Euro-BioImaging ERIC is a European research infrastructure providing life scientists open access to advanced imaging technologies, expertise, training and data services through almost 300 imaging facilities distributed among 40 Nodes across Europe. The Euro-BioImaging Hub is distributed across three sites: the legal Seat (Finland), the Med-Hub (Italy), and the Bio-Hub hosted by EMBL in Heidelberg.

The Euro-BioImaging Access Portal is the infrastructure interface that enables users to browse, request and access imaging and image data technologies from an extensive and rich service portfolio. It is also the platform through which Euro-BioImaging and the service providing facilities manage the incoming access requests and user interactions. The AI4Access project will develop a “Research Navigator” (an LLM application) integrated into the Euro-BioImaging Access Portal to guide researchers to the right services, workflows and resources across the infrastructure. A key foundation is a structured, maintained ontology-aligned knowledge base that can be queried reliably by the Navigator.

Your role 

We are looking for a technically strong colleague who will design, set up and maintain the database and data ingestion pipeline underlying the AI4Access ontology-driven knowledge base, work with the Euro-BioImaging Bio-Hub team and community on the development of relevant ontologies and knowledge graphs, and develop robust technical interfaces between the knowledge base and the Research Navigator together with the Euro-BioImaging Seat team and with the Euro-BioImaging Nodes’ own information and management systems.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

  • Design and implement an ontology-aligned data model, its technical representation (database + schema, versioning, documentation) and the minimum viable service.
  • Work with the Bio-Hub imaging specialists and Node-facing colleagues to translate real service descriptions into a maintainable structured form via community-agreed ontologies and/or controlled vocabularies.
  • Support integration of semantic and metadata elements (controlled vocabularies, identifiers/PIDs, provenance) together with domain experts.
  • Develop and maintain automated ETL workflows to handle data ingestion pipelines (data collection inputs, annotations, transformations, validation/QA rules, repeatable updates) adapted to a diverse range of data and data sources .
  • Implement robust APIs and access layers optimized for LLM applications to query services, capabilities and constraints with high reliability and transparency.
  • Collaborate with the Seat team on integration, testing, release planning, and technical documentation.

You have 

  • We are looking for a motivated, structured and hands-on colleague who enjoys building reliable systems that will be used by a broad scientific community.
  • Degree (MSc / PhD or equivalent experience) in a relevant field (data/computer science, bioinformatics, information systems, or similar).
  • Familiarity with metadata, ontologies, controlled vocabularies and persistent identifiers.
  • Advance Python programming skills and proven experience designing and maintaining production-ready databases for structured content (e.g., Postgres/graph stores) and building APIs for downstream applications.
  • Experience with CI/CD data pipelines (ingestion, transformation, validation) and data quality practices including experience with version control frameworks (GitHub/GitLab)
  • Ability to work effectively with multiple stakeholders (technical and non-technical) in an international setting.
  • Fluency in written and spoken English.

You may also have

  • Experience in bioimaging or life sciences data and metadata handling
  • Knowledge graph and semantic web experience working with Linked data standards (RDF, SPARQL, SHACL) and/or hybrid retrieval approaches (GraphRAG) used in AI applications.
  • Experience with graph databases (Neo4J)
  • Experience with research infrastructures, FAIR data practices, or management of service catalogues in scientific environments.
  • Hands-on experience with containerization (Docker) and orchestration (Kubernetes).

Contract length: 3 years

Salary: Grade 5-6 depending on relevant experience, monthly salary from 4.031 EUR after tax and before the 13% EMBL social security deductions, plus financial allowances based on family circumstances.

Why join us

EMBL is curiosity-driven, community-oriented and international. As an inclusive, equal opportunity employer, we believe that diversity enables us to collaborate more effectively and be innovative in our approaches. We are, therefore, committed to creating an inclusive and flexible culture - one where everyone can realise their full potential and make a positive contribution to our organisation. 

We encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing team – we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and personal experiences reflect the diversity of the populations that our science serves. We actively encourage applications from all genders and cultures, ethnic groups and all demographics to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights at this transformational point in our people strategy.

Enjoy lots of benefits:

  • Financial incentives: Salary free of income tax, monthly family and child allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances

  • Flexible working arrangements

  • Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family (including all prescriptions and generous dental & optical cover)

  • Generous time off: 30 days annual leave per year, in addition to public holidays

  • Campus life: Free shuttle bus (some sites only), on-site library, subsidised on-site cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)

  • Family benefits: Kindergarten (Heidelberg), 10 days of child sick leave, generous paid maternity/parental leave and monthly family & child allowances

  • For detailed information please visit our employee benefits page here

What else you need to know

  • EMBL is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we apply DORA principles to our recruitment and performance assessment processes here.

  • Diversity and inclusion: At EMBL, we believe that diverse teams drive innovation and scientific excellence. We encourage applications from candidates of all genders, identities, nationalities and/or any other diverse backgrounds.

  • How to apply: To apply please submit a cover letter and a CV through our online system. Applications will close at 23:59 CET on the date shown below. We aim to provide a response within two weeks after the closing date.

Closing Date

15/05/2026

At Impactpool we do our best to provide you the most accurate info, but closing dates may be wrong on our site. Please check on the recruiting organization's page for the exact info. Candidates are responsible for complying with deadlines and are encouraged to submit applications well ahead.
Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.