Functional Genomics Data Project Lead

Functional Genomics Data Project Lead

About the role

We are looking for a Functional Genomics Data Project Lead to join EMBL-EBI’s Functional Genomics Team and lead the scientific data programme behind FENIX. We are building a unified platform that will support researchers worldwide in archiving functional genomics datasets within EMBL-EBI and exploring them to answer biological questions.

Our work is driven by a commitment to open science. We are looking for someone who shares that commitment and wants to put it into practice by working closely with the functional genomics community to provide essential infrastructure for sharing, analysing and reusing research data.

You will shape how complex experiments become accessible, well-described datasets that researchers can interpret and reuse. You will take responsibility for scientific data quality across submission, curation, processing and visualisation, and for data delivered to other resources.

Reporting to the Functional Genomics Team Leader, you will line manage bioinformaticians and scientific curators. Working closely with the Team Leader and Technical Lead, you will develop the scientific data roadmap, coordinate delivery and manage relationships with teams and collaborators who provide or consume our data. You will also contribute selected hands-on scientific and technical work.

Your responsibilities

• Lead and develop the bioinformatics and curation team, with formal line management responsibilities including objectives, appraisals, performance management, career development and recruitment.
• Develop the scientific data strategy and roadmap with the Team Leader and Technical Lead, translating scientific needs and emerging technologies into priorities and achievable delivery plans.
• Own standards for submitted data, metadata and curation, including experimental descriptions and sample relationships. Define additional quality controls and suitability criteria for downstream analysis, visualisation and reuse.
• Lead the development, validation and improvement of reproducible Nextflow workflows. Ensure analytical methods suit the experimental design and that outputs are documented, versioned and traceable to their source data and reference annotations.
• Plan and coordinate work across team members, balancing service operation with development. Monitor community demand, backlogs and turnaround times, and manage capacity, milestones, dependencies and risks to meet agreed service targets. Resolve issues within your remit and escalate resource constraints where necessary.
• Act as the principal scientific liaison with other EMBL-EBI teams and partners, including ENA, Ensembl, UniProt and Open Targets, agreeing requirements and coordinating dependencies for data exchange and reuse.
• Manage requirements from external data consumers and collaborators, negotiate priorities and scope, and agree data formats, release expectations and communication of changes.
• Contribute selected hands-on work in Nextflow development, scientific validation, benchmarking or complex data investigations, while providing scientific guidance to colleagues.

Essential skills and experience

• A degree in bioinformatics, computational biology, molecular biology, genomics or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• A strong understanding of modern functional genomics assays and their data requirements, with substantial practical expertise in one or more relevant technologies. These may include bulk and single-cell transcriptomics, spatial approaches, or assays of chromatin accessibility and gene regulation.
• Sound knowledge of experimental design, biological and technical replication, batch effects and other sources of bias, with the scientific judgement to evaluate analytical methods, assess data quality and identify limitations.
• Strong hands-on experience developing, validating and maintaining Nextflow workflows.
• Programming experience in Python and/or R, confidence in Linux environments, and practical knowledge of version control, containers and automated testing for reproducible analysis.
• Experience working with structured metadata, controlled vocabularies or ontologies, and an understanding of data provenance, interoperability and reproducibility.
• Experience developing scientific or technical roadmaps and delivering complex projects or services, including prioritisation, resource planning and risk management.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with experience negotiating requirements, managing dependencies and coordinating delivery across teams or organisations.

Desirable skills and experience

• Line management experience, including setting objectives, supporting development, providing constructive feedback and addressing performance or workload issues.
• Experience designing or applying JSON Schema for metadata or data validation.
• Experience with relational or document databases, including data modelling and querying.
• Experience operating a public biological data resource, including submission, scientific curation, processing or data release workflows.
• Experience processing large datasets on high-performance computing or cloud infrastructure, and familiarity with nf-core.
• Experience with biological data standards, APIs or integration between archives, data portals and knowledgebases.

Why join us

You will help shape the scientific foundations of FENIX, influence how functional genomics data are shared across EMBL-EBI, and support their reuse worldwide. The role offers scientific leadership with direct involvement in implementation, alongside colleagues working across curation, bioinformatics and software engineering.

Contract length: 3 years fixed term, grant-based

Salary: Grade 7, monthly salary from £4395 after tax, plus generous benefits and financial allowances based on individual circumstances. Excluding 12.99% personal pension and insurance contributions.

Working Pattern: At EMBL-EBI we are pleased to offer hybrid working options for all our employees. A dedicated desk will be available everyday, our team works a minimum of two days on site (Monday and Wednesday).

Interviews: We anticipate to hold interviews for this post on December 8th, 2026 remotely (via Zoom). Successful candidates will be notified with further details.

The advert will remain open for a minimum of two weeks. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Closing Date: 30/11/2026