Software Engineer

European Molecular Biology Laboratory; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Private medical insurance

30 days annual leave

Relocation package

On-site nursery

Family allowances

Visa support

Job summary

EMBL-EBI, based on the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridgeshire, seeks a Software Engineer with a strong track record in production software development. You will design and develop robust modules and scalable workflows for data release and management of expanding scientific information.

Collaboration with the Ensembl team on data imports is part of the role. You will work on analytics engines and distributed processing of large datasets, with tight deadlines and cross-team coordination.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science or related discipline.
• 3+ years of professional software development experience in production.
• Experience with Agile processes.
• Good communication skills.
• Experience in Java and/or Python development.
• Experience with Git and Unix basics.

Responsibilities

• Design, development, testing, documentation and maintenance of software for the import production pipeline; liaise with Ensembl on data imports.
• Assist with data analysis and data processing algorithms.
• Support and maintain the resource production and service release.
• Engage and coordinate work with different teams across the organization.
• Assist with innovative programming and big data technologies.
• Promote programming standards to support best practices.

Skills

Java

Python

Git

Unix commands

Agile

Communication

Education

Degree in Computer Science or related discipline

Job description

About the team

We are looking for a Software engineer with a strong record in software development and interested in the production of one of the most internationally used data resources in biological science, UniProt. Our team is very dynamic and interdisciplinary comprising talented and enthusiastic software engineers and bioinformaticians working closely together with biologists and scientists.

The UniProt resource is one of the most internationally used protein databases serving a large and diverse research community in genomics, proteins and proteomics.

Your role

You will be responsible for desgining and developing robust software modules and scalable workflows for efficient data release and management of the ever-growing volume of scientific information. 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. You will also be working in collaboration with the Ensembl team in data imports between these resources.

Duties and responsibilities

• Design, development, test, document and maintenance of software for the import production pipeline. Liaise with the Ensembl team in Reference selection and data imports
• Assist with the data analysis and data processing algorithms
• 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 or related discipline
• Software Engineer with at least 3 years of professional experience in software development in a production environment
• Experience in Agile processes
• Good communication skills
• Experience in Java and/or Python development
• Experience in git and basic Unix Commands

You may also have

• You may also have experience with large data processing technologies (Apache Spark)

Contract length

3 years grant based contract

Salary

Grade 5 Monthly salary starting at £3,452 after tax, plus generous benefits and financial allowances based on individual circumstances. Excluding 12.99% personal pension and insurance contributions.

Why join us

Do something meaningfulAt 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

01/11/2026