Senior bioinformatician at Sanger Institute (Hinxton, UK)

The Opportunity:

We are seeking a couple of Senior Bioinformatician's to help deliver high quality genomic data for the surveillance of pathogens and associated vectors at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

About us:

The Surveillance Operations team has a simple mission statement: enabling all countries to use genomic surveillance data as a practical tool for local disease control and as a pillar of global pandemic preparedness. We are part of a large worldwide scientific network that connects researchers, clinicians and health leaders with cutting-edge DNA sequencing technologies and genomic research.

As part of the MalariaGEN initiative, the Bioinformatics Pipelines and Tools team within Surveillance Operations is responsible for the production of high quality genetic datasets for the surveillance of malaria and its vectors. These datasets are consumed by both the scientific community studying malaria epidemiology and local and global health authorities to achieve well-informed, impactful and sustainable interventions.

About the role:

As a Senior Bioinformatician, you will be expected to lead the build of bioinformatics pipelines. This includes participating in method development, leading the implementation with other junior members in the team and ensuring that the processes are efficient and scale accordingly.

You will ensure that the data generated is of the highest quality and delivered in the agreed timelines. In addition, as a senior member of the team, you will take responsibility for mentoring junior members.

About you:

We are looking for a talented and enthusiastic problem solver. You have had proven and recurring success in delivering and supporting bioinformatics pipelines and are looking for your next challenge. You have a strong service mentality, are passionate about mentoring and developing people, and are keen to achieve success as a team. Most importantly, you are motivated to support the science and make a difference in the fight on infectious diseases to improve global health.

Essential Skills

Technical Skills:

• Postgraduate qualification or equivalent working experience in Bioinformatics or related discipline


• Demonstrable experience in the fields of genomics, data processing and high-throughput data analysis


• Demonstrable experience of programming in python


• Experience working in a Linux environment


• Experience with workflow management systems, ideally Nextflow


• Experience with High Performance Computing environments


• Experience with modern software development practices, including version control and continuous integration

Competencies and Behaviours:

• Eager to learn new skills


• Ability to successfully lead projects


• Ability to mentor junior members of the team


• Enthusiastic, flexible and proactive


• Proven ability to work independently and organise own workload


• Ability to communicate effectively about complex technical matters with both technical experts and non-specialists


• Effective written and oral communication and proven ability to work in a collaborative environment


• Ability to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders at all levels

Ideal Skills

Technical Skills:

• Experience with cloud environment


• Experience in successfully leading projects

Other information

We strive to be an inclusive and dynamic research environment, and encourage applications from those wishing to work flexibly to meet personal responsibilities. We are committed to providing equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of their background. Acknowledging that people from certain backgrounds are under-represented at this level, we are especially interested in receiving applications from women and people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

Location and Interview Process:

Interviews will be taking place virtually and the successful candidate should expect to be fully supported through remote on-boarding and working from home for the initial week of their onboarding. They will then discuss hybrid working arrangements with their direct line manager.

Please apply with your CV and a cover letter outlining your suitability for the role using the criteria set out above and in the job description.

Applications will be considered and interviews will take place on an ongoing basis and the role may close early when successful appointments have been made.

Further Information:

You can find out more about MalariaGEN and the work we are doing here. Discover how we are actively leading in terms of the COVID-19 surveillance and our activities here. You can also find out more about our inspiring campus here.