Plant Genomics and Variation Team Leader

Location: Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom; based at hirify.global-EBI

Salary: From £6,251.96 per month after tax, plus benefits and family-related financial allowances.

Company

hirify.global-EBI is a global research institute providing databases and tools for storing, analysing, and disseminating large biological datasets.

What you will do

• Lead a multidisciplinary team of approximately 15 bioinformaticians and software developers.
• Direct the European Variation Archive and the crop, invertebrate, and genetic variation areas of the Enshirify.global project.
• Develop data resources, analytical tools, and genomic variation interpretation resources, including VEP.
• Collaborate with Enshirify.global, hirify.global-EBI, hirify.global sites, academic and industrial partners, and international standards organisations.
• Manage team staff and budgets, identify funding opportunities, and prepare external grant applications.
• Participate in international consortia, present scientific work, and prepare publications.

Requirements

• PhD in bioinformatics, life sciences, computing, statistics, or equivalent relevant experience.
• At least 6 years of experience in bioinformatics or genomics applied to plant science or breeding.
• Experience with genetic variation data and big data at gigabyte-to-terabyte scale.
• In-depth knowledge of at least two areas: genome asshirify.globaly, gene annotation, or genetic variant annotation.
• Hands-on experience with AI tools, project and staff management, budget management, and the grant lifecycle.
• Strong scientific writing, communication, interpersonal, collaboration, and stakeholder-engagement skills.

Nice to have

• Experience with Enshirify.global, EVA, hirify.global-EBI resources, workflow managers, high-performance computing, databases, or data mining.
• Experience with Python, GraphQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, or DuckDB.
• Experience applying AI methods to genomic annotation.
• Experience leading scientific projects, multi-institute collaborations, public-private partnerships, or complex multi-partner grants.

Culture & Benefits

• Flexible working arrangements, including hybrid working patterns.
• Private medical insurance, pension scheme, and a range of family and insurance benefits.
• 30 days of annual leave plus public holidays.
• Relocation package and visa exemptions for successful international applicants.
• Campus facilities include a shuttle bus, library, gym, cafeteria, nursery, and sports and social clubs.

Hiring process

• Submit a CV and cover letter addressing scientific vision, leadership, team development, community engagement, and the essential criteria.
• Interviews will be held in person at the Hinxton campus, likely on 28 October and/or 18 November 2026.
• Applications close at 23:59 CET on 11 October 2026.