Hybrid Microbial Genomics Bioinformatician

EMBL EBI; Saffron Walden; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Private medical insurance

30 days annual leave

Relocation package

Family benefits

Non-UK resident allowances

Job summary

EMBL-EBI’s Ensembl Microbes team develops and maintains genome resources for microbial research communities. The role supports Ensembl microbes across bacteria, archaea, fungi and protists, collaborating with bioinformaticians, software engineers and project leads to expand pangenome representations and improve annotations.

The post reports to the Microbial Genomes Project Lead and offers hybrid working with two on-site days per week on the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridgeshire.

Qualifications

• PhD or Master with equivalent experience in a relevant field.
• Knowledge of prokaryotic and/or microbial biology.
• Strong Python skills with production-quality code.
• Experience building computational pipelines with Nextflow or Snakemake.
• Experience with relational databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL), UNIX/Linux, and HPC/cloud environments.
• Experience applying genome analysis/annotation tools and formats (FASTA, GFF3).
• Experience with software development practices: Git, testing, code reviews.
• Proficiency in English, written and spoken.
• Ability to work independently and in a team.

Responsibilities

• Maintain microbial genomes in Ensembl, load annotations, and diagnose issues.
• Coordinate releases in a release-based environment with subteams.
• Assess genome annotation tools for microbial taxa to enhance annotations.
• Develop functional annotation pipelines and microbial pangenome representations.
• Design, build and test technical solutions to improve efficiency.
• Create and maintain up-to-date documentation.
• Contribute to code reviews and team meetings.
• Collaborate with EMBL-EBI groups, data generators and user communities.

Skills

Python

Nextflow

Snakemake

Relational databases

UNIX/Linux

HPC/Cloud

Genome annotation tools

Git

AI-assisted coding tools

English communication

Education

PhD in bioinformatics/biology/computer science

Master's + relevant experience

Tools

MySQL

PostgreSQL

Git

Nextflow

Snakemake

Apache Parquet

Job description

EMBL-EBI’s Ensembl Microbes team develops and maintains genome resources for microbial research communities. The role supports Ensembl microbes across bacteria, archaea, fungi and protists, collaborating with bioinformaticians, software engineers and project leads to expand pangenome representations and improve annotations.

The post reports to the Microbial Genomes Project Lead and offers hybrid working with two on-site days per week on the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridgeshire.