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- Tasks: Join us in developing impactful software for cancer genomics and life-changing science.
- Company: Be part of COSMIC, a leading resource in global cancer research.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, hybrid working, and a supportive culture.
- Other info: Collaborate with a dynamic team and grow your career in a meaningful way.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in healthcare while expanding your tech skills.
- Qualifications: Passion for Python, web frameworks, and clean code principles required.
The predicted salary is between 38219 - 45000 £ per year.
Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges. We are seeking to recruit a passionate Software Developer (Backend) to join our team in developing the best of modern websites and supporting our infrastructure. You will support the world’s key cancer genomics resource, COSMIC (Catalogue of Somatic Mutations of Cancer).
About the Role:
The role focuses on developing reliable, maintainable software using Python-based technologies and modern web frameworks, while supporting deployment, testing, security, monitoring, and ongoing system maintenance. The position also contributes to the design of cloud-ready architectures that ensure COSMIC platforms remain secure, scalable, and resilient, supporting both existing services and the development of new products.
About You:
You must be a skilled and passionate Software Developer (Backend). You will care about writing clean, high quality, readable and maintainable code to support our growing suite of products. You must be a good communicator and be able to understand the goals and aims of the collaborative COSMIC team and its customers of researchers, scientists, and clinicians, globally. You will hold a transformational role within COSMIC working closely with Software Developers (web and data), Product Management, and a Senior Developer who will provide technical direction and mentorship.
You will help to co-design a completely new suite of bespoke enterprise-level systems to support COSMIC's future innovation of products to promote commercial success. Additionally, you will be responsible for maintaining the existing legacy systems. You will co-design and implement high quality, readable and clean APIs and web services using Python, Django. Furthermore, you will assume responsibility for deployment, testing, security, monitoring, and maintenance of COSMIC's products.
You will have good technical experience with either GCP or AWS and Docker. You will understand the importance of automation, CICD pipelines and infrastructure as code. You will have technical experience on Web frameworks - Django, Django-Rest-Framework, FastAPI and/or NodeJS. Create and deliver designs for cloud-ready and cloud-agnostic, sustainable, enterprise-level business system architectures. This will include designing the underlying framework that facilitates:
- Globally resilient, portable, scalable, flexible, and secure multi-site website presence
- User authentication tools that accommodate both commercial purchases and a system of validating users for free access accounts
- Continued support for both novel and existing products as well as dependent infrastructure
- New Product Development life cycle and Agile delivery
- Interact with a multi-talented team working on an enterprise grade website that has a large user base and experiences a high volume of traffic.
This role has great scope for expanding your skills, knowledge, and interests as a Senior web developer. You will join a multidisciplinary, committed, and supportive team with the opportunity to work on innovative products that make a real difference to patients around the world.
Essential Technical Skills:
- Expertise in Python with familiarity of JavaScript
- Experience in web frameworks - Django, Django-Rest-Framework, FastAPI and/or NodeJS
- Experience in writing unit tests, integration tests and applying TDD
- Understanding clean code principles and thoughtful use of design patterns
- Proficiency with Docker — building images, managing containers, and maintaining compose-based or orchestrated deployments in production
- Knowledge of building RESTful APIs that depend on complex Database relationships
- Experience with CI/CD — authoring, maintaining, and evolving pipelines for automated build, test, and deployment workflows
Essential Competencies and Behaviours:
- A demonstrable, enthusiastic, can-do, learn, proactive attitude
- Enthusiasm, commitment and attention to detail
- Ability to prioritise activities and manage the own workload independently
- Ability to explain technical issues effectively and understandably to non-technical users
- Ability to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders at all levels
- Ability to understand scientific and technical challenges
- Excellent, broad-based and self-reliant problem-solving skills
- Shows curiosity and a willingness to learn new technologies, tools, and ways of working
- Adjusts to changing requirements, priorities, or technical approaches
- Welcomes feedback from peers and seniors
- Collaborates effectively with team members and contributes to shared goals
About Us:
COSMIC is the key information source in global human cancer research and is growing rapidly in content, scope, and value. This role is due to the evolution and expansion of our web services and products to enable this growth. We make a real difference to scientific research and to cancer patients around the world.
We provide excellent opportunities to apply best practices in software development, writing clean code and taking a test-driven development approach. COSMIC data is gathered from a variety of sources, from manual curation to structured repositories into our databases. This position will help provide new websites, generate interactive visualisations of curation data.
Other Information:
Application Process: The application includes a brief 5-question questionnaire, designed to take no more than 5 minutes to complete:
- Upload your CV
- Complete the following application form: https://forms.gle/7XmB7MdKHxUry7m37
To ensure your application is considered, please complete all screening questions; incomplete submissions will be automatically declined.
Salary per annum: £38,219 - £45,000
Role Profile: Software Developer job family: Grade 3
Contract Type: 3 years Fixed Term Contract
Closing date: 17th May 2026
Hybrid Working at Wellcome Sanger: We recognise that there are many benefits to Hybrid Working; including an improved work-life balance, with more focused time, as well as the ability to organise working time so that collaborative opportunities and team discussions are facilitated on campus. The hybrid working arrangement will vary for different roles and teams. The nature of your role and the type of work you do will determine if a hybrid working arrangement is possible.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: We aim to attract, recruit, retain and develop talent from the widest possible talent pool, thereby gaining insight and access to different markets to generate a greater impact on the world. We have a supportive culture with the following staff networks: LGBTQ+, Parents and Carers, Disability, Gender Equity and Race Equity to bring people together to share experiences, offer specific support and development opportunities and raise awareness. The networks are also a place for allies to provide support to others. We believe people do their best work when they can be their authentic selves. That’s why we’re committed to creating a truly inclusive culture at Sanger Institute. We will consider all individuals without discrimination and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, where everyone can thrive.
Our Benefits: We are proud to deliver an awarding campus-wide employee wellbeing strategy and programme. The importance of good health and adopting a healthier lifestyle and the commitment to reduce work-related stress is strongly acknowledged and recognised at Sanger Institute. Sanger Institute became a signatory of the International Technician Commitment initiative In March 2018. The Technician Commitment aims to empower and ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research, across all disciplines.
Software Developer - (Backend) employer: Sanger Institute
Contact Detail:
Sanger Institute Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Software Developer - (Backend)
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current employees on LinkedIn or attend industry meetups. A friendly chat can open doors that a CV just can't.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills in real-time! Consider contributing to open-source projects or building your own side projects. This not only showcases your coding chops but also your passion for development.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for the interview by brushing up on common technical questions and coding challenges. Practice makes perfect, so try mock interviews with friends or use online platforms.
✨Tip Number 4
Don't forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are genuinely interested in joining our mission.
We think you need these skills to ace Software Developer - (Backend)
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the Software Developer (Backend) role. Highlight your experience with Python, Django, and any relevant web frameworks. We want to see how your skills align with our mission to improve human health!
Showcase Your Projects: Include any personal or professional projects that demonstrate your coding skills and understanding of clean code principles. This is your chance to show us what you can do, so don’t hold back!
Be Clear and Concise: When filling out the application form, keep your answers clear and to the point. We appreciate straightforward communication, especially when it comes to technical topics. Remember, we’re looking for good communicators!
Apply Through Our Website: Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets to us directly. Plus, it helps us keep track of all the amazing candidates like you who want to join our team.
How to prepare for a job interview at Sanger Institute
✨Know Your Tech Stack
Make sure you’re well-versed in Python, Django, and any other frameworks mentioned in the job description. Brush up on your knowledge of RESTful APIs and Docker, as these are crucial for the role. Being able to discuss your experience with these technologies confidently will show that you're a strong candidate.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Prepare examples of how you've tackled complex technical challenges in the past. Be ready to explain your thought process and the steps you took to arrive at a solution. This will demonstrate your analytical skills and ability to work collaboratively with a team.
✨Communicate Clearly
Since the role involves working with non-technical users, practice explaining technical concepts in simple terms. This will highlight your communication skills and your ability to bridge the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders.
✨Emphasise Your Passion for Learning
The company values curiosity and a willingness to learn new technologies. Share instances where you've taken the initiative to learn something new or adapt to changing requirements. This will show that you're not just skilled, but also eager to grow within the role.