Vacant job

Senior Staff Scientist in Bioinformatics

The Department of Physiological Botany is now seeking a Senior Staff Scientist in Bioinformatics. The position is full-time and permanent, starting in September 2026, or as agreed. A probationary period of up to 6 months may apply.

The Department of Physiological Botany is part of the Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC), which comprises over 200 researchers in more than 35 research groups (www.upsc.se). Umeå Plant Science Centre is one of the strongest research environments for fundamental plant research in Europe. Research at UPSC covers a broad spectrum of disciplines within plant biology, including ecology, computational biology, genetics, physiology, biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular biology.

Description and Responsibilities

UPSC's bioinformatics support group (UPSCb) supports research groups at UPSC with bioinformatic analysis and interpretation of large amounts of data from experiments in metabolomics, proteomics, and genomics. The goal is to extract as much information as possible from the data in collaboration with the researchers. Projects can be very small (e.g., analysis of mRNA sequencing) taking a few hours, or very extensive spanning several years. The group currently consists of five people, all of whom have PhDs in bioinformatics or related fields.

Your role as Senior Staff Scientist involves leading and developing the UPSCb group. You will be responsible for the professional development of the group and individuals, both as bioinformaticians and as colleagues. You will also have strategic responsibility for the platform, requiring continuous scientific updates on how the field is evolving.

There are also other similar groups at the department supporting researchers from other institutions, along with a large group of bioinformatics researchers and doctoral students. Together, approximately 30 bioinformaticians are active in the environment. You will also coordinate bioinformatics seminars and workshops for UPSC and the bioinformatics community together with Professor Nat Street.

Qualifications

A PhD in bioinformatics or another research area relevant to the position is required for employment as a Senior Staff Scientist. Furthermore, extensive knowledge and experience in bioinformatics are required, along with very good knowledge of underlying theories and principles, and specific competence related to the development and application of advanced methods in bioinformatics.

For the position, you must also have:

• Experience in qualified management/coordination work with research infrastructure, such as staff supervision, budgeting, coordination, collaboration, reporting, and grant seeking/fundraising.
• Experience in advanced tasks involving the development and application of advanced methods in areas relevant to the position.
• You must be accustomed to supporting researchers with their data analysis needs and ensuring the scientific reproducibility of their projects, including data management. You also need to have good collaboration skills as the job relies on interaction between the support group and biological researchers. It is important that you can collaborate with biologists and explain bioinformatics in a way that non-specialists can understand. Since research is becoming increasingly data-driven, experience with the entire data lifecycle is meritorious.
• UPSC is a very international environment (over forty nationalities are represented) and English is the working language. Therefore, very good proficiency in English (oral and written) is required.

Additionally, the following qualifications are meritorious:

• Experience in establishing, developing, and operating research infrastructure.
• Scientific production and contribution to the development of the scientific field, for example through publications in reputable scientific journals applying peer review.
• Experience in developing and conducting education, such as courses, lectures, workshops, and demonstrations at different educational levels for different target groups.
• Experience in external activities, such as participation in and presentation at conferences, preparation of scientific reports and presentations, participation in national or international networks, or popular science activities.
• Experience in working with occupational health and safety issues.
• Ability to communicate in writing and orally in Swedish.

Application

You apply through our e-recruitment system Varbi no later than June 15, 2026. Your application should include:

• A cover letter explaining why you are interested in the position (max 2 pages).
• A CV with your academic education and previous employment.
• A list of publications.
• Proof of PhD degree.
• Other relevant documentation you wish to present to strengthen your application.

For further information, contact Johannes Hanson, Head of Department at the Department of Physiological Botany, [email protected], or Professor Nathaniel Street, [email protected].

We look forward to receiving your application!

The Department of Physiological Botany is part of Umeå Plant Science Centre with approximately 200 employees, including 40 group leaders, and currently represents 48 different nationalities (for more information, see http://www.upsc.se or http://www.plantphys.umu.se/english/). Our main activity is academic research and education covering areas such as ecology, biochemistry, plant physiology, and genomics.

Umeå University aims to offer an equal and equitable environment where open dialogue between people with different backgrounds and perspectives lays the foundation for learning, creativity, and development. We therefore welcome people with different backgrounds and experiences to apply for the current position.

To staffing and recruitment agencies and to you who are sales representatives: We kindly but firmly decline direct contact with staffing and recruitment agencies as well as sales of further job advertisements.