Chemistry Curator

Chemistry Curator Location: EMBL-EBI, Hinxton near Cambridge, UK
Staff Category: Staff Member
Contract Duration: Until 30/06/2020
Grading: 5 (monthly salary starting from £1,349 after tax)
Closing Date: 28 March 2019
Reference Number: EBI01373

The Chemogenomics team at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) is looking for an experienced part-time (20 hours per week) Chemistry Curator. The candidate will work with the team members to curate chemical structures and hence be responsible for ensuring the continued quality of the chemical information in the ChEMBL database.

Your role
Reporting to the ChEMBL Group Coordinator, you will have excellent attention to detail, strong communication skills and be able to interact with technical experts as well as scientists. The specific job responsibilities include:

Maintaining and updating a database of newly approved USAN and INN names, their chemical structures and associated synonyms;
The day to day curation of chemical structures in the ChEMBL database, and hence ensuring high quality;
By using a variety of external and internal sources to determine definitive chemical structures, refine and standardize key structures in ChEMBL;
Assessing chemically related user queries and correcting, updating and adding chemical structures when necessary;
Reviewing and standardizing deposited structures when necessary.

You have

A PhD (or equivalent) in Chemistry or related field;
Sound knowledge of organic chemistry and chemical nomenclature;
Knowledge of chemical structure formats such as molfiles, smiles and InChIs and how to convert between them;
Experience of using chemical drawing packages;
Ability to work accurately and quickly to deadlines;
Able to work both as part of a team and independently;
Good communication skills (both verbal and presentational).

You might also have

Previous experience of chemical curation and using chemical databases;
Experience of querying relational databases using SQL;
Experience of working in a drug discovery environment.

Why join us
At EMBL-EBI, we help scientists realise the potential of ‘big data’ in biology by enabling them to exploit complex information to make discoveries that benefit mankind. Working for EMBL-EBI gives you an opportunity to apply your skills and energy for the greater good. As part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), we are a non-profit, intergovernmental organisation funded by 22 member states and two associate member states. We are located on the Wellcome Genome Campus near Cambridge in the UK, and our 600 staff are engineers, technicians, scientists and other professionals from all over the world.

EMBL is an inclusive, equal opportunity employer offering attractive conditions and benefits appropriate to an international research organisation. The remuneration package comprises a competitive salary, a comprehensive pension scheme and health insurance, educational and other family related benefits where applicable, as well as financial support for relocation and installation. For more information about pay and benefits click here.

We have an informal culture, international working environment and excellent professional development opportunities but one of the really amazing things about us is the concentration of technical and scientific expertise – something you probably won’t find anywhere else.

If you’ve ever visited the campus you’ll have experienced first-hand our friendly, collegial and supportive atmosphere, set in the beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside. Our staff also enjoy excellent sports facilities including a gym, a free shuttle bus, an on-site nursery, cafés and restaurant and a library.