Research Associate in the field of data management and software development

Role: Research Associate in the field of data management and software development
Organisation: Forschungszentrum Jülich (Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres)
Location: Jülich, Germany
Contract Type: Fixed Term (2 years)
Working Hours: 39 Hours / Week
Salary: Pay group 13 TVöD-Bund

Job Overview
Data is the new resource of the 21st century, and its availability seems boundless. If you're passionate about contributing to the establishment of a crucial segment in the data relationship life cycle for plant science, we invite you to join the Omics-/Database-based Bioinformatics division (IBG-4) at the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences at Forschungszentrum Jülich. IBG-4, led by Prof. Dr. Usadel, specializes in data integration, classical bioinformatics, data science, and machine learning. The position offered will be part of the NFDI DataPLANT, which focuses on developing tools and services to enable easy research data management. The project will be embedded in collaborations with several projects focused on developing databases, software, tools, and services for research data management, such as HMC ELN-RO, FAIRagro, and MibiNet.

Responsibilities
- Contribute to connecting infrastructures to allow increased interoperability of data from different scientific domains.
- Work on the development of tools and concepts to increase interoperability between Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) and RO-Crates/FAIR Digital Objects.
- Be involved in the maintenance of other tools within the field of research data management.
- Collaborate closely with domain scientists to ensure that developed tools and models align with real-world scientific workflows in the life sciences, demonstrating their application in concrete scientific use cases.
- Present scientific results at project meetings and international conferences and publish them in scientific journals.

Requirements and Qualifications
- Master’s degree or PhD in Data Science or Bioinformatics with strong experience in software development (front-end and back-end) and research data management.
- Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, HTML, and JavaScript.
- Profound knowledge and experience with data management topics such as RO-Crates, ELNs, ontologies, data repositories, and FAIR data principles.
- Experience in ontology development, controlled vocabularies, and data curation is advantageous.
- Structured and analytical thinking, as well as a systematic, careful working method.
- Willingness to collaborate with existing research units at Forschungszentrum Jülich, within the NFDI, and connected projects.
- Excellent English skills (written and spoken); working knowledge of German is a plus.

Benefits and Offer
- Meaningful tasks: The position offers a varied and diverse role in an international environment.
- Work-life balance: Optimal conditions for balancing work and private life, as well as a family-friendly company policy. The option of flexible working (in terms of location) is generally available after consultation and in line with upcoming tasks and (on-site) appointments.
- Vacation: You will receive 30 days of vacation plus additional days off (e.g. between Christmas and New Year's).
- Flexibility: Flexible working time models, including options close to full-time, allow you to tailor your working hours to suit your individual needs.
- Knowledge & further training: Your professional development is important – targeted, individual support is provided.
- Successful start: Structured training for tasks, support from the beginning, Welcome Days, and a Welcome Guide.
- Fair remuneration: Classified in pay grade 13 of the TVöD-Bund (Collective Agreement for the Public Service) depending on qualifications and tasks.
- Additional benefits: Company pension scheme with employer contribution and an additional year-end bonus under the collective pay agreement amounting to 75%.
- Support for international employees: International Advisory Service to help get started.
- Career Center: Explicit support regarding career development opportunities.
- Diversity and Inclusion: The organization welcomes applications from people with diverse backgrounds and values a diverse and inclusive working environment with equal opportunities.