Backend Software Engineer - Pathogen

Ellison Institute of Technology; Oxford; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading research institute in Oxford is seeking a Backend Software Engineer to build platform services that enable easy access to data for bioinformatics. The role requires designing and implementing robust backend services, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and ensuring scalable and secure infrastructure. Candidates should be proficient in Python, NodeJS, and have experience in cloud environments. This position offers competitive benefits and a supportive work culture.

Benefits

Enhanced holiday pay

Pension

Life Assurance

Income Protection

Private Medical Insurance

Hospital Cash Plan

Therapy Services

Perk Box

Electrical Car Scheme

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a backend cloud engineer, data engineer, or similar role.
• Proficiency in backend programming languages and API frameworks such as Python and NodeJS.
• Experience building flexible APIs using GraphQL.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain highly performant, scalable, and secure backend services and APIs.
• Collaborate with science teams to understand data requirements.
• Implement and manage data storage solutions.

Skills

Backend programming languages

API frameworks

Cloud platforms

SQL data model design

Containerization

Big data technologies

Agile practices

Tools

Python

NodeJS

Django

FastAPI

Kafka

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Led by a world-class faculty of scientists, technologists, policy makers, economists and entrepreneurs, the Ellison Institute of Technology aims to develop and deploy commercially sustainable solutions to solve some of humanity’s most enduring challenges. Our work is guided by four Humane Endeavours: Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology, Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture, Climate Change & Managing Atmospheric CO2 and Artificial Intelligence & Robotics.

Set for completion in 2027, the EIT Campus in Littlemore will include more than 300,000 sq ft of research laboratories, educational and gathering spaces. Fuelled by growing ambition and the strength of Oxford’s science ecosystem, EIT is now expanding its footprint to a 2 million sq ft Campus across the western part of The Oxford Science Park. Designed by Foster + Partners led by Lord Norman Foster, this will become a transformative workplace for up to 7,000 people, with autonomous laboratories, purpose-built laboratories including a plant sciences building and dynamic spaces to spark interdisciplinary collaboration.

The Pathogen Mission highlights EIT’s transformative approach, using Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) and Oracle’s cloud technology to create a global pathogen metagenomics system. This initiative aims to improve diagnostics, provide early epidemic warnings, and guide treatments by profiling antimicrobial resistance. The goal is to deliver certified diagnostic tools for widespread use in labs, hospitals, and public health.

EIT Oxford fosters a culture of collaboration, innovation, and resilience, valuing diverse expertise to drive sustainable solutions to humanity’s enduring challenges.

Backend Software Engineer to build platform services that store and make data accessible within our platform. In this role, you will design and implement robust, resilient backend services, APIs, and cloud infrastructure.

You’ll work closely with a cross-functional team, including architects, platform engineers, and data engineers to create infrastructure that enables EIT’s scientists to easily find and access the data they need for groundbreaking bioinformatics pipelines and data products.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain highly performant, scalable, and secure backend services and APIs using technologies such as Python and NodeJS.
• Collaborate with science teams, full-stack engineers, and data engineers to understand data requirements and integrate user needs into backend data services.
• Develop and maintain RESTful APIs to make platform data findable and accessible in line with FAIR principles.
• Build APIs that support interoperability and federation for pathogen clinical diagnostics, epidemiology monitoring, and research.
• Work with data engineers to create pipelines and processes for storing and transforming platform data for easy consumption.
• Implement and manage data storage solutions, including data lakes, data warehouses, and databases (e.g., object storage, Oracle Autonomous Database, PostgreSQL).
• Support innovation by exploring new technologies such as vector databases for search and AI use cases.
• Work with big data technologies like Kafka, Iceberg, and Parquet, as well as managed database technologies such as PostgreSQL and Oracle vector databases.
• Operate, monitor, and maintain Oracle Cloud infrastructure to ensure backend services are highly available, scalable, and secure.
• Collaborate with DevSecOps engineers to automate deployments and adopt best-practice CI/CD.
• Document and communicate APIs to engineers and bioinformaticians so they can build pipelines and user-facing data products effectively.
• Provide technical standards for backend engineers to deliver clean, standardized, maintainable, testable, and reusable code.
• Ensure solutions are documented and aligned with defined architecture governance processes.
• Implement monitoring, logging, and alerting systems to maintain platform health and performance.

Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Proven experience as a backend cloud engineer, data engineer, or similar role.
• Proficiency in backend programming languages and API frameworks (Python, NodeJS, Django, FastAPI).
• Experience building flexible APIs using GraphQL.
• Expertise in at least one cloud platform and its related managed data services.
• Familiarity with big data technologies (Parquet, Iceberg) and streaming platforms (Kafka).
• Strong knowledge of database systems, SQL data model design, and query optimization.
• Experience with containerization (Kubernetes, Docker).
• Ability to deliver scalable, performant data services using microservice architectures.
• Proven experience developing architectures using containerization and serverless approaches (Oracle Functions, AWS Lambda).
• Experience managing teams and fostering a high-performance, collaborative culture.
• Understanding of Agile practices and sprint-based methodology.
• Ability to actively contribute to knowledge sharing.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Knowledge of genomics.
• Experience with Oracle OCI.
• Understanding of federation standards for genomics (GA4GH).
• Experience with healthcare clinical data and associated standards (OMOP, SNOMED).

Key Attributes

• Strong collaboration skills.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills.
• Willingness to learn and upskill in new technologies.

• Hands-on approach to exploring new technologies and developing POCs

We offer the following benefits:

• Enhanced holiday pay
• Pension
• Life Assurance
• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance
• Hospital Cash Plan
• Therapy Services
• Perk Box
• Electrical Car Scheme

Why work for EIT:

At the Ellison Institute, we believe a collaborative, inclusive team is key to our success. We are building a supportive environment where creative risks are encouraged, and everyone feels heard. Valuing emotional intelligence, empathy, respect, and resilience, we encourage people to be curious and to have a shared commitment to excellence. Join us and make an impact!

Terms of Appointment:

• You must have the right to work permanently in the UK with a willingness to travel as necessary.
• You will live in, or within easy commuting distance of, Oxford.
• During peak periods, some longer hours may be required and some working across multiple time zones due to the global nature of the programme.