Current vacancies

Advanced Research Assistant

Salary £26,364 to £30,995 plus excellent benefits. 

Fixed term for 2 years

The Parts Faculty team is seeking an experienced and dynamic Advanced Research Assistant to join the team on a fixed term contract of 2 years.

The ideal candidate will have experience in creating transgenic cell lines that carry reporter constructs, cloning and making lentivirus of large scale CRISPR/Cas9 libraries, performing different selection-based screens to map the modulators of created reporters, creating sequencing libraries from the results, and analysing the produced data to produce publication-quality figures.

Reference:82886

CAD Operator

Salary up to £25,000 per annum plus excellent benefits

We are seeking a proficient CAD operator to support the Project Engineering team and key stakeholders, to ensure that all affected drawings are updated and maintained to the relevant standards. The role of CAD Operator  will entail performing a broad range of drafting duties utilising 2D AutoCAD across multiple M&E disciplines.

Reporting directly to the Drawing Office Manager the successful candidate will need good attention to detail to work within established procedures/processes with a methodical approach to spot check large volumes of O&M manuals. On site measurements will be required therefore previous experience of working within controlled laboratory environments or similar Facilities Management would be an advantage but full training will be given.

Reference:82890

Category Buyer

Salary: Up to £40,000 dependant on experience + excellent benefits

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Category Buyer to work for a pioneering Scientific Institute based just outside Cambridge. Supporting the Procurement Partners, the post-holder will be required to deliver flexible, proactive and timely support to key stakeholders by providing procurement expertise to enable informed decision making in a complex environment with competing demands.

Key to this role is the ability to develop strategic management of allocated direct or indirect category spend in line with departmental objectives and work closely with the rest of the Procurement team to support the management of strategic relationships and execute major sourcing exercises.

You will also be responsible for ensuring established procurement processes are carried out and for continuous improvement throughout the procurement life-cycle. Providing information and advice to the Institute on market trends in the supplier base and commodities under their remit as well as analytical and operational support is essential.  

Reference:82901

Faculty Position in Cellular Genetics

Faculty Position at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is seeking an exceptional early to mid-career stage scientist to join its Core Faculty to lead a research team in Cellular Genetics and contribute to the Institute’s scientific portfolio.

The Institute is an internationally outstanding genomic research centre with approximately 40 core Faculty teams and 1,100 employees based south of Cambridge. Our mission is to use genome sequences to advance understanding of the biology of humans and pathogens in order to improve human health. With core funding and state-of-the-art platforms in sequencing, model organisms, cellular genetics and IT, we enable our researchers to concentrate on biological questions across a diverse range of genomic and genetic science, in both independent studies and large-scale collaborations. The result is a unique, vibrant and interactive research environment with synergies and cross-fertilisation of ideas across and between programmes. 

We welcome candidates with research interests in single cell genomics, spatial transcriptomics, computational biology, genomics technology development, or application of genomics and computation to specific biomedical research areas. We will also consider applications more broadly from exceptional individuals with diverse scientific interests.

Reference:82753

Faculty Position in Human Population Genetics

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is seeking a promising early career stage scientist to join its Core Faculty to lead a research team in Human Population Genetics. Positions carry a significant core package of salaries and support backed by rewarding and flexible employment terms including excellent benefits and relocation support. Our exceptional core funding enables new faculty to immediately focus their energy on science.

The Institute is an internationally outstanding genomic research centre with approximately 40 core Faculty teams and 1,100 employees based south of Cambridge. Our mission is to use genome sequences to advance understanding of the biology of humans and pathogens in order to improve human health. With core funding and state-of-the-art platforms in sequencing, high-performance computing, model organisms, genome editing and cellular genetics, we enable our researchers to concentrate on biological questions across a diverse range of genomic and genetic science, in both independent studies and large-scale collaborations. The result is a unique, vibrant and interactive research environment. 

We welcome candidates with research interests in the broad area of human population genetics. The UK and the Sanger Institute are at the forefront of population-scale sequencing. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to collaborate closely with the AstraZeneca Genomics Initiative based in Cambridge, which aims to analyse up to 2 million human genome sequences. Further information can also be found by clicking on AZ media link

Reference:82881

Head of High Throughput Gene Editing

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a talented scientific manager to lead the institute’s High Throughput Gene Editing (HTGE) Core Facility.   The HTGE core facility is part of the Cellular Operations division and is responsible for the high throughput generation of genetically modified cells to support projects across the institute.  Currently the team is focused on projects involving CRISPR mediated gene knockouts in human iPS cells, though this will need to diversify to keep up with changing technology and the scientific ambitions of the institute.

The role of Head of HTGE is to provide leadership and direction to a team of approx. 10 scientists, coaching staff, co-ordinating work and setting standards to ensure the continued high quality and timely delivery of projects.

The post holder will work closely with other teams across Cellular operations and the wider institute to develop and implement new genetic engineering processes to diversify the portfolio of services on offer.  As well as challenging the team to explore ways of improving quality and efficiency through new working practises, automation and process streamlining.

To succeed in this role you will need significant experience of scientific management, excellent people skills and a good understanding of the challenges of doing gene editing at scale.   Candidates with management experience combined with a strong background in genome engineering and/or human iPSC culture are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Reference:82897

Postdoctoral Fellow - Experimental Malaria

Salary range: £31,115 to £39,004 per annum depending on experience.

Fixed-term for 2 years initially.

The Sanger Institute Malaria Programme integrates genomic and experimental genetic approaches to tackle fundamental questions in malaria biology, and to identify new targets for drug and vaccine development. Our collaborative and multi-disciplinary research teams host a diverse and dynamic group of over 60 scientists led by seven core faculty members.

An opportunity is available for an enthusiastic Postdoctoral Fellow to join the Lee team on a multi-lab collaborative project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The goal is to systematically investigate new antimalarial targets in Plasmodium falciparum. The project will use a variety of genetic approaches, including CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering, and capitalizes on existing expertise in the Lee lab and across multiple malaria teams at Sanger developing state-of-the-art CRISPR-based approaches for genome manipulation and drug target validation. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated expertise in parasite culture and genetic manipulation, as well as a strong molecular biology background, and will enjoying working in a collaborative research environment.  

Reference:82760

Public Engagement Development Coordinator - Major Projects

Salary range £31,498 to £39,729 per annum depending on experience 

We are hiring for an exciting new role to join our dynamic Public Engagement team at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridgeshire.  As Development Coordinator for Major Projects, you will take a leading role in delivering public engagement strategies and outputs for some of our larger research activities and projects, including working with a rich mix of stakeholders nationally and internationally.

Successful candidates will have a first degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) or a field related to science/research engagement, impact or policy, and have significant track record of public engagement activities.

Reference:82875

Research Assistant / Advanced Research Assistant

Salary in the region of £19,000 to £30,000 per annum depending on role and experience

The Sanger Mouse Pipelines Genome Engineering group(GE) generates custom mutations in mice by gene targeting in embryonic stem (ES) cells and directly in the mouse zygote by applying cutting edge gene targeting technology.GE creates mutant alleles of interest to Sanger Institute Faculty, many of which are used as models for human disease. Our efforts benefit from extensive targeting vector/ES cell modular resources generated previously as part of the KOMP, EUCOMM, and EUCOMMTOOLs high throughput gene targeting programs and associated expertise as well as the successful implementation of CRISPR/Cas9 methods.

We are seeking a highly motivated and flexible individual to join the GE team as an Research Assistant or Advanced Research Assistant. The post holder’s main responsibilities will be execution of day-to-day workflows of projects for the generation of targeting vectors, CRISPR/Cas9 reagents and the generation and validation of quality assured targeted mouse ES cells. Key responsibilities include execution and timely delivery of these resources, accurate record keeping, project troubleshooting and an ability to work across multiple projects.  In addition, the group also has a research and development (R&D) commitment to implement new approaches that facilitate the insertion of complex alleles directly into the mouse zygote.

Previous experience of mammalian cell culture, especially mouse ES cell (mESC) culture is a prerequisite for this role. The candidate would also be expected to be able to genotype the mESC clones generated in order to provide quality assured reagents for microinjection. The candidate should have a broad knowledge of molecular biology techniques such as nucleic acid extraction, construct generation (via conventional cloning, Gibson assembly and/or recombineering), PCR, restriction enzyme analysis and sequencing. An understanding of conventional gene targeting and the more recent CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering techniques would be advantageous. The successful candidate must be able to work as part of a team and also have the   ability to independently handle complex workflows from project start to delivery. Good communication/record keeping skills are a key part of the role.

Some weekend cell culture is anticipated in this role.

Reference:82893

Senior Bioinformatician - Cancer and Ageing

Highly motivated Bioinformatician required to develop State of the Art analysis Tools and Services.

Salary Range: £38,000-£39,729 plus excellent benefits. Permanent contract.

An exciting Software Analysis and Development opportunity has become available to further develop our bioinformatics software stack to help in our goal of understanding human cancer and ageing. The position will be based in the IT Team in the Cancer, Ageing and Somatic Mutation (CASM) Division at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

The role involves working closely with scientific/IT staff within CASM to develop novel analysis strategies and software. The analysis software needs to be efficient, visually appealing and interpretable by the scientific/clinical community.

This position would suit a Bioinformatician/Software Developer who enjoys developing software tools for the analysis of large genomic data sets. We are looking for an individual who enjoys working in a multi-disciplinary team environment to help solve complex IT issues which will ultimately aid our understanding of mutational processes in humans.

Reference:82869

Senior Software Developer - Cancer and Ageing

Highly motivated Software Developer required to develop Virtualised Infrastructure for Big Data Genome analysis using OpenStack

Salary Range:  In the region of £40,000, plus excellent benefits. Permanent contract.

An exciting Software Development opportunity has become available to further develop our software infrastructure to help in the Group’s aim of increasing our understanding of cancer and ageing. The position will be based in the IT Team in the Cancer, Ageing and Somatic Mutation (CASM) Division at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

Specifically, the role will involve developing a virtualised compute infrastructure to allow our analysis workflows to be run in a distributed, adaptable and scalable environment. This position would suit a Software Developer who enjoys developing software solutions for large scale data analysis. The software needs to be efficient, flexible and under Continual Integration to ensure resilience.

We are looking for an individual who enjoys working in a multi-disciplinary team environment to help solve complex IT issues which will ultimately aid our understanding of cancer and ageing in humans.

Reference:82870

Senior Software Developer, Stem Cell Informatics

Salary in the region of £40,000 per annum plus excellent benefits

We are seeking an experienced software developer to join our software development team, which provides informatics support for the High-Throughput Gene Editing team and other groups within the Scientific Operations division.

This role involves gathering user requirements (in an informal way) and discussing the impact on current systems with the Senior Scientific Manager in the group and other members of the informatics team. We operate separate ticketing systems to manage user requirements and functional implementation. We develop primarily in modern Perl using a web stack based on PostgreSQL, Catalyst (for MVC support) and DBIx::Class with views implemented using Template Toolkit and Javascript. However, proficiency at programming in any current language is more important than specific Perl experience.

You will contribute code to our source code repositories on GitHub (https://github.com/htgt) as part of our collaborative and agile-enlightened approach to coding.

You will become part of a relaxed but professional software development team, with access to world class computing resources and many opportunities for furthering your knowledge of programming for bioinformatics and genomics, whether within the web framework or on our extensive compute farm and internal cloud services. You will have well developed interpersonal skills and the desire to grow as a member of the team. There may be opportunities for supervising others and the Institute has a wealth of resources available to support development in this area.

There is substantial Perl expertise in the group and this opportunity could be a good way for appropriate candidates to get up-to-date with current Perl coding methodology.

We develop software tools to assist in genome editing (search for WGE CRISPR for our tools) and leading-edge gene sequencing technologies. Our web services implement a LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) for tracking scientific data generated in our high-throughput labs. We provide bespoke support for our research groups in human stem cell engineering - resulting in interesting and challenging programming opportunities. See http://www.sanger.ac.uk/science/groups/stem-cell-informatics for more information on the work we do.

Our LIMS is used to support many other groups, both within the Sanger Institute and around the world. WGE is recognised as world class software for designing important genome editing experiments in many leading research groups.

Coding skills of all shortlisted candidates are tested in pre-interview selection and also at onsite interview. All candidates should submit a covering letter explaining why their skills and experience fulfil the requirements for this job. 

Reference:82873

Senior Staff Scientist - Computational Biology - Host Microbiota Interactions

Senior Staff Scientist - Computational Biology – Host Microbiota Interactions

Salary £38,989 to £49,602 plus excellent benefits 

Fixed Term Contract for 5 years

We are seeking a talented, motivated and experienced computational biologist at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, under the leadership of Dr Trevor Lawley.  We are looking for an enthusiastic and skilled bioinformatician or computational biologist, to join the Host-Microbiota Interactions Lab (www.lawleylab.com). This is an exciting opportunity for the successful candidate to join a dynamic team investigating the role of the microbiota in human health and a variety of diseases, such as autoimmunity, infections and cancers, using genomics, microbiology and model organisms. There is a strong translational focus to the Lab with the goal of developing novel, microbiome based diagnostics and therapeutics.

The successful applicant will have expertise in the large-scale analyses of next-generation sequencing data to investigate the microbial communities contained on and within host organisms that are associated with health and disease. They will be part of a multidisciplinary, collaborative team and will be expected to work closely with existing team members to accomplish scientific objectives and proactively identify, establish and develop new collaborations and new projects.

You will have substantial opportunities for learning and development, working closely with informaticians, wet-lab biologists, Postdoctoral Fellows and PhD students across the Infection Genomics Programme.  

Reference:82898

Senior Staff Scientist - Malaria Bioinformatics

Salary range £43,000 to £49,000 pa plus excellent benefits. 

A highly motivated Senior Staff Scientist is needed to work within a world leading Malaria genomics team that uses cutting edge technology to study the comparative and functional genomics of malaria parasites.

Our group studies the genome biology and function genomics of parasites.  We seek an enthusiastic and innovative individual primarily to provide wide-ranging support and strategic direction to the bioinformatics needs of the Malaria projects with our team.  The candidate will  get the opportunity to develop projects and collaborations that use comparative genomics, RNA-seq and single cell transcriptomic approaches to explore the evolution and function of genes in malaria parasites.  The successful candidate will work closely with other computational and wet lab scientists within the team, as well as the extended Malaria Programme 

The post holder will be able to advise and instruct others in bioinformatics analyses and may supervise students, junior staff and visiting workers.

Reference:82888

Software Developer - Pathogen Informatics

Salary in the region of £50,000 per annum plus benefits

We are seeking to recruit an experienced Software Developer to work within the Pathogen Informatics team at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

The Pathogen Informatics team develop and maintain software applications and systems to support the research activities of the Infection Genomics programme. The Infection Genomics programme conducts large-scale experiments to investigate the underpinning mechanisms of evolution, infection and resistance to therapy in viruses, bacteria and parasites. The programme also focuses on the genetics of host response to infection and the role of the microbiota in health and disease. 

The Pathogen Informatics team play a key role in the the delivery of many of these large-scale pathogen projects. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing software and systems to manage, analyse, query and visualise the vast amounts of data produced by these projects, including next-generation sequence data and annotation and curation data.

The team is based on the principles of agile development so that the software can be rapidly prototyped, updated regularly and receive rapid feedback from scientists in the Infection Genomics program. The team employ a test-driven development strategy for all software development projects and strongly promote open source development using Github for all software projects.

This role would suit somebody with previous experience in the specification, design and delivery process of a software system (preferably in genomics or similar areas). The postholder will be expected to discuss and provide input for strategic decisions of the team, represent the team at internal and external meetings, and provide technical supervision to junior members of the team. Previous experience of next-generation sequencing informatics would be advantageous, although not strictly required.

Reference:82895

Systems Support and Development Specialist

Salary in the region of £39,729 per annum dependent on experience

A non-pensionable market supplement of up to £6,375 is available depending on experience

We are looking for a Systems Support and Development Specialist to join the Corporate Services IT Team.

The primary objective of the role is to deliver a high quality, customer focused Agresso & Corporate Application support service to the Campus through the provision of technical support, training and solutions provision including R&D into new technologies. In addition to facilitate the effective use of these applications in support of the production and research aims of the campus. 

This role requires a high degree of communication and people skills to deal with the user community.  You will have the ability to learn quickly and understand complex software and database packages and be able to react quickly to change of customer & management requirements.

A broad range of experience in software service provision is required to support a unique environment of leading edge scientific customers, plus you must be able to assist in architecting and specification of scalable but flexible Application solutions for delivering a high quality end user experience.

You will be required to deputise for the team leader in their absence.

Reference:82889

Web Developer - Pathogen Informatics

Salary in the region of £42,000 per annum plus excellent benefits 

Fixed-term for 2 years

We are seeking to recruit an enthusiastic Software Developer to work within the Pathogen Informatics team at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. The candidate will be responsible for setting up and extending a web application to allow community based genome annotation of protozoan parasites and pathogenic fungi. Protozoa are responsible for many of the neglected diseases (Sleeping Sickness, Chagas Disease, Leishmaniasis) that disproportionately affect the developing world. Fungi are responsible for more disease each year than malaria or tuberculosis. The candidate will work as part of an international collaboration involving software developers from the EuPathDB project at the Universities of Pennsylvania and Georgia, curators from the University of Liverpool, as well as researchers and developers in the Infection Genomics programme at the Sanger Institute to create rich user-friendly interfaces enabling the global research community to access, visualize, and interrogate genetic information on these organisms.

The team is based on the principles of agile development so that the software can be rapidly prototyped, updated regularly and receive rapid feedback from scientists in the Infection Genomics programme and wider community. The team employ a testdriven development strategy for all software development projects and strongly promote open source development using Github for all software projects.

Reference:82896