Data Steward – Scientific Data & FAIR Governance

ProQR Therapeutics; Leiden; On-site; EUR 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

8% holiday allowance

30 vacation days

Annual performance bonus

Stock options

Pension plan

Commuting allowance

Subsidised staff restaurant

Unlimited snacks and drinks

Employee events

Job summary

ProQR Therapeutics, Leiden, NL, seeks a Data Steward to own and improve scientific data management across R&D. You will lead ELN and data governance efforts, align data standards with FAIR principles, and collaborate with Research, Bioinformatics, IT, and Quality to ensure data is captured, organized, and reusable.

You will oversee metadata, vocabularies, and documentation while coordinating with external partners and vendors to optimize data workflows and compliance.

Qualifications

• BSc or MSc in Bioinformatics, Data Science, Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Computer Science, Information Management, or a related field.
• At least 3 years of experience in scientific data management, data stewardship, laboratory informatics, or a similar role.
• Experience in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, life sciences, or another regulated R&D environment is preferred.
• Hands‑on experience with ELNs and LIMS (Benchling, LabKey, Dotmatics, SciNote, or similar).
• Experience working with cross‑functional teams, including Research, Bioinformatics, IT, Quality, and external partners.

Responsibilities

• Own and continuously improve ProQR's ELN and scientific data management platforms, acting as the primary business owner.
• Establish and maintain scientific data governance, including metadata standards, controlled vocabularies, naming conventions, and documentation best practices.
• Collaborate with researchers, bioinformaticians, and system administrators to ensure scientific data are consistently captured, organized, traceable, and reusable across projects, departments, and systems in line with FAIR data principles.
• Maintain a comprehensive inventory and catalogue of scientific datasets and associated metadata across the organization.
• Monitor data quality, completeness, and consistency, implementing improvements to maintain high‑quality scientific datasets throughout their lifecycle.
• Develop and maintain the scientific data lifecycle, including data cataloguing, retention, archiving, storage, and retrieval strategies.
• Ensure seamless integration and traceability between the ELN and connected systems such as LIMS, data repositories, SharePoint, and cloud platforms.
• Work with IT and vendors to configure workflows, templates, integrations, and data structures that support scientific operations.
• Support compliance with internal data governance policies and applicable regulations, including data privacy and GDPR requirements.
• Support the development of reports, dashboards, and data visualizations that enable data‑driven scientific decision‑making.
• Train and support end users on data standards, documentation practices, and scientific data management systems while contributing to the evaluation and implementation of new technologies.

Skills

Data governance

Metadata management

Data quality

Stakeholder management

SQL

Python/R

Education

BSc or MSc in Bioinformatics, Data Science, Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Computer Science, Information Management, or a related field

Tools

ELNs

LIMS

Benchling

LabKey

Dotmatics

SciNote

Job description

ProQR Therapeutics, Leiden, NL, seeks a Data Steward to own and improve scientific data management across R&D. You will lead ELN and data governance efforts, align data standards with FAIR principles, and collaborate with Research, Bioinformatics, IT, and Quality to ensure data is captured, organized, and reusable.

You will oversee metadata, vocabularies, and documentation while coordinating with external partners and vendors to optimize data workflows and compliance.