We are looking for a highly motivated Senior Scientific Developer / Cheminformatician to join the Chemical Biology Resources team at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), located on the Wellcome Genome Campus near Cambridge, UK. The Chemical Biology Resources team provides world-leading chemogenomics resources to the scientific community. ChEMBL is a database of quantitative small-molecule bioactivity data curated primarily from the scientific literature widely used to support drug discovery projects in industry and academia. SureChEMBL is a complementary patent resource containing chemical structures extracted from patents daily. UniChem links chemical structures across databases. ChEBI is a highly curated database and ontology of compounds of biological interest. OPSIN converts systematic chemical names into chemical structures.
Do not wait to apply after reading this description a high application volume is expected for this opportunity.
In this role, you will develop and maintain software infrastructure to ensure robust, reliable, and automated ChEMBL data releases through streamlined build, packaging, testing, and deployment processes, while also assisting in the development and maintenance of other services supported by the team. You will be working closely with our team which consists of an international and interdisciplinary mix of professional scientists and software engineers.
The EBI is part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and it is a world-leading bioinformatics centre providing biological data to the scientific community with expertise in data storage, analysis and representation. EMBL-EBI provides freely available data from life science experiments, performs basic research in computational biology and offers an extensive user training programme, supporting researchers in academic and industry.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and maintain the scientific workflows underpinning the curation, integration and dissemination of the groups resources (e.g. the data pipelines for generating ChEMBL releases which are a mixture of Python and Java).
Develop new innovative solutions for enhancing scientific data workflows and support our mission to disseminate scientific information publicly
Manage and enhance scientific software tools essential for processing and storing chemical and biological data across the teams services, ensuring adherence to software development best practices.
Collaborate with the ChEMBL, SureChEMBL and ChEBI teams to identify and resolve data inconsistencies and quality issues.
Work cross-functionally to integrate computational methodologies into data curation and analysis workflows, including the incorporation of external chemical and bioactivity databases (e.g., BindingDB, PubChem) into the ChEMBL ecosystem.
Support database management, including the maintenance and administration of database instances.
Document workflows and processes to improve maintainability, efficiency, and reproducibility.
Participate in cross functional project meeting with partners on campus (such as Open Targets) and external stakeholders
Contribute to training activities, and participate in scientific meetings
You have:
A Masters or equivalent in Chemistry, Computer Science, Bioinformatics, Data Science, or a related field.
Experience in cheminformatics or data engineering applied to life sciences
Track record of delivered projects involving scientific data processing
Proficiency in Python, with experience in cheminformatics libraries and topics (such as RDKit, Open Babel, InChI, SMILES/SMARTS)
Experience working with relational (SQL) databases
Familiarity working in a structured collaborative data and software development environment (git, GitHub/GitLab)
Proficient in working with Linux operating systems.
Self-motivated with good communication skills and the ambition to work with international collaborators and users.
Can-do attitude and willingness to help solve problems
Advanced English language and excellent interpersonal skills
You might have:
Familiarity with containerization technologies (Docker)
Basic understanding of Java, with a willingness to develop expertise and contribute to Java-based pipelines as needed
Experience in using AI-based methods, such as NLP, LLM for efficient data processing
Other helpful information:
Hybrid Working
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At EMBL-EBI we are pleased to offer hybrid working options for all our employees. A dedicated desk will be available everyday, but most of our team choose to work two days on site and three from home. We have a team day once a week (on a Wednesday) and you can choose one other day to work on campus to suit you!
Interviews
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We plan to hold introductory meetings with selected candidates remotely starting in November.
Apply now! Benefits and Contract Information
Financial incentives:
depending on circumstances, monthly family/marriage allowance of £278 monthly child allowance of £336 per child. Non resident allowance up to £569
per month. Annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances
Hybrid working arrangements
Private medical insurance
for you and your immediate family (including all prescriptions and generous dental & optical cover)
Generous time off
: 30 days annual leave per year, in addition to eight bank holidays
Relocation package
including installation grant (as applicable)
Campus life:
Free shuttle bus to and from work, on-site library, subsidised on-site gym and cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)
Family benefits:
On-site nursery, child sick leave, generous parental leave, holiday clubs on campus and monthly family and child allowances
Contract duration:
This position is a 3 year project based contract
Salary:
Monthly salary starting at
£3,303 or £3,695 after tax but excl. pension & insurances) + benefits (Total package will be dependent on family circumstances)
International applicants:
We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Read more on our page for international applicants.
Diversity and inclusion:
At EMBL-EBI, we strongly believe that inclusive and diverse teams benefit from higher levels of innovation and creative thought. We encourage applications from women, LGBTQ+ and individuals from all nationalities.
Job location:
This role is based in Hinxton, near Cambridge, UK. You will be required to relocate if you are based overseas and you will receive a generous relocation package to support you.
To apply, please submit a covering letter and CV via our online system. Applications will close on
26/10/2025
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