User Support Bioinformatician (Maternity Cover)

We are looking to recruit an enthusiastic User Support Bioinformatician for a maternity cover position, on a time-limited contract of up to 12 months. The role will deliver high-quality user support, training, documentation and relevant AI/LLM applications as part of the European Nucleotide Archive, one of Europe’s leading life science databases.

You will work in the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA)-BioSamples Team at the EMBL European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), located on the Wellcome Genome Campus near Cambridge (UK). This is an opportunity to contribute to a world-leading scientific database. You will interact with a diverse range of users and help improve our user experience across the board. Your growing awareness of user needs will help you to contribute to the shaping of our services and innovation around them.

Your role as part of the ENA-BioSamples team includes:

• Assisting external users in depositing and validating data, through expert advice on our different web and programmatic submission interfaces;
• Maintaining, updating and refactoring the ENA user facing documentation;
• Working closely with internal teams to improve a “chatbot” LLM for the ENA helpdesk;
• Developing internal dashboards to monitor and optimise responses to our helpdesk using AI tools.

Opportunities will be provided for self-growth, including working in a highly-skilled team on the Wellcome Genome Campus, a hub of scientific and technical expertise with many trainings and seminars available.

You have:

• A BSc, MSc, or equivalent experience in biological sciences, computer science, bioinformatics, or a related field;
• Planning and delivering on projects;
• Understanding of life science data resources;
• Experience in using AI tools for coding and automation;
• Broad knowledge of molecular biology and sequencing technologies;
• Relational database management systems and SQL query language;
• UNIX command line operations;
• Knowledge of XML format and schema;
• Knowledge of JSON format and schema;
• Programming in Python or other scripting languages;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team.

You may also have:

• Experience analysing, resolving and responding to helpdesk queries;
• Experience working with Github, JIRA and other development management tools.

Contract length: This is a maternity cover position for 9 months, with the potential to extend up to 12 months.

Salary: Grade 5 - Monthly salary at £3,303.40 after tax.

Why join us:

• Do something meaningful: At EMBL-EBI you can apply your talent and passion to accelerate science and tackle some of humankind's greatest challenges.
• Join a culture of innovation: We are located on the Wellcome Genome Campus, alongside other prominent research and biotech organisations, and surrounded by beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside.
• Campus life & benefits: Flexible working arrangements, generous time off (30 days annual leave per year, in addition to public holidays), free shuttle bus to and from work, on-site library, subsidised on-site gym and cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities.
• Family benefits: On-site nursery, maternity leave and holiday clubs on campus.

What else you need to know:

• International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions.
• 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: 16/07/2026