Team Leader - European Nucleotide Archive

EMBL-EBI; Saffron Walden; Hybrid; GBP 5,000 - 82,000; Full time

Job summary

Join EMBL-EBI as the Team Leader for ENA and BioSamples, guiding critical advancements in global genomics data sharing. Oversee one of the largest bioinformatics resources, collaborate internationally, and inspire a multidisciplinary team to drive innovation in life sciences. This is a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of genomic information systems and support vital scientific research.

Benefits

Financial incentives including family and child allowances

Hybrid working arrangements

Private medical insurance for you and family

Generous time off including annual leave

Relocation package including installation grant

On-site nursery and generous parental leave

Qualifications

• Proven leadership experience in scientific data management, software development, or bioinformatics.
• Strong knowledge of nucleotide sequence data and large-scale data curation challenges.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute a vision for ENA and BioSamples to become a global hub for nucleotide sequence data.
• Inspire a multidisciplinary team to deliver world-class services and innovation.
• Strengthen partnerships with international data sharing initiatives like INSDC.

Skills

Leadership

Bioinformatics

Data Management

Communication

Stakeholder Engagement

Education

Advanced degree (PhD preferred) in genomics, bioinformatics, computer science, or a related field

Job description

Are you ready to lead the future of global genomics data sharing? The European Nucleotide Archive (ENA), a cornerstone of the international genomics community, is searching for a leader to guide its evolution in an era of unprecedented genomics driven scientific discovery. This is a unique opportunity to shape the way genomic information is preserved, shared, and leveraged to address the most pressing challenges, from understanding biodiversity, supporting global pathogen data sharing, and advancing model organism genomics driven research.

The European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) provides essential foundational data services to the world and underpins many major global data resources. As the Team Leader for ENA and BioSamples, you will oversee one of the world's largest and most vital bioinformatics resources, ensuring its continued impact and relevance in a changing scientific and technological landscape. You will collaborate with global partners, drive innovation, and inspire a dedicated team to deliver cutting-edge solutions for the life sciences community. ENA works in collaboration with other global databases as part of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC); together, INSDC databases work to capture, preserve and make available to all the globally comprehensive sequence data set. ENA also interacts and supports many key databases and resources at and beyond EMBL-EBI.

ENA makes over 60 petabytes of sequencing data available for download, including data such as sequencing reads, assembled genomes, and genome annotation. A new study is submitted to ENA every 4 seconds, by scientists from all over the globe.

With your team, you’ll contribute to the development and operation of ENA’s data submissions, search, and retrieval services, supporting a diverse user community across various web and programmatic interfaces. You’ll have the opportunity to shape and support training activities related to these services. Additionally, you’ll play a role in enhancing the collaborative data submissions broker network and engaging with institutional partners considering INSDC membership. Collaboration with EMBL-EBI colleagues will also be a key aspect, helping to provide ENA as a foundational resource for initiatives like UniProt, Ensembl, and MGnify.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Vision and Strategy: Define and execute a bold, future-focused vision for ENA and BioSamples, ensuring their position as a global hub for nucleotide sequence data and associated sample metadata.

Leadership: Inspire and empower a multidisciplinary team of scientists, software engineers, and data curators to deliver world-class services and innovation.

Global Collaboration: Strengthen partnerships with international data sharing initiatives like the INSDC, fostering cooperation and data exchange. Alignment with global genomics data-sharing standards, such as those from the Genomics Standards Consortium (GSC) and Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH).

User-Centric Innovation: Engage with the scientific community to anticipate their needs, driving the development of tools and interfaces that maximize the utility of ENA's resources.

Sustainability and Scalability: Keep abreast of community technological trends and pioneer service innovations to ensure the long-term scalability and sustainability of ENA, and lead infrastructure, operational planning, and service delivery to manage ENA's exponential data growth.

Advocacy and Outreach: Champion ENA's role in enabling breakthroughs in genomics, fostering awareness and support among stakeholders, policymakers, and the broader scientific community.

About You

You are a proven leader with a deep understanding of genomics, bioinformatics, and the transformative potential of data in the life sciences. You combine strategic thinking with hands-on expertise, and your passion for innovation is matched by your ability to unite diverse team members around a common goal.

Key Skills and Qualifications:

• Advanced degree (PhD preferred) in genomics, bioinformatics, computer science, or a related field.

• Proven leadership experience in scientific data management, software development, or bioinformatics.

• Strong knowledge of nucleotide sequence data, metadata, and the challenges of large-scale data curation and integration.

• Experience of developing and maintaining scalable big data systems.

• Exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills.

• Demonstrated ability to innovate, inspire, and deliver results in a complex, multidisciplinary environment.

• Knowledge of genomics data standards and genomics technologies.

You might also have

• Experience in contributing to the writing of successful grants.

• Experience in budget management.

• A track record in leading scientific projects.

• Experience designing databases, developing websites and/or working with big data.

• An established profile in the international research community in an area related to genomics, biodiversity, or big data.

• Participation in external collaborations.

• Presented at international meetings.

Apply now! Benefits and Contract Information

• Financial incentives: depending on circumstances, monthly family/marriage allowance of £272 monthly child allowance of £328 per child. Non resident allowance up to £701per month. Annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances

• Hybrid working arrangements

• 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 to eight bank holidays

• Relocation package including installation grant (as applicable)

• 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, child sick leave, generous parental leave, holiday clubs on campus and monthly family and child allowances

• Contract duration: This position is a 5 year contract renewable up to 9 years

• Salary: Monthly salary starting at£5,848.23after tax but excl. pension & insurances) + benefits (Total package will be dependent on family circumstances)

• International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Read more on our page for international applicants.

• Diversity and inclusion: At EMBL-EBI, we strongly believe that inclusive and diverse teams benefit from higher levels of innovation and creative thought. We encourage applications from women, LGBTQ+ and individuals from all nationalities.

• Job location: This role is based in Hinxton, near Cambridge, UK. You will be required to relocate if you are based overseas and you will receive a generous relocation package to support you.

To apply, please submit a covering letter and CV via our online system. Applications will close on 17/08/2025.

In Short

• Industry Science & Research
• Founded 1992
• Location Hinxton, Cambridge
• Company size 1000 - 4999

Employee Benefits

• Financial incentives:Monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme including 17% employer contribution, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances
• Flexible working arrangements
• Private medical insurancefor you and your immediate family (including all prescriptions and generous dental & optical cover)
• Generous time off:30 days annual leave per year, in addition to eight bank holidays
• Relocation packageincluding 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.

International applicants

Over ¾ of our workforce has joined us from outside the UK and we are proud of the diverse and multicultural working environment we offer.

Working at EMBL-EBI, you will join an inclusive community of 850+ amazing employees from 78 countries.

Your ability to work and live in the UK

Due to our special status as anInternational Organisationanyone who joins us from outside of the UK, and their dependent family members, can apply for anexempt vignette.

The exempt vignette entitles you to live and work in the UK while working for EMBL-EBI.

For more information about how we support applicants from overseas, please take a look at our international applicants page.

Technical Careers

At EMBL-EBI, technical professionals and scientists work hand in hand to enable ground-breaking scientific discoveries in the world of big data.

Our technical team of over 500 Software Developers, Network Engineers, Architects and Project Leads, utilise their skills to build and maintain critical tools and data resources for the scientific community.

You do not need to be a scientist to join our tech team at EMBL-EBI. Take a look at this video for more information -

Make a difference with your work

Our developers and engineers contribute to solutions for healthcare, agriculture and the environment by maximising the value of life-science research data. Find out more about some of our most impactful projects.

- Covid -19 Data Portal: The Covid19 Data Portal brings together relevant datasets to accelerate coronavirus research

- Open Targets: Open Targets uses human genetics and genomics data for systematic drug target identification and prioritisation

- Human Cell Atlas: The Human Cell Atlas creates maps of all human cells to understand human health and treat disease