The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is Europe’s life sciences laboratory – an intergovernmental organisation with more than 110 independent research groups and service teams covering the spectrum of molecular biology. It operates across six sites in Heidelberg (headquarters), Barcelona, Cambridge, Grenoble, Hamburg and Rome. Our mission is to perform basic research in molecular biology; train scientists, students and visitors at all levels; offer vital services to scientists in the public and private sectors within the member states; develop new instruments and methods; and engage actively in technology transfer. EMBL stands at the forefront of innovation in biological research. Renowned for our leadership in genomics, we offer an environment enriched with cutting-edge research, technology development, and advanced services. 

As part of the Data Science Centre, we seek to recruit a Scientific Workflows Developer working at EMBL Heidelberg to standardize, harmonize and integrate data formats and workflows, and advance data FAIRification platforms and practices; your exact role in the team will adapt to your profile, skills and career development interests.

Your role

You will develop and implement strategies to efficiently standardize, harmonize and integrate data formats and workflows across EMBL's six European sites, working with researchers on reusable, robust, reproducible data pipelines and integration. You may work with a variety of data modalities, such as genomics, structural biology, imaging and spatial omics. You will also contribute to advancing FAIRification of research data through usage and development of platforms, best practices and training. 

As part of the EMBL Data Science Centre, you will be based at EMBL Heidelberg with a strong component of pan-EMBL collaboration, including all other EMBL sites. Occasional travel to other EMBL sites is necessary.

Your responsibilities will include

• Standardizing pipelines and data formats across the whole data lifecycle, from its production at data generating core facilities to enabling its public repository deposition. 
• Supporting the implementation and development of both local and pan-EMBL pipelines for managing, processing, and utilizing primary research data.
• Developing solutions for integrating multimodal data, including modalities such as imaging and spatial omics.
• Ensuring that FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles are embedded in our data handling processes.
• Contributing to onboarding and training of research staff to support their data needs.
• Facilitating communication and seamless data flow inside EMBL and between EMBL and non-EMBL scientists.
• Continually exploring new methods, pipelines, and technologies to implement across EMBL initiatives.

You have  
We seek someone with relevant scientific and technical expertise, who is ready to take responsibility for facilitating research workflows and relishes the opportunity to keep up with the latest developments in scientific workflows and data formats. You enjoy working in collaboration with others, especially across research areas.

Specifically, you should have:

• A Master’s degree or higher in Biology, Computer Science or in a related technical field;
• Experience building and executing scientific workflows that may include research data from multiple modalities;
• Excellent command of Python, R and/or Julia, along with an understanding of popular open source scientific workflow platforms such as Nextflow or Snakemake;
• Understanding of software engineering best practices such as automated testing, continuous integration/deployment (CI/CD), virtualization/containerization;
• Previous experience (or a strong desire for) engaging with open-source communities, standards and specifications;
• A passion for supporting researchers and making their research better, faster, more robust and reproducible;
• Strong abilities in cross-disciplinary collaboration, communication, and training, including working within a multidisciplinary team environment and a high standard of written and spoken English.

You might also have

• A PhD in computational biology, bioinformatics or a related field;
• Experience (or familiarity) with novel, emerging data types (spatial omics, large chunked arrays);
• Experience with infrastructure deployment and container orchestration frameworks such as Kubernetes or Ansible;
• Experience with scientific workflows using High-Performance Computing (HPC) environments;
• Experience in writing efficient user documentation.

Other helpful information

Contract length: 3 years (renewable up to 9 years max)

Salary: Grade 5 or 6 (monthly salary starting from 4.031,02 EUR after tax, excluding EMBL pension and insurance contributions of 12,99%, plus generous benefits)

Application instructions
Please submit your structured CV along with a cover letter that reflects your own voice and motivation. We are genuinely interested in understanding why you see this as the right next step in your career and whether you are prepared to relocate to Heidelberg.

Why join our team

You believe in open-source software and Open Science; you want to work in a renowned scientific, international and academic environment; you are creative and like innovative solutions; you want to make a difference.  This is a fantastic opportunity to work in a team at the cutting edge of technology and work at a world-leading institute. EMBL is an inclusive, equal opportunity employer offering attractive conditions and benefits appropriate to an international research organisation with a very collegial and family friendly working environment. The remuneration package comprises a competitive salary, a comprehensive pension scheme, medical, educational and other social benefits. Don’t meet every requirement? We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply nevertheless.  

Why join us

EMBL is curiosity-driven, community-oriented and international. As an inclusive, equal opportunity employer, we believe that diversity enables us to collaborate more effectively and be innovative in our approaches. We are, therefore, committed to creating an inclusive and flexible culture - one where everyone can realise their full potential and make a positive contribution to our organisation. 

We encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing team – we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and personal experiences reflect the diversity of the populations that our science serves. We actively encourage applications from all genders and cultures, ethnic groups and all demographics to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights at this transformational point in our people strategy.

Enjoy lots of benefits:

• Financial incentives: Salary free of income tax, Monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances

• Flexible 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 public holidays

• Relocation package including installation grant (if applicable)

• Campus life: Free shuttle bus (select sites), on-site library, subsidised on-site gym and cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)

• Family benefits: Kindergarten (Heidelberg), 10 days of child sick leave, generous paid maternity/parental leave and monthly family & child allowances

• Benefits for international newcomers: 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.

• For detailed information please visit our employee benefits page here

What else you need to know

• International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Visit our International Applicants page, to find out more.

• EMBL is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we apply DORA principles to our recruitment and performance assessment processes here.

• Diversity and inclusion: At EMBL, we believe that diverse teams drive innovation and scientific excellence. We encourage applications from candidates of all genders, identities, nationalities and/or any other diverse backgrounds.

• How to apply: To apply please submit a cover letter and a CV through our online system. Applications will close at 23:59 CET on the date shown below. We aim to provide a response within two weeks after the closing date.

Closing Date