Research Engineer – Data Engineer

Umeå University, High Performance Computing Center North (HPC2N)

Umeå University is one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with over 37 000 students and about 4 700 employees. The University offers a diversity of high-quality education and world-leading research in several fields. And the groundbreaking discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was made here. At Umeå University, everything is close. Our cohesive campuses make it easy to meet, work together and exchange knowledge, which promotes a dynamic and open culture.

The ongoing societal transformation and large green investments in northern Sweden create enormous opportunities and complex challenges. For Umeå University, conducting research about – and in the middle of – a society in transition is what it is all about. But also about delivering education to enable regions to expand quickly and sustainably. This is simply where the future is built.

Are you interested in learning more?

Umeå University and SciLifeLab are seeking a system developer with focus on frontend and database development, in the broader context of a newly established national platform for data-driven research in bioinformatics.

As a national hub for molecular biosciences in Sweden, SciLifeLab develops and maintains unique research infrastructure, services and data resources for life science. The overall aim of SciLifeLab is to facilitate cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary life science research and promote its translation to the benefit of society. About 200 research groups, 1500 researchers and 40 national infrastructure units are associated with SciLifeLab at all major Swedish universities.

The SciLifeLab and Wallenberg National Program for Data-Driven Life Science (DDLS) is a 12-year initiative that focuses on data-driven research, within fields essential for improving people’s lives, detecting and treating diseases, protecting biodiversity and creating sustainability. The DDLS  program will train and recruit the next generation of data-driven life scientists and create strong and globally competitive computational and data science capabilities in Swedish life science. The program aims to strengthen national collaborations between universities, bridge the research communities of life and data sciences, and create partnerships with industry, healthcare and other national and international actors.

The DDLS program is now establishing a national Data Science Node in “Epidemiology and Biology of Infections” at Umeå University with a national responsibility to develop national data services and to provide bioinformatics support. The four Data Science Nodes of the program are responsible for bioinformatics support and the development of data services and tools for the different scientific fields of the program. This node also works to coordinate needs for services and support for epidemiology and biology of infections, and to engage with research communities and users within the field on the national level. We strive to make tools, project information, code and data as open as possible through SciLifeLab’s national data platform with the FAIR principles at the core. Each node is organized locally and is integrated in a strong environment for research and data within its field. The employment and placement are at Umeå University and the work is led by SciLifeLab Data Centre.

Your future workplace

HPC2N at Umeå University is one of Sweden’s leading supercomputer centers. HPC2N supports e-Science in Sweden by providing large-scale resources for computing and storage, as well as all levels of user support, aiming at the most efficient and effective use of the resources. HPC2N is a consortium of 5 institutions and operates locally, nationally and internationally.

SciLifeLab Data Centre (DC) is a central unit within SciLifeLab with responsibility for IT- and data management issues, serving the SciLifeLab and the Data Driven Life Science (DDLS) research program. DC has a national assignment and, for example, operates the Swedish national Covid-19 research data portal. DC also works with issues about FAIR data and open science, and in close collaboration with major national and international partners. Working at the DC, you will be at the core of Sweden’s top infrastructure for life sciences and have the opportunity to actively shape how state-of-the-art IT and data science are integrated in Swedish life science research, and help to maximize the scientific impact of the large amount of research data generated at SciLifeLab. You will work in a team with researchers, data engineers, data stewards and system developers in a rapidly growing, dynamic and progressive team with a leading role in Swedish data driven life science.

Your main responsibilities

This employment is for one of three positions as research engineer within the DDLS Data Science Node at Umeå University. This specific position is for a data engineer who, in collaboration with the other two research engineers, will be involved in the technical development of services and workflows in the context of a national infrastructure for data-driven research. As a data engineer, you are expected to participate in technical development of data services, where you will apply excellence in e.g., software engineering, compute- and storage infrastructure, interfaces, cloud technology, visualization or databases in tools and services designed to strengthen the research field.

The main tasks as a data engineer include:

• Design and develop data services and user- or programming interfaces
• Integrate technology for data analysis, visualization, data- and metadata management in developed systems
• Work with system developers on the deployment, operation and support of software systems
• Analyze, test, optimize workflows for data analyses, data management and data visualization
• Identify the workflow(s) best suited to specific needs and available datasets
• Conduct consultations and collaborations with supported projects
• Engage in the continuous development and improvement of the DDLS program and its Data Science Nodes.

Qualification requirements

• Academic degree in Data Science, Bioinformatics, Computer Science or a related subject relevant for the position, or documented experience that can be considered equivalent to a degree
• Documented experience of technologies for, e.g., data storage, metadata management, computational science or visualization
• Proficiency in scripting and data analysis
• Proficiency in relevant programming languages
• Experience of development in Linux-based environments
• Very good communication skills in English
• Proven ability to work in an interdisciplinary environment, and to collaborate with end users.

Additional non-required qualifications

• Additional academic degree(s) in bioinformatics or any discipline in computational science
• Experience in data visualization
• Documented experience from working with virtualization and/or container technologies
• Experience of system- and/or user administration for software systems or compute- and storage resources
• Experience with versioning control systems, e.g. Git.
• Experience from working in agile projects in which DevOps plays an important role
• Ability to communicate and read in Swedish.

Your application must include

• A cover letter (max 2 A4 pages, 11pt) that motivates your interest in this position and that explains why you are the person to be hired. The letter should also include a discussion of your experience in software development
• A curriculum vitae
• Contact information of at least two reference persons (no reference letters are required)
• Documentation of formal qualifications (diplomas, course transcripts, course certificates, etc.)
• Documentation of former positions, relevant experiences and other qualifications
• References (links) to publicly available development projects and repositories you have been part of.

Should the submitted material be in a language different from Swedish or English, an English translation must be included too.

Terms of employment

This is a full-time, permanent position, and a probationary period may be applied. Start date as per agreement. Deadline for application 2023-03-31.

Contact

Paolo Bientinesi, tel +46 720 856 180, pauldj@cs.umu.se

Johan Rung, johan.rung@scilifelab.uu.se

Looking forward to see your application!

Type of employment: Permanent position
Contract type: Full time
First day of employment: As soon as possible or as otherwise agreed
Salary: Monthly
Number of positions: 1
Full-time equivalent: 100%
City: Umeå
County: Västerbottens län
Country: Sweden
Reference number: AN 2.2.1-75-23
Contact: Paolo Bientinesi, 090-7865000
Union representative:
SACO, 090-7865365
SEKO, 090-7865296
ST, 090-7865431
Published: 14.Feb.2023
Last application date: 31.Mar.2023 11:59 PM CEST