Join Our Team at SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics
The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics is an internationally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to biological and biomedical data science. Our passionate data scientists are at the forefront of creating knowledge and solving complex questions across various fields, from biodiversity and evolution to medicine. We provide essential databases and software platforms alongside bioinformatics expertise and services to academic, clinical, and industry groups. SIB unites a community of around 900 scientists in Switzerland, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing. Our institute plays a crucial role in maintaining Switzerland's leadership in innovation by advancing biological research and enhancing health.
If you are curious about what it’s like to work at SIB, feel free to explore more through our website.
Position: Senior Software Developer
Employer: SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics
Work Location: Basel, Switzerland
Employment Fraction: 80% - 100%
Type of Contract: Permanent
About Us
The Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN) is a national initiative mandated by the State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI) to facilitate the secure reuse of health data for research and innovation. Our mission is to ensure that clinical information collected from hospitals across Switzerland is made FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and comparable among institutions.
SPHN promotes interoperability through two complementary levels:
- Semantic interoperability: Implementing common data models, ontologies, and terminologies to ensure health data can be linked, queried, and understood consistently across institutions.
- Computational interoperability: Utilizing the BioMedIT infrastructure to connect Swiss hospitals and research institutions, providing secure environments for privacy-preserving data transfer, storage, and analysis.
To enhance its semantic capabilities, SPHN is seeking a Senior Software Developer with deep expertise in Semantic Web technologies, particularly SPARQL, alongside a solid understanding of data pipeline infrastructures and architectures. The successful candidate will contribute to the design and implementation of solutions that operationalize semantic interoperability within the Swiss health data ecosystem.
Responsibilities
- Contribute to the design and implementation of ontologies, data models, and APIs supporting the semantic interoperability of health data.
- Develop and maintain semantic data services, focusing on SPARQL query optimization and integration with RDF triple stores (e.g., GraphDB, Virtuoso).
- Build tools and workflows that facilitate the alignment of health datasets with international medical informatics standards (FHIR, SNOMED CT, LOINC, HealthDCAT).
- Collaborate with clinicians, researchers, and IT specialists to translate semantic interoperability requirements into robust technical solutions.
- Lead the development and on-premises implementation of ETLs and software such as the SPHN Connector and Einstein, enabling secure and standardized data exploration across Switzerland.
Profile Requirements
Education and Experience
Minimum of a Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Bioinformatics, or a related field, plus five years of experience in software development or data infrastructure projects. Equivalent qualifications and additional relevant work experience are also acceptable.
Technical Requirements
- Strong expertise in Semantic Web technologies (RDF, SPARQL, SHACL).
- Experience with triple stores (e.g., Virtuoso, GraphDB, Jena Fuseki, Stardog).
- Solid Python development skills, ideally including frameworks such as FastAPI or Django/Flask, along with familiarity with data processing libraries.
- Good understanding of software architectures, ideally with experience in cloud and HPC infrastructures and OpenStack.
- Experience with agile development, version control (Git), and CI/CD pipelines for automated testing and deployment.
Nice to Have
- Familiarity with medical informatics standards (HL7 FHIR, SNOMED CT, LOINC) is advantageous.
- Practical experience with containerization technologies (Docker, Singularity, or Kubernetes) is a plus.
Soft Skills
- Self-starter with the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively.
- Strong problem-solving and analytical skills; detail-oriented.
- Ability to thrive in an agile environment.
- Excellent communication and teamwork abilities.
- Proficiency in English, both spoken and written; proficiency in French, German, or Italian is a plus.
- Eager to learn and adopt new technologies.
How to Apply
If you are interested in this challenging and highly rewarding position, please apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.
Application Deadline: 9 March 2026