow developers
- Occasionally travel within the UK and abroad to help represent our team at HCA project meetings and scientific conferences.
Team Structure
- We are a friendly close-knit team using iterative and low ceremony agile development methodologies. We review our processes and continuously tweak and improve them.
- We follow continuous integration and version control practices.
- We all take part in team ceremonies like daily standup sessions, internal and external demos, and retrospective sessions for our processes.
- We encourage disseminating knowledge internally and going on training sessions to learn and adopt newer tools and technologies.
You have
- A bachelors or higher degree in computer science, software engineering or bioinformatics, or demonstrated software development experience.
- User-focused approach in your problem analysis and solving skills and approach.
- Demonstrated aptitude for learning new technologies, processes and domains on the job but with the pragmatism and resourcefulness needed to get work done.
- Enthusiasm for working on the “full stack” across both front and back-end systems as required.
- Ability to communicate your ideas and share information in written forms, diagrams and verbally.
- Experience of working in a software development team and the initiative to work autonomously and take on leadership roles.
- Aptitude to help with all parts of the software cycle from architecture and design to running the release process and resolving production issues
- Experience with at least two languages out of Java, Python and Javascript.
- Comfort operating at level of the Unix command prompt.
- Good verbal and written communication skills.
You might also have
- A previous role in bioinformatics or research software development.
- Experience with our technologies and programming techniques such as Angular, Node.js, Spring, REST, MongoDB, RabbitMQ, Docker, Helm and Kubernetes.
- Devops experience. We use gitlab, and we are always looking to improve our processes.
- Public cloud experience. We use AWS.
- Experience of working on large development projects.
- Experience of working on open-source projects and interacting with users and developers that are outside the software team’s organisation.
Why join us
Do something meaningful
At EMBL-EBI you can apply your talent and passion to accelerate science and tackle some of humankind’s greatest challenges. EMBL-EBI, part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, is a worldwide leader in the storage, analysis and dissemination of large biological datasets. We provide the global research community with access to publicly available databases and tools which are crucial for the advancement of healthcare, food security, and biodiversity.
Join a culture of innovation
We are located on the Wellcome Genome Campus, alongside other prominent research and biotech organisations, and surrounded by beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside. This is a highly collaborative and inclusive community where our employees enjoy a relaxed atmosphere. We are committed to ensuring our employees feel valued, supported and empowered to reach their professional potential.
Enjoy lots of benefits:
- Financial incentives: Monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances
- Flexible working arrangements
- Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family (including all prescriptions and generous dental & optical cover)
- Generous time off: 30 days annual leave per year, in addition to eight bank holidays
- Relocation package including installation grant (if required)
- Campus life: Free shuttle bus to and from work, on-site library, subsidised on-site gym and cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)
- Family benefits: On-site nursery, 10 days of child sick leave, generous parental leave, holiday clubs on campus and monthly family and child allowances
- Benefits for non-UK residents: Visa exemption, education grant for private schooling, financial support to travel back to your home country every second year and a monthly non-resident allowance.
For more details please see our employee benefits page.
What else you need to know
- Contract duration: This position is a 3 year contract.
- International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Read more on our page for international applicants.
- Diversity and inclusion: At EMBL-EBI, we strongly believe that inclusive and diverse teams benefit from higher levels of innovation and creative thought. We encourage applications from women, LGBTQ+ and individuals from all nationalities.
- Job location: This role is based in Hinxton, near Cambridge, UK. You will be required to relocate if you are based overseas and you will receive a generous relocation package to support you.
- How to apply: To apply please submit a cover letter and a CV through our online system. We aim to provide a response within two weeks after the closing date.