Scientific Computing Officer | Structural Studies | Scientific Computing | LMB 2765

The post holder will report to the Head of Scientific Computing, and in their absence to the Senior Scientific Computing Officer. They will be required to produce oral and written reports for other members of management. The post holder will also be expected to give presentations to the Unix users of current and planned work as well as day to day informal contact and regular meetings. The post is funded by the Neurobiology Division and the postholder, Head of Scientific Computing and Joint Head of Neurobiology will meet regularly (e.g. quarterly) to set high level priorities that support work processing petabyte scale brain image datasets. In addition, the post holder will need to communicate with users to ascertain any problems they might be having and determine solutions, such as user training. The post holder will interact with all members of the institute and will form part of the Scientific Computing Group.

Essential: Experience of server administration and/or system development.

Desirable: Experience of integrating Linux servers into a heterogeneous client environment (Linux / Windows / Mac) using tools such as NFS and Samba. Administration experience with authentication systems such as LDAP, Kerberos and Active Directory. Experience of training large language machine learning models with large datasets especially image volumes. Experience in managing imagery for large-scale connectomics.

Essential: Experience of supporting Linux and Unix systems.

Desirable: Experience of supporting & installing Red Hat / Centos / Debian Linux, Windows 10 and OSX. Experience of optimising training/inference of deep learning models. Experience with databases e.g. PostgreSQL, data visualisation and image alignment algorithms. Familiarity with the use of containers e.g. apptainer / singularity.

Essential: Experience of using HPC clusters or cluster-based storage systems.

Desirable: Experience of building and administering clustered storage system (e.g. Ceph, Beegfs, ZFS or Lustre). Experience of administering and installing large scale Linux based HPC, e.g. SGE, SLURM or LFS.

Essential: Experience working in an IT support, academic or research environment.

Desirable: Research experience in Biology. People Skills, communication skills (written and verbal)

Essential: • Excellent communication skills – both verbal and written. Ability to communicate difficult concepts successfully at all levels. • Experience/ability to devise and implement policies and procedures.

Desirable: • Writing policy and procedure and system documentation. • Good organisational skills. Experience of managing work projects. Issue Management

Essential: Can work under pressure, ability to prioritise and multi-task.

Desirable: Good organisational skills. Experience of managing work projects.

Essential: • Track record in keeping self-updated and informed about the latest developments in IT. • Willingness to learn and develop own skills in areas useful to the unit. • Willingness to learn new skills not studied before. Personal skills / behaviours / qualities:

Essential: Experience/ability to devise and implement policies and procedures.

Desirable: • Writing policy and procedure and system documentation. • Good organisational skills. • Experience of managing work projects. • The successful candidate is expected to be highly motivated, creative and capable of contributing productively in a team environment. • A well-organised individual willing to undertake continuing personal development. • Comfortable with continuous improvement and able to adapt to the changing priorities and demands of a dynamic research environment. • Articulate and able to communicate at technical and non-technical levels. • A pragmatic and diplomatic approach to problem solving.

The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) is one of the birthplaces of modern molecular biology and has played an important role in the development of many new techniques, most notably X-ray crystallography of proteins, DNA sequencing and monoclonal antibodies.

The LMB has a clear goal of understanding biological processes at the molecular level, with the ultimate aim of using this knowledge to tackle specific problems in human health and disease. We aim to tackle difficult, long-term problems, which often require investment over many years.

There are four scientific Divisions - Structural Studies, Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry, Cell Biology and Neurobiology. However, scientific collaboration between the different Divisions is extensive. Scientists are well supported by excellent scientific facilities and by the LMB Operations Group which maintains the core infrastructure and services of the institute.

Our state-of-the-art laboratory provides an unsurpassed environment for both young and established researchers. Scientists are drawn to the LMB from all over the world, thus creating a lively and international community for the exchange of ideas and technical innovation.

The LMB is a great place to work and progress your career, be it in scientific research or the support functions. The LMB is a unique working environment where our researchers are rewarded by world class innovation and collaboration opportunities that the LMB name brings. The LMB is an excellent place to develop yourself further and a range of training & development opportunities will be available to you, including professional registration with the Science Council.

Choosing to come to work at the LMB (part of UKRI) means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme and excellent holiday entitlement to access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme, as well as the chance to put the LMB and UKRI on your CV in the future.

We actively support equality, diversity and inclusion in all our activities, processes and culture. We encourage applications from all sections of society irrespective of gender, race, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability or age. We are a disability inclusive employer and encourage disabled people to apply for this role. You are very welcome to contact us for information about the application process and any adjustments you may require; recruit@mrclmb.ac.uk .

UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider whether this conflicts with your personal values or beliefs.

UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.

Supporting some of the world’s most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.

More information can be found at www.ukri.org .

Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit benefits of working for UKRI .

At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit ‘How we support EDI in the workforce’.

As users of the disability confident scheme, any candidate who opts into the scheme and best meets the essential criteria, will be shortlisted for interview. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.