Front-End Developer

We are seeking an experienced Front-End Developer to join the Literature Services team at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), based at the Wellcome Genome Campus near Cambridge, UK.

About the Team

The Literature Services team develops and operates Europe PMC, a major open research infrastructure providing access to biomedical and life sciences literature. Europe PMC contains over 47 million publications, including more than 12 million full-text articles, and connects the scientific literature with research data, grants, citations, persistent identifiers and text-mined biological information. The service supports millions of users and large-scale programmatic access to the scientific literature.

What you will do

You will have a key role in developing the user-facing Europe PMC service, creating fast, accessible and intuitive interfaces that enable researchers to search, navigate and understand a large and increasingly interconnected scientific literature corpus.

Working closely with UX and product colleagues, back-end developers, data scientists and other members of the Literature Services team, you will translate user needs and designs into robust, reusable and maintainable front-end applications and components.

You will contribute to the ongoing evolution of Europe PMC's web architecture, helping us improve performance, accessibility, maintainability.

Your key responsibilities will include: 

• Designing, developing and maintaining responsive, accessible and high-quality web interfaces for Europe PMC.
• Building reusable front-end components and contribute to a consistent design system across the service.
• Translating UX designs, prototypes and user requirements into production-quality interfaces.
• Developing interfaces for complex, data-rich functionality including literature search, filtering, article pages and research workflows.
• Integrating front-end applications with APIs and other web services using structured data such as JSON.
• Optimising front-end performance, including page loading, rendering and efficient delivery of web assets.
• Developing automated tests and contributing to continuous integration and deployment practices.
• Ensuring interfaces meet appropriate accessibility, usability and web standards.
• Working collaboratively with software developers, UX/product specialists, data scientists and scientific colleagues as part of cross functional teams
• Participating in code review, technical design and architectural discussions.
• Contributing to Agile development processes and the continuous improvement of Europe PMC.

You will have:

• Strong knowledge of HTML, CSS and JavaScript and modern web development standards.
• Experience developing responsive, cross-browser web applications using a modern front-end framework such as React, Vue or equivalent.
• Experience building reusable components and maintainable front-end architectures.
• Experience integrating web applications with REST APIs and working with structured data such as JSON.
• A good understanding of web performance and experience diagnosing and improving front-end performance.
• Experience with automated testing and modern front-end testing frameworks.
• Experience using source control, particularly Git, and collaborative software development practices.
• Good understanding of web accessibility, usability and responsive design.
• An understanding of interaction and visual design, with the ability to work effectively with UX specialists and translate designs into high-quality interfaces.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work effectively with complex requirements and large, data-driven applications.
• Fluency with AI-assisted coding and development tools as part of standard working practice
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills

It would be advantageous to have additional experience in:

• Developing high-traffic or large-scale public web services.
• Design systems and component libraries.
• Front-end performance monitoring and optimisation.
• Search and discovery interfaces or other complex data-intensive applications.
• Agile development methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban.
• Bioinformatics, scientific information services, scholarly publishing or open research infrastructure.

Working Pattern: This role offers a hybrid working arrangement, with 1-2 days per week on site, including one designated team day to support collaboration and connection.

Contract length: Grant-funded, 3-year fixed-term Staff Member contract. 

Salary: Grade 5 - Monthly salary from £3,452.05 after tax, plus generous benefits and financial allowances based on individual circumstances. Excluding 12.99% personal pension and insurance contributions.

Next Steps / How to Apply

*** We plan to advertise the role for up to four weeks, with a scheduled closing date of Wednesday, 18th November. However, if we receive a strong field of applications within the first two weeks, we may close the vacancy earlier. The advert will remain open for a minimum of two weeks, making Tuesday, 3rd November the earliest possible closing date. We therefore encourage you to apply as soon as possible. ***

Where can I find out more?

EMBL Literature Services: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/about/teams/literature-services/

Meet Our Hiring Manager – Melissa Harrison: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/about/jobs/career-profiles/melissa-harrison-team-leader-of-literature-services/

Why join us

Do something meaningful
At EMBL-EBI you can apply your talent and passion to accelerate science and tackle some of humankind's greatest challenges. EMBL-EBI, part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, is a worldwide leader in the storage, analysis and dissemination of large biological datasets. We provide the global research community with access to publicly available databases and tools which are crucial for the advancement of healthcare, food security, and biodiversity.
 

Join a culture of innovation
We are located on the Wellcome Genome Campus, alongside other prominent research and biotech organisations, and surrounded by beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside. This is a highly collaborative and inclusive community where our employees enjoy a relaxed atmosphere. We are committed to ensuring our employees feel valued, supported and empowered to reach their professional potential.  Watch this video to see how EMBL-EBI makes an impact.

Enjoy lots of benefits:

• Financial incentives: Monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances
• Flexible working arrangements - including hybrid working patterns 
• 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 public holidays
• Relocation package including installation grant (conditions apply)
• Campus life: Free shuttle bus to and from work, on-site library, subsidised on-site gym and cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)
• Family benefits: On-site nursery, 10 days of child sick leave, generous parental leave, holiday clubs on campus and monthly family and child allowances
• Benefits for non-UK residents: Visa exemption, education grant for private schooling, financial support to travel back to your home country every second year and a monthly non-resident allowance.

For detailed information please visit our employee benefits page here. 

What else you need to know

• International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Please take a look at our International Applicants page for further information.  
• 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