Computational Support Staff/ Bioinformatician

About the team/job

EMBL is Europe’s flagship laboratory for the life sciences – 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.

We are seeking to recruit a highly motivated computational biologist/bioinformatician to work in the Heard group in the Directors’ Research Unit at EMBL Heidelberg. The Heard group focuses on understanding the processes of X chromosome inactivation and random monoallelic gene expression. You will join a highly dynamic team that combines genetic engineering and genomics with a range of cell biology and imaging approaches to study the role of chromatin modifications, chromosomal organisation and non-coding RNAs in gene regulation and expression. 

Your role

The position involves data analysis of diverse types of next generation sequencing (NGS) data as well as generally supporting the group with computational analysis, experiment planning, optimizing data generation and computational infrastructure. You will support our team by contributing to data analyses involving gene expression analysis (e.g. RNA-seq), chromatin states and transcription factor occupancy (e.g. ChIP-seq, Cut&Run), chromatin accessibility (e.g. ATAC-seq) as well as genome topology (chromatin conformation capture (3C) based techniques, e.g. Hi-C). Due to the nature of scientific questions in the Heard lab, data analysis frequently relies on the integration of allele-specific information. To provide a perfect environment for your research, you will be embedded in and frequently exchange with collaborating computational labs at EMBL. 

You have

Candidates should have:

• A university degree in bioinformatics, computational biology, statistics or related subjects
• Prior experience and independence with the analysis of NGS datasets (e.g. RNA-seq, ChIP-seq), the Linux/Unix shell, R/Bioconductor, scripting languages
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• A friendly and professional manner
• High motivation and enthusiasm to work within an international team
• Well organized, open-minded, proactive, able to work on different projects in parallel and problem-solving skills 

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.

EMBL offers attractive conditions and benefits appropriate to an international research organisation with a very collegial and family-friendly working environment. Competitive salary and social security benefits, financial support for relocation, a relaxed culture, professional development, an on-site nursery, canteen and other staff facilities make EMBL a great place to work. 

What else do I need to know

We are Europe’s flagship research laboratory for the life sciences – an intergovernmental organisation performing scientific research in disciplines including molecular biology, physics, chemistry and computer science. We are an international, innovative and interdisciplinary laboratory with more than 1900 employees from many nations, operating across six sites, in Heidelberg (HQ), Barcelona, Hinxton near Cambridge, Hamburg, Grenoble and Rome.

Our mission is to offer vital services in training scientists, students and visitors at all levels; to develop new instruments and methods in the life sciences and actively engage in technology transfer activities, and to integrate European life science research. The working language of the institute is English.

The initial contract is for a period of three years with the possibility of a fixed-term extension. The expected start date is as soon as possible and the position is on-site. 

EMBL is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we implement best practices in research assessment in our recruitment processes here.

Please apply online, by clicking the 'Apply' button.