Software Engineer

Software Engineer

EMBL-EBI - European Bioinformatics Institute

Hinxton, United Kingdom

We are looking for a Software engineer with strong record in software development and interested in solving scientific questions related to Big data in biology. The successful candidate will be working in the organisation of large data sets of proteins for thousands of organisms in the database. This is a challenging and central development which requires mathematical and statistical expertise as well as strong software development skills.

Proteins are the building blocks of life and knowing how they function in the cells of living organisms gives us an insight on their health and disease states. A Proteome is the set of proteins encoded by the genome of a certain organism. With knowledge in biology generated at an unprecedented accelerating pace, the number of protein sequences in the database has increased dramatically and computational approaches are needed more than ever for organising the protein space for all these organisms.

As part of your daily work, you will analyse data, develop production software, create technical documents, take part in the daily Scrum meeting, as well as communicate with other teams at EMBL-EBI and/or with our international collaboration partners. Scalability will be an important feature of your clear, concise, well tested and documented code. You will also be interested in applying analytic engines and technical approaches to distributed processing of big data. The ability to work towards tight deadlines is essential.

The Protein Function development team maintains bioinformatics infrastructure of the world leading Universal Protein Resource (UniProt), and Gene Ontology Annotation resource. This is a very dynamic and interdisciplinary team comprising talented and enthusiastic software engineers and bioinformaticians working closely together with the biocurators in these resources. The UniProt resource is one of the most internationally used protein databases serving a large and diverse research community in genomics, proteins and proteomics.

Responsibilities include

• Design, development, test, document and maintenance of software for the proteomes production pipeline;
• Assist with the data analysis and data processing algorithms in the proteomes pipeline;
• Support and maintain the resource production and service release;
• Engage and coordinate work with different teams in the organization;
• Assist with innovative programming and big data technologies;
• Assist with programming standards to promote best practices.

You have

• A degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Life Sciences or a related discipline;
• At least 3 years of working experience in software using Java and Python.

You may also have

• Good understanding of Statistics, Graph theory, Probability theory;
• Familiar with standard development tools (continuous integration e.g. Jenkins, build management e.g. Maven, and source code management systems e.g. GIT, etc.);
• Understanding of good coding practices and approaches (OOP, IoC, automated testing, clean code principles, code review);
• Familiarity with SQL and relational database design principles, Unix shell scripting;
• Knowledge of standard development tools and concepts (VCS, CI, etc.);
• Experience working in bioinformatics and biological resource development would be an advantage.

Other helpful information

Hybrid Working: At EMBL-EBI we are pleased to offer hybrid working options for all our employees. A dedicated desk will be available everyday, our team work two days on site (Monday’s & Tuesday’s) and three from home.
Interviews: We plan to hold introductory meetings with selected candidates remotely starting in February 2026.
Contract length: 3 years (project based)
Salary: Grade 5 Monthly salary starting at £3,229 after tax but excl. pension & insurances) + other paid benefits based on personal circumstances

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. Watch this video to see how EMBL-EBI makes an impact.

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 - including hybrid working patterns;
• 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 public 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 detailed information please visit our employee benefits page here.

What else you need to know

• International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Please take a look at our International Applicants page for further information;
• EMBL is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we apply DORA principles to our recruitment and performance assessment processes here;
• Diversity and inclusion: At EMBL, we strongly believe that inclusive and diverse teams benefit from higher levels of innovation and creative thought. We encourage applications from women, LGBTQ+ & individuals from all nationalities;
• How to apply: To apply please submit a cover letter and a CV through our online system. Applications will close at 23:59 CET on the date shown below. We aim to provide a response within two weeks after the closing date.

Closing Date: 15/01/2026