Infrastructure and Technical Project Leader

About the Team

The Protein Data Bank in Europe (PDBe) team develops essential macromolecular structure resources and tools for biologists and other life scientists. As a founding partner of the Worldwide Protein Data Bank, we are responsible for maintaining the global archive of experimentally determined macromolecular structures, the Protein Data Bank (PDB). We also manage the community-led PDBe Knowledge Base (PDBe-KB) resource and the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database (AFDB), a collaboration with Google DeepMind. Furthermore, the PDBe team develops a range of tools and services that support structure deposition, data integration, and advanced search capabilities for structural biologists and the wider life science community.

The PDBe team consists of an international and interdisciplinary group of scientists, software engineers, and data engineers. We are seeking an Infrastructure and Production Project Leader to lead the development and operation of the technical infrastructure supporting PDBe services and associated resources, including PDBe-KB and AFDB.

The role involves managing a team of software and infrastructure engineers while contributing to the strategic development of scalable, reliable, and sustainable data infrastructure. The successful candidate will ensure that PDBe’s data delivery systems and services continue to meet the needs of a rapidly growing global scientific user base.

Working Relationships

Internal:

• PDBe team members, including software engineers, bioinformaticians, project coordinators, and other project leaders

• Other EMBL-EBI teams, including infrastructure, data resources, and platform services

External:

• Collaborators across EMBL-EBI resources, including UniProt

• Scientific organisations and infrastructure projects such as CCP4, CCPEM, and Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

• External collaborators from academia, research institutes, and industry

• Users and stakeholders from the global structural biology community

Duties & Responsibilities 

In this role you will:

• Work with the PDBe Team Leader, Coordinator, and senior staff to define and implement the technical strategy for PDBe data infrastructure and services.

• Lead and manage the Infrastructure and Production sub-team, including mentoring and supporting team members.

• Design and operate robust infrastructure supporting the PDBe archive, PDBe-KB, and AFDB resources.

• Oversee and continuously improve PDBe’s weekly data release pipelines.

• Develop scalable mechanisms for data discovery, access, and distribution.

• Collaborate with other EMBL-EBI teams, particularly the central IT services, to design and maintain sustainable infrastructure solutions.

• Act as a technical mentor within the team, fostering best practices in infrastructure engineering, reliability, and maintainability.

• Monitor emerging technologies and evaluate their potential application to PDBe services. 

You have (Requirements) 

Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Bioinformatics, Data Engineering, or a related field. Equivalent professional experience in infrastructure engineering and technical leadership will also be considered.

A PhD is not essential but domain knowledge in structural biology or bioinformatics is desirable.

• 6+ years designing and operating large-scale data infrastructure in production environments.

• Experience leading and mentoring infrastructure or software engineering teams.

• Proven track record of delivering reliable and scalable data services.

• Experience defining and implementing technical roadmaps aligned with organisational strategy.

• Experience working within scientific or research data environments is desirable.
   

Technical Skills

• Strong programming skills, particularly in Python.

• Experience with large-scale data processing and data integration workflows.

• Development and operation of RESTful APIs.

• Experience with relational and/or NoSQL databases.

• Experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure).

• Experience with containerisation and orchestration technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).

• Experience with Infrastructure-as-Code tools (e.g., Terraform).

• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and production monitoring/observability tools.

• Understanding of cloud security, identity and access management, high availability, and disaster recovery practices.
   

Soft Skills

• Strong leadership and mentoring capabilities.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

• Ability to work effectively within interdisciplinary and international teams.
   

Professional Skills

• Demonstrated ability to manage large-scale bioinformatics or data infrastructure projects.

• Experience improving data infrastructure and access mechanisms within scientific research environments.

You might also have (Desirable)

• Experience in managing a small team

• Risk Management

• Able to manage communication with large international consortium members

Other helpful information 

Hybrid Working: 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 work two days on site and three from home.  Although flexibility to attend onsite meetings and events. 

Contract length: 3 years (grant based)

Salary: Grade 7 monthly salary starting at £4,206 per month after tax but excluding pension and insurance contributions. Plus generous benefits.

Why join us

Do something meaningful
At EMBL-EBI you can apply your talent and passion to accelerate science and tackle some of humankind's greatest challenges. EMBL-EBI, part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, is a worldwide leader in the storage, analysis and dissemination of large biological datasets. We provide the global research community with access to publicly available databases and tools which are crucial for the advancement of healthcare, food security, and biodiversity.
 

Join a culture of innovation
We are located on the Wellcome Genome Campus, alongside other prominent research and biotech organisations, and surrounded by beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside. This is a highly collaborative and inclusive community where our employees enjoy a relaxed atmosphere. We are committed to ensuring our employees feel valued, supported and empowered to reach their professional potential.  Watch this video to see how EMBL-EBI makes an impact.

Enjoy lots of 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.

For detailed information please visit our employee benefits page here. 

What else you need to know

• International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Please take a look at our International Applicants page for further information.  

• EMBL is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we apply DORA principles to our recruitment and performance assessment processes here.

• Diversity and inclusion: At EMBL, we believe that diverse teams drive innovation and scientific excellence. We encourage applications from candidates of all genders, identities, nationalities and/or any other diverse backgrounds.

• How to apply: To apply please submit a cover letter and a CV through our online system. Applications will close at 23:59 CET on the date shown below. We aim to provide a response within two weeks after the closing date.

Closing Date