Research Software Engineer

The successful applicant will join the Informatics Platform at the John Innes Centre. They will help with maintaining the computational infrastructure and data management.

Development Work for Long-Term Viability: Collaborating with our research teams, the successful candidate will participate in the development of software solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of our institution. The focus will be on creating software that is robust, easy to manage, and capable of sustaining a lifespan of at least 10 years, in compliance with funding policies. By incorporating best practices and future-proofing techniques, this role will contribute to the longevity and accessibility of our research tools and resources.

Assist with Day-to-Day Infrastructure Tasks: The successful candidate will contribute to various infrastructure tasks essential for the smooth functioning of our research environment. This includes data management on a large scale, system administration duties, and providing technical support to internal users and collaborators. A proactive approach is required to help anticipate and address potential issues, maintaining an efficient and secure research infrastructure.

Key Relationships In collaboration with members of the informatics platform, they will support bioinformaticians to assist research endeavours, and to provide data management, coding and infrastructure solutions at the John Innes Centre.

The Institute's hardware is maintained by Norwich Research Park Computing and Research Computing teams. The candidate will frequently engage with members of those teams to provide resources for staff and students at the John Innes Centre.
Work with researchers in the development of new software or enhancements to existing platforms, fulfilling the requirements of our funders.

Main Activities & Responsibilities Percentage Computational tasks supporting specific Research Projects 50 Maintenance of existing JIC applications and support / software hardening of newly developed applications. 30 Develop and maintain JIC computational infrastructure; Champion and maintain effective data management practises 10 As agreed with the line manager, any other duties commensurate with the nature of the post 10

Person Profile Education & Qualifications Requirement Importance Degree level qualification in an appropriate subject (e.g., Software engineering, Computer science). Essential

Specialist Knowledge & Skills Requirement Importance Strong command line shell skills, including use of scripting to automate tasks and deployments Essential Proficiency in configuring and managing databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL). Essential Software development in a compiled language (e.g. C, C++, Fortran), and in an interpreted language (e.g. Python, R, Perl) Essential Awareness of cloud-native principles and associated DevOps technologies Desirable Understanding of biology and bioinformatics Desirable Understanding of image processing (e.g. opencv, imagej) and ML/AI frameworks (pytorch, tensorflow etc.) Desirable Understanding of containerisation technologies like Docker/singularity, orchestration tools such as Kubernetes, and configuration management tools like Puppet and Ansible. Desirable

Requirement Importance Experience with development using a web application stack (e.g. LAMP). Essential Experience administering and maintaining web servers (e.g., Apache, Nginx). Essential Proficiency in administering Linux-based operating systems. Essential Has experience of version control systems and code documentation. Essential Working with a HPC (High Performance Computing) cluster and associated tools (e.g. such as LSF, SGE, SLURM etc.) Essential Working in an academic environment Desirable

Interpersonal & Communication Skills Requirement Importance Good interpersonal skills, with the ability to work as part of a team Essential Demonstrated ability to work independently, using initiative and applying problem solving skills Essential Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, including the ability to present complex information with clarity Essential

Additional Requirements Requirement Importance Attention to detail Essential Promotes equality and values diversity Essential Willingness to embrace the expected values and behaviours of all staff at the Institute, ensuring it is a great place to work Essential Able to present a positive image of self and the Institute, promoting both the international reputation and public engagement aims of the Institute Essential Ability to maintain confidentiality and security of information where appropriate Essential

Who We Are The John Innes Centre is an independent, international centre of excellence in plant and microbial genetics, carrying out fundamental and strategic research, to train scientists and making our findings available to society.

Our research makes use of a wide range of disciplines in the biological and chemical sciences including; cell biology, biochemistry, chemistry, genetics and molecular biology.

We pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive working environment for all. We have a diverse and multicultural scientific community and thrive on our European and international links, appointing staff from across the world. Any candidate who would like further information on current or anticipated immigration requirements can contact the HR Team on (0) or .

We are proud to hold a prestigious Athena SWAN Gold award , recognising the impact of our work in promoting gender equality in science. We are also a proud member of the Stonewall Diversity Champion's programme , a founding signatory of the Tecnician Commitment and, as a Disability Confident employer, guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

The John Innes Centre is a registered charity (No. 223852), limited by guarantee (registered in England No. 511709).

Department Computational and Systems Biology

The Department of Computational and Systems Biology conducts world-leading research across a broad range of the biological sciences, with a special focus on spatial problems in plant and microbial research. Particular strengths of the department include mathematical and statistical modelling of the physical mechanisms underlying biological pattern formation, transport dynamics, epigenetic processes, size control, biomechanics and gene network dynamics. In addition, the department has strong bioinformatics that underpins the research of the institute through training, software development and statistical analysis. While much of the research is carried out in close collaboration with world-leading experimental groups within the John Innes Centre, we also have strong international collaborations with experimentalists and theoreticians worldwide.

The JIC Informatics platforms' mission is to provide excellent support in both bioinformatics and scientific computing. We lead or join research projects with a large bioinformatics component, help carrying out analysis for groups without the necessary expertise and give small-scale help to research staff.

Beyond project support, we solve novel challenges at the cutting edge of bioinformatics and scientific computing. We also monitor advances in the field and enable new technologies as capabilities of JIC.

Finally, we run a bioinformatics training program for scientists at all levels with the aim to raise the standards of bioinformatics and data management at JIC, and enable groups to become as self-sufficient as possible.

Research Software Engineer
Salary: £37,500 to £45,350 per annum depending on qualifications and experience.
Contract: Full time until 30 March 2027
Location: John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK.
Closing date: 8 September 2025
Reference:

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Research Software Engineer to join the Informatics Platform at the John Innes Centre.

About the John Innes Centre:

The John Innes Centre is an independent, international centre of excellence in plant and microbial sciences. We nurture a creative, curiosity-led approach to answering fundamental questions in bioscience, and translate that knowledge into societal benefits. Our strategic vision, Healthy Plants, Healthy People, Healthy Planet , sets out our ambitious long-term goals for the game changing impact of our science globally.

Our employees enjoy access to state-of-the-art technology and a diverse range of specialist training opportunities, including support for leadership and management. Click here to find out more about working at the John Innes Centre.

About the JIC Informatics Platform:

The JIC Informatics platforms' mission is to provide excellent support in both bioinformatics and scientific computing. We lead or join research projects with a large bioinformatics component, help carrying out analysis for groups without the necessary expertise and give small-scale help to research staff.

Beyond project support, we solve novel challenges at the cutting edge of bioinformatics and scientific computing. We also monitor advances in the field and enable new technologies as capabilities of JIC.

Finally, we run a bioinformatics training program for scientists at all levels with the aim to raise the standards of bioinformatics and data management at JIC, and enable groups to become as self-sufficient as possible.

The role:
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