User Interface (UI) Developer

Location: EMBL-EBI, Hinxton, near Cambridge, UK
Staff Category: Staff Member
Contract Duration: 1 year and 9 months
Grading: 5
Closing Date: 28 September 2014
Reference Number: EBI_00415

Job Description

We are looking to recruit a User Interface (UI) developer to join the Literature Services Team at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) located on the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus near Cambridge in the UK.

The Literature Services Team leads the development and maintenance of Europe PubMed Central (Europe PMC), a large repository of over 30 million full text biomedical research articles and abstracts. These records are supplemented with links to biological databases, citation networks, and semantic annotation. Europe PMC is being developed by groups at the EMBL-EBI, the British Library, and the University of Manchester and is funded by 26 funders of biological and biomedical research across Europe, led by the Wellcome Trust.

We are looking for a UI designer to create rewarding user experiences on the Europe PMC website. The ideal candidate should have the capacity to create and implement clean and attractive design, according to business requirements, user feedback and UI community best practices. Working as part of a development team that included Java and Database developers, you will be specifically responsible for website usability and user-centred design. We have a number of specific new interface projects to deliver, hence the creation of this additional opening in our team.

The position reports to the Team Leader for Literature Services.

The EMBL-EBI, part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), is a world-leading bioinformatics centre providing data to the scientific community with expertise in data storage, analysis and representation. 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

In particular you must demonstrate excellence in any combination of the following:

•Demonstrable strong portfolio of UI design skills
•Execution of all visual design stages from concept to final realization
•Conceptualization of original, user friendly and simple ideas starting from complex original requirements
•Creation of wireframes, user flows and site maps to effectively communicate design ideas to other interested parts
•Capacity to evaluate the user feedback and to take advantage of it to improve the system
•Knowledge of CSS and its most recent developements (CSS3)
•Definition and promotion of design guidelines, best practices and standards
•Knowledge of all most recent client technologies (HTML5)
•Knowledge of Java and J2EE technologies (Spring, Hibernate...)
•Knowledge of JSP, Ajax, DHTML, Javascript and jQuery
•Knowledge of Apache Wicket (Java Web Framework), Apache Web server, Tomcat
•Experience working with XML/JSON and Web Services (REST and SOAP)
•Ability to solve problems creatively and effectively

It will also be desirable for you to also possess some or all of the following:
•University degree in Computer Science, or equivalent experience
•Bioinformatics, biological resource development
•Technical experience within scientific publishing or information science
•Experience working on data-driven websites with high user traffic
•Excellent communication skills and team player
•Ability to operate in an international environment.
•Experience working in an Agile/Scrum development process

Along with your CV, please supply up to three URLs to websites that you have played a significant or leading role in the creation of in the past two years. For each website, please describe your contribution to its development (a list or short paragraph for each website will suffice).

Application Instructions

Please apply online 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.

Applications are welcomed from all Nationalities. Visa information will be discussed in more detail with those selected for interview.