Software Engineer (EU NEARDATA) - UKHSA - SEO

We are looking for a Software Engineer to work on the NEARDATA project (https://neardata.eu) on large-scale near-data processing funded by the European Commission. Work will happen within the Gastrointestinal infections and food safety (One health) team, which is part of the Clinical and Public Health directorate and is tasked with providing NEARDATA with a use case on the processing of genomics data relevant to public health. The successful candidate will lead the development of such use case and make sure it is successful.

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.   

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.  

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

Job description

Working as part of the Gastrointestinal infections and food safety (One health) (GIFSOH) team, you will support the development of a genomics use case for EU NEARDATA, a project on large-scale near-data processing funded by the European Commission.

With the support of your line manager and a Bioinformatician, you will become familiar with the bioinformatics pipelines currently used within UKHSA and GIFSOH. First, you will acquire a hands-on experience with them, with particular attention to dataset scale, scalability, and computational requirements. After that, you will help developing similar workflows compatible with the extreme-data technologies that are being developed as part of NEARDATA.

This role offers the opportunity to gain a deep understanding of the challenges faced by the implementation of genomics for public health, and to get first-hand experience of state-of-the-art tools being developed to process large data in the cloud and elsewhere. The successful candidate will help shaping the UKHSA genomics case within NEARDATA, establishing relations with partners within UKHSA and the consortium and disseminating results at conferences and through scientific publication.

As such, our ideal candidate thrives in a complex technological data-rich environment, is motivated by making an impact and delivering results, and is comfortable with independent work requiring complex decisions to be made.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Supporting the development of a UKHSA genomics use case for EU NEARDATA.
• Understanding extreme-data technologies being developed as part of NEARDATA.
• Studying and understanding bioinformatics pipelines currently used within UKHSA and GIFSOH by acquiring a hands-on experience with them, with particular attention to dataset scale, scalability, and computational requirements.
• Helping to develop similar workflows compatible with NEARDATA technology.
• Building collaborative relationships with other UKHSA and NEARDATA partners.
• Participating in periodic NEARDATA meetings, both remotely and in person.
• Disseminating results by writing scientific manuscripts and attending conferences.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Higher degree (i.e. MSc or above) in preferred in scientific fields like Applied Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Bioinformatics, Electrical Engineering or Computer Science.
• Experience of contributing to large and complex software solutions
• Experience of developing software for distributed computer resources
• Proficient in Python - SciPy, NumPy, (other scripting languages)
• Proven ability to write software documentation
• Confident in a Linux environment and source code repository Git
• Innovative problem-solving abilities, self-motivated and goal-oriented
• Proven skills in developing and modifying code used for data analysis
• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships