Computational Biologist

Ellison Institute of Technology Oxford; Oxford; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Enhanced holiday pay

Pension

Life Assurance

Income Protection

Private Medical Insurance

Hospital Cash Plan

Therapy Services

Perk Box

Electric Car Scheme

Job summary

The Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) seeks a Computational Biologist to bridge microbiology and AI. You will transform complex biological sources into robust datasets, build bioinformatics solutions, and design evaluations for foundation models.

You will collaborate with AI Scientists and Engineers to ensure models are biologically sound, develop scalable Python pipelines, and contribute to real-world data-driven breakthroughs in health, biology and AI.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in genomics and computational biology, incl. genome assembly, alignment and variant analysis.
• Deep Python proficiency for data processing and modelling.
• Ability to design evaluations for foundation models and work with AI researchers.

Responsibilities

• Structure, curate, and transform large-scale microbiology data for use in machine learning systems
• Define biologically grounded tasks, representations, and evaluation frameworks aligned with real biological signal
• Interrogate datasets, methods, and model outputs to identify bias, leakage, and invalid assumptions
• Apply, adapt, and critically assess state-of-the-art bioinformatics methods in real-world settings
• Build robust, reproducible Python workflows and collaborate closely with research and engineering teams

Skills

Python

Genomics

Computational biology

Genome assembly

Alignment

Variant analysis

Job description

At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we're on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, policy makers, and entrepreneurs to tackle humanity's greatest challenges in four transformative areas:

• Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology
• Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture
• Climate Change & Managing CO₂
• Artificial Intelligence & Robotics

This is ambitious work - work that demands curiosity, courage, and a relentless drive to make a difference. At EIT, you'll join a community built on excellence, innovation, tenacity, trust, and collaboration, where bold ideas become real-world breakthroughs. Together, we push boundaries, embrace complexity, and create solutions to scale ideas for lab to society. Explore more at www.eit.org

Requirements

We're looking for a Computational Biologist to work at the interface of microbiology and AI. The role requires being a subject matter expert within a team of AI researchers and engineers and the hands-on ability to work on projects including transforming complex biological sources into robust, high-quality data sets, building bioinformatics solutions, and designing evaluations for foundation models.

This role requires deep expertise in microbiology and bioinformatics methods, strong scientific judgement, and the ability to critically assess and improve how biological data is used in computational systems. You will work closely with AI Scientists and Engineers to ensure models are biologically sound and capture the most important signals.

Key Responsibilities

• Structure, curate, and transform large-scale microbiology data for use in machine learning systems
• Define biologically grounded tasks, representations, and evaluation frameworks aligned with real biological signal
• Interrogate datasets, methods, and model outputs to identify bias, leakage, and invalid assumptions
• Apply, adapt, and critically assess state-of-the-art bioinformatics methods in real-world settings
• Build robust, reproducible Python workflows and collaborate closely with research and engineering teams

Essential Knowledge, Skills, And Experience

• Extensive experience in genomics and computational biology, with strong understanding of methods such as genome assembly, alignment, and variant analysis
• Experience working with large-scale genomics datasets including data preparation and modellingProven track record of solving complex computational biology problems, translating them into computational and statistical methods and delivering working implementations.
• High proficiency in Python for data processing and modelling

Desirable Knowledge, Skills, and Experience(in rough order of desirability)

• Background in software engineering
• Experience with microbiology and prokaryotic biology
• Experience with long- and short-read sequencing technologies
• Experience with foundation models or representation learning applied to biological data

Benefits

We offer the following salary and benefits:

• Enhanced holiday pay
• Pension
• Life Assurance
• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance
• Hospital Cash Plan
• Therapy Services
• Perk Box
• Electric 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!