Bioinformatics Scientist/Research Software Engineer - UOD1104

We are seeking an individual with strong software development skills and a passion for research to join the Jalview (www.jalview.org ) development team and help advance the state-of-the-art in biomolecular alignment visualisation and analysis. Jalview is a mature platform launched nearly a million times a year by students and researchers worldwide for visualisation and interactive analysis of biological sequence (DNA, RNA, Protein) and 3D structure data. Available as a native Java application and web-based JavaScript component, it allows easy access to a range of public databases and analysis services and interoperates with leading 3D structure tools. Recent developments include interoperation with PyMol and UCSF ChimeraX, and integrated support for discovery and visualisation of AlphaFold structural models.

If you’d like to join us, you need to demonstrate proficiency in Java (or another object-oriented programming language), and be familiar with at least one other language (e.g. Python and JavaScript). Experience applying critical software engineering practices (version control, documentation, code review, build systems, tests, debuggers) and working with legacy codebases will be an advantage. You should also have good written, visual, oral, and online communication skills.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Demonstrated an ability to apply software engineering in a scientific context.
• Experience working with users and developers to identify user needs and create innovative approaches for their implementation.
• Keen interest in the creation of powerful open-source interactive visualisation and analysis tools for biological data science
• Enthusiasm for learning about and advancing the science that Jalview supports now, and in the future.
• A degree, Masters, or Ph.D. and/or equivalent experience in a scientific or numerate discipline In addition, we also welcome candidates with:
  • An interest in helping grow Jalview’s user and developer community.
  • Knowledge of current and emerging standards and protocols for web application development.
  • Experience of working with open-source components and large legacy codebases
  • Experience of using and extending data science notebook systems (e.g. JupyterHub, RStudio, ObservableHQ)

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a Java programming task on the Jalview codebase before interview, and to give a short PowerPoint presentation during their interview. The successful candidate will need to relocate to the Dundee area and be eligible for full-time employment in the UK.

The University of Dundee is an Equal Opportunities employer. We support flexible working arrangements, and the University has a generous holiday entitlement. Jalview development is about world-class research software engineering, user interface design, high-performance data analysis and communicating good practice in the interactive visual exploration of biological data. If you aren’t already working in computational biology/bioinformatics, then this is a great opportunity to gain knowledge of key resources in this fast-moving field.

Informal enquiries about this position may be made to Prof. Geoff Barton ([email protected] ) or Dr. Jim Procter ([email protected] ),

To find out more about Group/Unit/Team/School please visit www.jalview.org

The diversity of our staff and students helps to make the University of Dundee a UK university of choice for undergraduate, postgraduate and distance learning. Family friendly policies, staff networks for BME, Disabled and LGBT staff, membership of Athena SWAN, the ECU Race Equality Charter an