Postdoctoral Fellow (Computational Biology)

Location: Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom; based on-site for at least part of each week

Salary: £3,535 per month after tax in year one, excluding pension and insurance contributions

Company

hirify.global is an international molecular biology research organisation, with the role based in the Finn Research Group and closely aligned with the Microbiome Informatics team.

What you will do

• Co-develop scalable strategies for classifying MGnify protein databases into structure-based protein families.
• Build clustering, functional labelling, and structure-selection approaches using large protein datasets and AI-based methods.
• Update MGnify with taxonomic information and expand biome annotations using tools developed within the wider team.
• Analyse correlations between biome, taxonomy, protein-family distributions, and protein functions.
• Investigate bacteriophage-encoded bacterial anti-defence systems and propose potential mechanisms of action using functional and structural classification.

Requirements

• PhD in biological sciences, computational biology, bioinformatics, computer science, or a related field, with relevant research experience.
• Strong background in microbiology and/or metagenomics, including protein classification approaches and their underlying tools.
• Experience working with large datasets and developing well-documented, tested software in Python.
• Experience with UNIX/Linux and HPC or cloud environments.
• Fluent English at CEFR C2 level or equivalent is essential.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary international team.

Nice to have

• Knowledge of bacterial defence systems or bacteriophage anti-defence systems.
• Experience with Nextflow, Snakemake, or similar computational pipeline tools.
• Experience with relational databases such as MySQL or PostgreSQL.
• Experience with Git, testing, code review, and other software development best practices.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted coding tools or mentoring PhD students.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative and inclusive research environment on the Wellcome Genome Campus.
• Three-year fixed-term contract with a stipend reviewed yearly, pension scheme, and insurance benefits.
• Flexible working arrangements, including hybrid working patterns, alongside the on-site requirement.
• Private medical insurance, 30 days of annual leave, and additional public holidays.
• Visa and financial relocation support is available for overseas applicants.
• Professional development support through the hirify.global Fellows’ Career Service.

Hiring process

• Submit a cover letter and CV through the online application system.
• Applications close at 23:59 CET on 27 September 2026.