Software Engineer (Java, SQL Linux)

Role: Software Engineer (Java, SQL Linux)
Location: EMBL-EBI Hinxton, near Cambridge, UK
Staff Category: Staff Member
Contract Duration: 2 years
Grading: 5 or 6, depending on qualifications and experience
Closing Date: 7 September 2014
Reference Number: EBI_00426

Job Description for the Software Engineer (Java, SQL Linux) role:

We are looking for a Software Engineer to join the Expression Atlas development team at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), located on the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus near Cambridge in the UK.

EMBL-EBI is a world-leading bioinformatics centre providing biological data to the scientific community, with expertise in data storage, analysis and representation. Expression Atlas is a value added database servicing queries for gene expression patterns (e.g. genes over-expressed in a particular tissue or disease state) as well as broader exploratory searches for biologically interesting genes/samples.

As our new Software Engineer you will be working on a project funded by the Centre for Therapeutic Target Validation (CTTV); a collaboration between EMBL-EBI, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (WTSI) and GlaxoSmithKline (). Expression Atlas is set to play an important role in this new public-private initiative which will generate evidence on the validity of therapeutic targets, and is committed to sharing its data openly with the scientific community.

The successful candidate will play a crucial role in developing new user interfaces and data feeds to include the Expression Atlas tissue specificity of targets data within the CTTV web portal, and also allow users to explore their private data alongside the public data already in Atlas.

EMBL-EBI is part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and is located on the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus near Cambridge in the UK. We provide a dynamic, international working environment and have close ties with both the University of Cambridge and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. EMBL-EBI staff enjoy many benefits including excellent sports facilities, a free shuttle bus to Cambridge and other nearby centres, an active sports and social club and an attractive working environment set in 55 acres of parkland.

Qualifications and Experience required for the Software Engineer (Java, SQL Linux) role:

Applicants will possess a BSc or equivalent in computer science or a related technical subject (e.g. mathematics).

The successful candidate will have had 3 or more years of verifiable experience in web development with a proven track record in this area (applications should include references to contributed projects and open source repositories).

It is essential that applicants possess the following technical skills:

•JavaScript; Front-end views (React/Angular/jQuery etc); CSS; UI sketching and prototyping; java web development (MVC)

•Java open source extensions (Guava, Commons, etc.); OO design; Test-first development; Dependency Injection; JDBC / SQL; REST APIs and HTTP semantics; Spring; Clean code and code quality metrics

Our ideal candidate will preferably have skills in the following areas:

•Apache Tomcat; Solr / Lucene; Linux/scripting (shell or Python); Web application performance; Design patterns; Scrum and agile processes; NoSql; Maven and Continuous Integration; TDD - Mockito, Hamcrest, Selenium WebDriver; UML / ER

Strong technical, interpersonal and communication skills are key to this position. The successful candidate will work closely with other Expression Atlas developers, but also interact with interdisciplinary teams of developers, bioinformaticians and scientists across EMBL- EBI as well as end users.

Application Instructions
Please apply online for the Software Engineer (Java, SQL Linux) role through

Additional Information

EMBL is an inclusive, equal opportunity employer offering attractive conditions and benefits appropriate to an international research organisation.

Please note that appointments on fixed term contracts can be renewed, depending on circumstances at the time of the review.

Visa information will be discussed in more depth with applicants selected for interview.