Bioinformatician

The Archival Infrastructure and Technology (AIT) team is looking for an enthusiastic, highly motivated bioinformatician to join the Human Cell Atlas (HCA) project to help us integrate data generated by labs all over the world using cutting-edge single-cell techniques

The HCA is using cellular resolution data as the basis for both understanding human health and understanding different disease mechanisms. So if you are interested in the Human Cell Atlas, or if you’d like to help us work towards developing comprehensive reference maps of all human cells, this job will be perfect for you! With the help of our collaborators, we are collecting data and building process to make data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reproducible (FAIR), as part of the Data Coordination Platform (HCA-DCP) for the HCA community.

As a member of our team, you will have the chance to engage with our collaborators from the Broad Institute, and the University of California Santa Cruz.
Your role
This position is a fantastic opportunity to gain hands-on experience, working on a high-profile project with major scientific impact in a world-leading bioinformatics institute.

We are looking for a bioinformatician with experience in handling biological data and biological requirements. You should have a biological background but you should also be able to find your way around a terminal. Experience with managing large scale biological data or using JSON schema to describe biological data would be desirable. Previous experience of working in a bioinformatics-focused environment would be beneficial.
You'll be helping us to describe all data collected from HCA scientists using well-structured, FAIR metadata that takes advantage of many pre-existing ontologies. This approach provides rich and consistent information so users can query the Atlas using many facets of a sample’s identity, such as tissue source and donor age, as well as project and experimental details. You will work directly with data contributors to ensure their data is well described and reusable by the scientific community. We follow agile techniques in our approach to development, so if you’re the sort of person who likes to work in sprints, has worked with tools like Jira or Zenhub in the past to prioritise user requirements, then you’ll be a good fit for our team. All of our software and metadata schemas built and published using continuous integration and version control, so familiarity with GitHub is an advantage and you should be confident in making your outputs public for others to use.

In addition to the specific role of the HCA-DCP in providing a platform for cellular resolution data, the AIT team is responsible for standards compliance, storage of archival data (open and controlled-access) and provision of services enabling further analysis of data. The team directly manages the European Nucleotide Archive infrastructure, the BioSamples metadata hub, and Data Submission Portal - EMBL-EBI’s point of entry for multi-omics submissions across archives. This role will interact with the EMBL-EBI hosted archives establishing automated data flow from HCA projects to these services including BioSamples, BioStudies and the European Nucleotide Archive. We also work closely with other members of the Molecular Archive cluster, The European Genome-Phenome Archive, the European Variation Archive, and the Samples, Phenotypes and Ontologies team.

You have
Practical experience of data management
Research Experience in Genomics and/or Bioinformatics
Knowledge of common data formats, in particular, JSON and JSON schema
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and an ability to work as part of a team of people with a range of skills and a diversity of backgrounds.
You might also have
Research experience in single-cell genomics
Some familiarity with semantic technologies and use of ontologies for annotating metadata
Experience in running bioinformatic training courses
Experience of at least one programming language including Python and/or Java
Experience of working in an agile development environment
Interest in Cloud technologies

We value people who demonstrate that they’re eager to learn about specific aspects to support our users’ requirements.

Application Instructions: 

To view a copy of the full job description please visit our website.

To apply please submit a covering letter and CV through our online system.

Applications are welcome from all nationalities and this will continue after Brexit. For more information please see our website. Visa information will be discussed in more depth with applicants selected for interview.

EMBL-EBI is committed to achieving gender balance and strongly encourages applications from women, who are currently under-represented at all levels. Appointment will be based on merit alone.

Application Closing Date: 
15 July 2020