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AI Engineer - Bioinformatics Chat Platform, small Techbio scaleup
Competitive salary + Equity, Private Health
Oxfordshire - hybrid working
Availability to start within 1-4 weeks preferred
A one-off opportunity for a mid to senior level engineer to join a seriously innovative Techbio company (~30 people) developing novel cancer biologics.
We're seeking an AI Engineer to lead development of their conversational AI platform for structural biology and bioinformatics. This platform will democratize access to complex protein structure analysis through natural language interactions, integrating with existing databases and computational pipelines. The successful applicant will have core expertise in AI, LLMs, NLP frameworks - together with a software focus (Python, APIs, SQL, cloud) including proven experience of delivering products to clients.
A flavour of the role:
Platform Development
? Design and implement LLM-powered conversational interfaces for bioinformatics workflows
? Build function-calling systems that integrate Claude/OpenAI models with structural biology tools
? Develop context-aware chat systems that maintain conversation history across sessions
? Create modular, scalable architectures for bioinformatics data processing
Bioinformatics Integration
? Integrate with protein structure databases (PDB, AlphaFold, custom TCR structures)
? Build APIs connecting LLMs to molecular visualization tools (PyMOL, ChimeraX, NGLView)
? Develop specialized functions for TCR-peptide-HLA interface analysis
? Create automated workflows for immune repertoire data processing
Data Infrastructure
? Design PostgreSQL schemas for storing structural and sequence data
? Implement efficient data retrieval systems for large-scale protein datasets
? Build real-time data pipelines for immune repertoire analysis
? Optimize database performance for molecular structure queries
User Experience
? Create intuitive chat interfaces using Streamlit or similar frameworks
? Develop specialized prompting strategies for bioinformatics use cases
? Build collaborative features for team-based structural analysis
? Design educational components that explain complex biology concepts
Required Technical Skills:
AI/ML Core
? 3+ years hands-on experience (predominantly industry gained) with LLMs (GPT, BERT, T5, Claude) and NLP frameworks
? Proficiency in prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and function-calling architectures
? Experience with Hugging Face, OpenAI APIs, and transformer libraries
? Understanding of model customization for domain-specific tasks
? Experience with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems
? Knowledge of optimization techniques for reducing LLM latency and computational costs
Software Engineering & Architecture
? Strong Python development skills (pandas, numpy, scikit-learn, PyTorch/TensorFlow)
? Experience with web frameworks (Streamlit, FastAPI, or Flask) and frontend technologies
? Database design and optimization (PostgreSQL preferred) for large protein datasets
? API development and integration, especially for interfacing LLMs with external systems
? Microservices architecture and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)
? Version control, CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing practices
? Understanding of software design patterns for scalable, maintainable LLM applications
Cloud & DevOps
? Experience with cloud computing platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and big data technologies
? Familiarity with DevOps practices and deployment of ML applications
? Data preprocessing and pipeline automation for structured/unstructured biological data
? Understanding of data security and compliance requirements for sensitive datasets
Bioinformatics & domain knowledge is strongly advantageous, though is NOT a pre-requisite:
? Experience with structural biology tools (BioPython, MDAnalysis, protein modelling software)
? Understanding of protein structure file formats (PDB, mmCIF) and sequence analysis
? Familiarity with molecular visualization libraries and genomic data interpretation
? Knowledge of protein engineering, drug discovery processes, or systems biology
? Experience applying NLP to biological data and protein sequences
? Basic knowledge of immunology, TCR biology, or protein-protein interactions
We’re keen to talk to applicants fired up by working at the cutting edge of AI and protein engineering, shaping the future of drug discovery, with a direct impact on therapeutic development pipeline and biotechnology innovation. In addition to a competitive salary, equity, private health, you will enjoy access to state-of-the-art computational resources and cutting-edge biological datasets; latest bioinformatics software, LLM frameworks, and protein modelling tools; the opportunity to work with novel therapeutic targets and protein engineering challenges.
