Senior Bioinformatician

EMBL-EBI - European Bioinformatics Institute

Hinxton, United Kingdom

Ensembl Plants is looking for an experienced bioinformatician to join our team, bringing integrated plant genomic data to user communities worldwide. You will be based at EMBL-EBI and work alongside fellow bioinformaticians, programmers and scientists to develop novel genomic resources. You will also be responsible for running genomic analyses as part of our regular release cycles and collaborate with researchers around the world.

As part of the Ensembl project, Ensembl Plants provides access to annotated genomes, genetic variation data and comparative genomics views to support research and breeding activities for a wide range of plant species, including agronomically important crop species and model plants. The Ensembl project is a collaborative effort with several teams working together to develop datasets and tools which support genomics-based research across the taxonomic space. We are also active partners in international initiatives to support the development of standards and tools to assist in the collection, integration and dissemination of plant genomic data. Genomics has enormous potential to advance plant science and in turn help ensure the global security of food supplies. If successful, you will be a part of this effort.

Working relationships:

Reports to: Metazoa and Plants Project Leader
Collaborates with (internal): Other members of the Ensembl Metazoa and Plants team; other developers in the Genome Assembly and Annotation Section
Collaborates with (external): Community members to support integration of their data, international partners on collaborative projects
External customers: users of the Ensembl Plants platform

Your role

As a senior bioinformatician in the Ensembl Plants team you will:

Coordinate production activities and delivery of processed data as part of the Ensembl release cycle
Maintain and develop our databases, pipelines and documentation
Develop software solutions to increase automation, reliability and scalability of our data processing pipelines and workflows
Assist the Metazoa and Plants Project Leader in making technical decisions for the project
Provide technical leadership and mentor less-experienced team members
Contribute to developing and emerging data standards, particularly in the area of pan-genomes
Represent EMBL-EBI and interact with collaborators, researchers, data generators and user communities

You have

A post-graduate degree in bioinformatics, biology, computer science or a related field or equivalent professional experience
At least four years’ experience working in a production bioinformatics environment
A high degree of proficiency in at least one dynamic programming language e.g. Python or Perl
Experience with Unix/Linux
Experience delivering projects or analyses with multiple components
Practical experience working with relational Database platforms (e.g. MySQL, Postgres)
The ability to understand, write and maintain complex code
Experience working with genome analysis tools
Excellent English communication skills; written and verbal, both to facilitate effective internal communications as well as with external collaborators and users
Excellent attention to detail, well-developed problem-solving skills and work well as part of a team
The desire to work in an inclusive, international environment