View Vacancy -- Senior Data Wrangler/Senior Data Scientist - MLC 2119

Open Date
28/03/2023, 09:00
Close Date
23/04/2023, 23:55
MRC Mary Lyon Centre

 The Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell (MLC) https://www.har.mrc.ac.uk/ is located in an expanding science and innovation campus in Oxfordshire and is an internationally renowned centre at the forefront of genetics research.  As the hub of the new National Mouse Genetics Network, the specialist facilities and capabilities of the MLC support a number of research groups across the UK to accelerate our understanding of human diseases, such as cancer, developmental disorders and neurodegeneration. 

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a great place to work and progress your career.  The MRC encourages the integration of clinical and discovery research to elucidate both disease processes and potential new therapies. The MLC provides vital scientific support for the UK biomedical community and focuses on preclinical research using mouse models, which supports clinical research and therapy discovery.  

The MRC 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.

UK Research and Innovation is a new entity that brings together nine partners to create an independent organisation with a strong voice for research and innovation, more information can be found at www.ukri.org

MRC - 4
Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire
£32,005- £35,143 per annum (depending on skills and experience)
Potential for a Bioinformatics allowance of £6,500 per annum for the right candidate
Fixed Term
Technical & Scientific Professionals
Full Time
Fixed Term to 31 July 2026

Overall Purpose:

We are seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic Senior Data Wrangler/Scientist to join the Data Coordination Centre (DCC) for the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC). As one of the IMPC Data Wranglers, you will support the IMPC data-generating centres in data QC and submissions to the DCC, as well as advising on data requirements. Maintaining and improving these processes requires understanding of concepts in data science and biology.

The goal of the IMPC is to discover functional insight into genes by generating and systematically phenotyping 20,000 knockout mouse strains. One of the most important tools at our scientific disposal in understanding mammalian gene function is the laboratory mouse. The fundamental genetic similarity between mice and humans allows researchers to infer a human gene's function based on studies with laboratory mice. One powerful technique is to turn off, or "knockout", the activity of a mouse gene to assess which biological systems are impacted. This provides insights into how a similar gene in humans may contribute to disease when its activity is altered. 

The DCC delivers a wide range of advice/help/troubleshooting for the IMPC member centres and provides the initial entry point of data collected by these centres.  Over the last 10+ years the DCC has received over 100 million data points into the custom-made database. The DCC team is composed of data wranglers and developers who work together to ensure the data is robust, biologically meaningful and can be disseminated to the wider community. The DCC is based at the Informatics Department of the Mary Lyon Centre at Harwell and is also part of a multi-institute group, including the Big Data Institute in Oxford and the Alan Turing Institute in London, under the direction of Dr Ann-Marie Mallon.

Main Duties/Key Responsibilities: 

  • Act as the primary interface between the DCC and the IMPC member centres
  • Oversee the DCC QC process and reporting of the issues to the centres
  • Identify and lead the development of approaches for ensuring high data quality and ensure that key people are informed of the progress
  • Work with software developers to standardise and troubleshoot reporting and processes
  • Communicate effectively with IMPC stakeholders and the scientific community using various platforms such as email, video conferencing, and attending and presenting at meetings and conferences
  • Lead or act as the primary representative of the DCC on specialist subject area working groups
  • Provide support to the IMPC member centres with all aspects of data uploads, data corrections and troubleshooting
  • Evaluate the success of particular IMPC procedures through analysis and interpretation of key data
  • Build and maintain effective communications and relationships internally and externally
  • Undertake any other duties appropriate to the post as delegated by the DCC team and managers

 Working Relationships: 

The post-holder will be part of the IMPC DCC team reporting to the Lead Data Wrangler. The DCC works with a number of international partners, including LIMS teams and phenotypers from the data-generating centres, and other IMPC data experts at the European Bioinformatics Institute. 

Additional Information: 

Some international travel may be required.

The Senior Data Wrangler position is based at our office in Harwell with an option for hybrid working.

Equality & Diversity:

The MRC values the diverse skills and experience of its employees and is committed to achieving equality of treatment for all.  Our objectives are that all individuals shall have equal opportunities for employment and advancement on the basis of their skills, aptitudes and abilities.  The MRC is committed to the engagement and retention of the best possible talent and to creating an environment that encourages excellence in scientific research through good equality and diversity leadership and management. 

Corporate/Local Responsibilities & Requirements:

The post-holder must at all times carry out their responsibilities with due regard to the MRC’s:

  • Code of Conduct
  • Equality and Diversity policy
  • Health and Safety policy
  • Data Protection and Security policy 

Job descriptions should be reviewed on a regular basis and at the annual appraisal.  Any changes should be made and agreed between the post-holder and their manager. 

The above lists are not exhaustive and the post-holder is required to undertake such duties as may reasonably be requested within the scope of the post.  All employees are required to act professionally, cooperatively and flexibly in line with the requirements of the post and the MRC.

Education/Qualifications/Training Required:

Essential:

  • A strong life sciences or computational degree or equivalent experience 

Desirable:

  • PhD in life sciences or computational field

Knowledge and Experience:

Essential:

  • Experience in data management and/or data curation
  • Experience of data presentation 

Desirable:

  • Skilled in at least one programming language (for example SQL, R, Python)
  • Knowledge of concepts in data science and data analysis

Personal skills/Behaviours/Qualities:

Essential:

  • Flexible and adaptable team worker
  • Willingness to learn new techniques and tools, including programming
  • Capable of working under pressure to meet deadlines 

Desirable:

  • Great written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present complex information in a concise and clear manner to people from different backgrounds
  • Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills
  • Strong interpersonal skills, with evidence of having developed and maintained effective working relationships
The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role.  UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.
The MRC is a great place to work and progress your career, be it in scientific research or the support functions.The MRC is a unique working environment where our researchers are rewarded by world class innovation and collaboration opportunities that the MRC name brings. The MRC 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 MRC (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 MRC and UKRI on your CV in the future.

Our success is dependent upon our ability to embrace diversity and draw on the skills, understanding and experience of all our people. We welcome applications from all sections of the community irrespective of gender, race, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability or age. As "Disability Confident" employers, we guarantee to interview all applicants with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

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.

We will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as an essential part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check.  The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role.  UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

This opportunity is closed to applications.