Job Description
The Earlham Institute has been awarded funding by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to develop Protist Omics at Scale, a three-year international methods-development programme run in partnership with the Scottish Association for Marine Science, home of the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa, and the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.
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We are looking for a computational biologist to lead the computational core of the project: quality control, assembly, decontamination and co-biont separation, and structural and functional annotation across all three aims. Where existing tools fail, the postholder will diagnose why and develop what replaces them.
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The post is based at the Earlham Institute on the Norwich Research Park.
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Background:
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Protists represent the vast majority of eukaryotic diversity but remain significantly under-represented in reference genome databases. Their genomes are often large, repetitive and genetically complex, and are frequently derived from mixed, low-biomass or uncultured samples, making them difficult to assemble and annotate using standard genomic approaches.
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This project aims to address these challenges by systematically identifying and overcoming key bottlenecks in genome and transcriptome assembly across three areas:
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Cultured protists with sufficient biomass.
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Protists that can only be grown at low concentrations.
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Single-cell genomes and transcriptomes from uncultured environmental protists.
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Based within the Earlham Institute's Director's Group, the project combines expertise in long-read sequencing, single-cell genomics, spatial biology and computational biology. It brings together leading facilities at the Earlham Institute, including the Technical Genomics Group and the Single-Cell and Spatial Analysis Platform, as well as external collaborators at CCAP/SAMS, home to one of the world's largest protist culture collections, and the Bigelow Laboratory Single Cell Genomics Center, a world-leading centre for environmental microorganism genomics.
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The overall objective is to develop and apply innovative methods that enable the generation of high-quality genomic and transcriptomic resources for previously inaccessible and poorly characterised eukaryotic organisms.
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The role:
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This is a postdoctoral computational biology/bioinformatics role focused on developing and applying novel methods for long-read and single-cell genome and transcriptome assembly across a diverse range of protist species.
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Postholder responsibilities:
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Develop expertise in advanced genome and transcriptome assembly approaches.
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Work on complex long-read and single-cell sequencing datasets.
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Contribute to the development of new computational methods rather than routine analysis.
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Develop research software engineering skills, including workflow development, packaging and containerisation.
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Create and maintain reproducible bioinformatics workflows using platforms such as Galaxy and WorkflowHub.
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Collaborate closely with internal and external partners across the consortium.
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Lead or contribute significantly to computational project outputs.
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Publish research findings and present at national and international conferences.
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Participate in workshops, hackathons and community training activities.
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Support the supervision and development of students where appropriate.
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The role offers extensive opportunities for career development, networking and collaboration within an internationally recognised genomics research environment.
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The ideal candidate:
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The post holder will have, or be close to completing, a PhD in bioinformatics, computational biology, genomics, evolutionary biology or a closely related discipline.
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They will have practical experience of analysing large-scale next-generation sequencing datasets and de novo genome assembly using long-read sequencing data (PacBio HiFi and/or Oxford Nanopore), together with proficiency in at least one bioinformatics programming language and experience working in a Linux/HPC setting.
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The successful candidate will have experience of genome or transcriptome analysis, an ability to critically evaluate computational methods, and a track record of contributing to research outputs, including peer-reviewed publications.
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Experience of workflow development and reproducible research practices, including version control and workflow management systems, would be advantageous, as would knowledge of single-cell genomics, protist or microbial eukaryote biology, and software containerisation technologies.
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Additional information:
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This is a full-time post for a contract of 36 months.
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Salary on appointment will be within the range £39,000 to £46,500 per annum, depending on qualifications and experience. A starting salary of £40,100 is guaranteed for candidates who can evidence their PhD certificate at appointment; those awaiting confirmation of their PhD award will be appointed at £39,000 until evidence is provided.
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This role meets the criteria for a visa application, and we encourage all qualified candidates to apply. Please contact the Human Resources Team if you have any questions regarding your application or visa options.
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As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for this vacancy.
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The closing date for applications will be 1 October ****.
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Application Closing Date: 1 October ****
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£39,000 to £46,500 per annum, depending on qualifications and experience. A starting salary of £40,100 is guaranteed for candidates who can evidence their PhD certificate at appointment; those awaiting confirmation of their PhD award will be appointed at

📌 Postdoctoral Scientist (Bioinformatics) - Protist Genomics (Tasmania)
🏢 ONE NUCLEUS
📍 Tasmania