Developer

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Detail information about job Developer. Terms and conditions vacancy

Contract Duration: 3 years

Grading: 5 or 6 (monthly salary starting at £2,552 after tax). For more information about pay and benefits click here

Job DescriptionThe Ensembl Core team seeks an enthusiastic software developer to join the team and contribute to the software infrastructure of the Ensembl project.

Ensembl is one of the most successful large-scale bioinformatics projects and one of the leading projects for genome annotation. Although genome sequencing has advanced tremendously in the past decades, the international scientific community is still trying to understand how genomes operate by collating information on their function, variability and evolutionary history. The Ensembl project imports massive amounts of data from various archives, uses them to create summaries, then redistributes these freely to researchers across the world.

The technical challenge resides in modelling the complexity of biological systems in a systematic and programmatically accessible way, while keeping up with the exponential growth of sequencing capacity across the world. These challenges have led us to adopt a hybrid system that includes both relational and non-relational storage solutions. Ensembl Core’s mission is to ensure these components remain interoperable.

You will work alongside the existing developers and:

• Extend Ensembl’s current MySQL database schemas and Perl API to handle new data types/results,
• Connect the Perl API to new storage solutions,
• Develop new database resources to support specific needs of the research community,
• Develop RESTful APIs,
• Help out users of the Ensembl website and APIs

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. 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.

Qualifications and Experienceyou must have experience maintaining a large code base with a database backend. Experience in team software development and/or working in large scientific projects, especially in the field of genomics, would be strongly preferred. 

You should be team oriented, ready to contribute to Ensembl's 40+ development team, and will be expected to work in step with the procedures and time constraints of the entire project. You must also be capable of autonomously leading your work in a thorough, timely and detail-oriented fashion, as you will have to keep track of many parallel tasks. Communication and presentation skills will be highly valued. 

You must have extensive experience with computers and be fully fluent with:

• the Unix command line,
• object-oriented Perl,
• MySQL.

Knowledge of Git or C would be advantageous.

BenefitsEMBL 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. 

Application InstructionsTo apply please submit a covering letter and CV, with two referees, through our online system.

Additional InformationApplications are welcome from all nationalities.

EMBL-EBI is committed to achieving gender balance and strongly encourages applications from women.