Senior Site Reliability Engineer

European Bioinformatics Institute | EMBL-EBI; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 46,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Private medical insurance

30 days annual leave

Relocation package

On-campus facilities

Job summary

EMBL-EBI is seeking a Senior Site Reliability Engineer to join the IT Operations team. You will ensure reliability, performance and availability of services used by researchers worldwide, tackling infrastructure challenges and driving automation.

This hands‑on role involves enhancing monitoring, implementing scalable solutions, and shaping the future of our platform with a focus on availability and user experience.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience with Linux production systems.
• Experience with orchestration/automation (Foreman/Puppet).
• Strong troubleshooting ability (tcpdump, strace, log parsing at scale).
• Experience with directory services (389 DS or OpenLDAP).
• Ability to review and guide code in Python, Bash and Puppet.

Responsibilities

• Support the reliability and availability of EMBL-EBI services used by thousands of researchers worldwide.
• Tackle complex infrastructure challenges and enhance automation and resilience.
• Develop and maintain monitoring and data transfer workflows; contribute to long‑term strategy.
• Produce clear documentation and SOPs to empower the Service Desk.

Job description

Want your engineering skills to enable real scientific breakthroughs? We’re looking for a Senior Site Reliability Engineer to join our highly skilled IT Operations team at EMBL-EBI.

At EMBL-EBI, our IT & Technical Services department underpins groundbreaking research that improves human and planetary health. As part of our small but highly skilled IT Operations team, you’ll play a critical role in ensuring the availability, reliability and efficiency of services that support researchers across the globe.

In this hands‑on role, you’ll ensure the reliability, performance, and availability of the services that thousands of scientists rely on worldwide. You’ll tackle complex infrastructure challenges, improve automation and resilience, and help shape the future of our platform.

If you want variety, genuine ownership, and the opportunity to support research that improves human and planetary health, this is a role where your work truly matters.

In this role, you will support the team in the delivery of some or all of the following services:

• Identity & Access Management – Maintain, improve and standardise our authentication and authorisation infrastructure (Active Directory, Entra‑ID, Red Hat IDP).
• Email Systems – Support and develop our mail services (Postfix, Cyrus, Roundcube, Mailman), including a planned migration to O365.
• Transfer services - Support the systems we use for data transfer (Globus, Aspera, FTP, HTTP).
• File Replication (FIRE) Archive - Develop and maintain our software‑defined object storage.
• Monitoring & Reliability – Maintain and evolve distributed Check_mk monitoring while contributing to the development of a long‑term monitoring strategy.
• Automation & Orchestration – Work with Gerrit, Foreman, RPM repositories, and Puppet to deploy, update and manage 3,000+ servers.
• Core Infrastructure – Maintain and improve Puppet modules (NTP, SSSD) and support new Red Hat OS templates.
• Knowledge Sharing – Produce documentation and Standard Operating Procedures that empower our Service Desk and improve user experience.

What we’re looking for

• 5+ years of experience with Linux production systems
• Experience with orchestration/automation (Foreman/Puppet).
• Strong troubleshooting ability (tcpdump, strace, log parsing at scale).
• Experience with directory services (389 DS or OpenLDAP).
• Ability to review and guide code in Python, Bash and Puppet.

Don’t be dissuaded from applying if you do not have all the right technologies in your portfolio - training will be provided to a candidate with the right experience and attitude.

Other helpful information

How we screen your application: Every application will be read by a member of our team — we don’t use automated keyword screening. You don’t need to match every requirement or mirror the language in this advert. We’re interested in your experience, potential and perspective, so please tell us about these in your own words.

Hybrid Working: At EMBL-EBI, we are pleased to offer hybrid working options for all our employees, with an expectation that you will be on site at least two days a week, one of which will be a “team day”.

Interviews: We plan to hold all interviews with selected candidates remotely via Zoom.

Contract length: 3 years (renewable up to 9 years)

Salary: Grade 6 - monthly salary from £3,861.91 after tax plus benefits and financial allowances based on family circumstances. Excl. personal pension and insurance contributions.

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 believe that diverse teams drive innovation and scientific excellence. We encourage applications from candidates of all genders, identities, nationalities and/or any other diverse backgrounds.

Closing Date

20/09/2026