Software Engineer - Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute - Utrecht

This role offers the opportunity to play a central role in the development of an innovative open science platform that serves as a global hub for mycology at the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute in Utrecht.

What you will be doing

You will play a central role in the development of an innovative open science platform that serves as a global hub for mycology. This platform will integrate diverse datasets on fungal strains and species, including genomic, phenotypic, ecological, and imaging data, into a unified and accessible infrastructure.

As a software engineer, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and deploying a scalable web-based platform that enables researchers and stakeholders to explore, analyze, and reuse fungal data. You will work closely with a multidisciplinary team of bioinformaticians, data scientists, and domain experts to implement system architecture, develop APIs, and create intuitive user interfaces.

Your work will contribute to advancing fungal research, supporting applications in health, agriculture, biodiversity, and biotechnology, while adhering to Open Science and FAIR data principles.

What you will be contributing

We are looking for a motivated software engineer with a strong interest in scientific data infrastructure and open science. You bring:

• A completed MSc or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Bioinformatics, or a related field
• Proven experience in backend and/or full-stack development (e.g., Python frameworks such as Django or FastAPI, and modern frontend frameworks such as React)
• Experience with database systems (e.g., PostgreSQL) and designing scalable, well-structured data architectures
• Familiarity with API development and integration of heterogeneous data sources
• Affinity with cloud infrastructure and deployment (e.g., Docker, CI/CD, SURF or similar environments)
• Interest in Open Science, FAIR data principles, and research infrastructures
• Awareness of AI-ready data practices (e.g., data standardization, metadata annotation, interoperability) and/or experience supporting data pipelines for machine learning applications
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team

Experience with bioinformatics, life sciences data, AI/ML tools, or familiarity with Large Language Models (LLMs) and their application in data platforms (e.g., semantic search, natural language querying) is considered an advantage.

What do we offer?

An exciting opportunity to contribute to a high-impact Open Science project within an internationally recognized research institute. You will work in a collaborative and interdisciplinary environment at the forefront of fungal biodiversity research and data science.

This is a full-time position (1.0 FTE for 18 months) embedded in a highly motivated team. The Westerdijk Institute has a strong track record in developing widely used databases such as MycoBank and the WI-CBS database. You will have the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technologies, contribute to open-source software, and engage with an international research community.

About the Westerdijk Institute

The Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute is a research institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences located at Utrecht Science Park. Our researchers study biodiversity across the entire spectrum of the fungal kingdom. They develop and use a wide range of techniques to map the biology, ecology, and genetic information of fungi.

With a unique collection of more than 100,000 living fungal strains, yeasts and bacteria, the institute is at the forefront of mycological research worldwide. It is a center of expertise for mycology and contributes to solving socially relevant issues in the areas of health, agriculture and industry.

Our relatively small, internationally diverse institute has 50 employees and a similar number of guest researchers.

Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct can be part of the employment procedure.