Bioinformatics Data Engineer (RNA Resources)

TL;DR

Bioinformatics Data Engineer (RNA Resources): Build and maintain data pipelines for Rfam and RNAcentral with an accent on efficient data processing, storage, and retrieval at scale. Focus on modernising curation workflows, implementing human-in-the-loop AI-assisted agentic curation, and developing LLM pipelines for literature summarisation and curation.

Location: Hinxton, Cambridgeshire

Salary: £3,303 per month (after tax), excluding pension and insurance contributions

Company

hirify.global develops and operates large biological data resources used by the global research community.

What you will do

• Run, maintain, and optimise production data pipelines for Rfam and RNAcentral, improving performance and scalability.
• Analyse existing data curation and data production pipelines to identify improvement, optimisation, and scaling opportunities.
• Modernise and containerise Rfam curation pipelines, including human-in-the-loop, AI-assisted agentic curation.
• Develop and scale LLM pipelines for RNAcentral literature summarisation and curation.
• Build scalable workflows for ncRNA annotation in genomes and support data releases.
• Document pipelines and processes; present and gather feedback through consortium and scientific advisory activities.

Requirements

• Master’s level (or equivalent) in a computational, biological, or related scientific discipline.
• Proficiency in Python and other relevant languages for bioinformatics tool development.
• Experience with relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL) and strong SQL knowledge, including performance tuning and query optimisation.
• Proven experience building and maintaining production bioinformatics pipelines using workflow management systems such as Nextflow or Snakemake.
• Experience building applications with LLMs and other AI technologies.
• Comfortable with Git/GitHub, Unix, and Bash; strong communication skills.

Nice to have

• Knowledge of RNA biology and/or practical experience with Rfam, Infernal, R-scape, and secondary structure prediction tools.
• Experience with high-performance computing environments (e.g., Slurm) and data migration planning (downtime, consistency verification, rollback).
• Experience with Docker/Singularity, Kubernetes, and cloud infrastructure platforms (e.g., OpenStack).
• Experience with AI workflow libraries such as LangChain and LangGraph.
• Experience with the Rust programming language.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid working: work 2 days per week from the office in Hinxton (currently Monday and Tuesday), with flexibility to come on site more often.
• Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family.
• Generous time off: 30 days annual leave plus public holidays.
• Relocation package available (including installation grant if required).
• Campus benefits: free shuttle bus, on-site library, subsidised gym and cafeteria, and sports/social clubs.
• Benefits for non-UK residents, including visa exemption and travel/education-related support.

Hiring process

• Introductory interviews remotely starting in early July, followed by panel interviews remotely in mid July.
• Submit a CV and a tailored cover letter; applications without both documents are not considered.