[Hiring] Technical Lead @1000 European Molecular Biology Laboratory

Role Description

We are looking for a Technical Lead to join the Chemical Biology Resources team at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI). The Technical Lead is part of the leadership team in the group, which consists of an international and interdisciplinary mix of professional scientists and software engineers. You will manage a team of engineers that maintain and develop our websites, APIs and data workflows.

• Oversee and maintain critical infrastructure supporting ChEMBL, SureChEMBL, ChEBI, OPSIN, and UniChem platforms, including Kubernetes clusters, virtual machines, database environments (SQL, MongoDB), transfer services (FTP, etc.), networking and compute clusters.
• Proactively track and implement EBI’s IT database patch schedules and coordinate infrastructure migrations/updates.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive monitoring strategy across all services to ensure optimal performance and reliability.
• Ensure the stability and continuous availability of existing systems, with particular focus on the ChEMBL platform and the team’s ElasticSearch instance.
• Further standardise and streamline deployment procedures to create consistency and efficiency across platforms.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for all IT-related matters, providing expert guidance both internally and externally.
• Lead the development and ongoing maintenance of all services within the portfolio, with hands-on implementation and technical problem-solving.
• Maintain ongoing efforts to address technical debt so that our services remain in good health.

Qualifications

• A degree in computer science or related field, or a PhD in a relevant computational discipline.
• Several years’ professional experience involving backend development.
• Track record of delivered projects involving backend development.
• Proficient in Python programming.
• Strong experience with Python backend frameworks such as Django or FastAPI.
• Strong experience with SQL databases (e.g., Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL).
• Experience with NoSQL databases such as Elasticsearch and MongoDB.
• Experience with DevOps practices such as CI/CD workflows (particularly using GitLab) and infrastructure as code.
• Proficient in working with Linux operating systems.
• Familiar with containerization technologies (Docker) and orchestration platforms (Kubernetes).

Requirements

• Experience managing a team.
• Self-motivated with good communication skills and the ambition to work with international collaborators and users.
• Advanced English language and excellent interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to see the bigger picture and bring colleagues along with you, ensuring alignment across teams and driving collective success!

Benefits

• Financial incentives: Monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances.
• Flexible working arrangements - including hybrid working patterns.
• 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 public holidays.
• Relocation package including installation grant (if required).
• 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, 10 days of child sick leave, generous parental leave, holiday clubs on campus and monthly family and child allowances.
• Benefits for non-UK residents: Visa exemption, education grant for private schooling, financial support to travel back to your home country every second year and a monthly non-resident allowance.