Please see below for current vacancies in GCP. Click on the job title to view the short description and application details. Download the Vacancy Announcement for the full description. Lower down you will find previously published positions.
Software engineers
The Generation Challenge Programme (GCP) is currently seeking to recruit a team of three dynamic and innovative software engineers to develop software for the Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP). Through the $20m IBP project, GCP seeks to improve the efficiency of plant breeding initiatives worldwide by integrating molecular techniques and advanced information management into traditional breeding practices. Essential to this work are software tools that aid molecular plant breeders in deciding which parental lines are to be included in crosses and what subsequent selections are to be made based on all available phenotypic and molecular data. These tools will be developed using the open-source cyber infrastructure of iPlant Collaborative (funded by the National Science Foundation, USA) and will be assembled into an Integrated Breeding Workbench designed as a configurable workflow management system.
The team of software engineers will comprise one Senior Software Engineer/Team Leader and two Software Engineers, each with a specific specialism. Candidates must have at least a BSc in Computer Science and substantial specialist software engineering experience.
- The Senior Software Engineer will be responsible for translating design requirements into software specifications for informatics tools, working with iPlant developers to understand and deploy the iPlant API and SDTK informatics tools, managing a group of software engineers to develop the IB Workbench, and ensuring best practice is followed for open-source software design, development and distribution – and documented – to ensure quality, maintainance and extension of the IB Workbench.
The Senior Software Engineer will report to the GCP Theme Leader for Bioinformatics and Crop Information. She/he will be a member of the IB Workbench implementation team and interact closely with subject-matter specialists as well as with users of the IBP.
- The Software Engineers will be responsible for contributing to the development of an open-source informatics workbench to support integrated plant breeding projects. This includes
- implementing software according to the project specifications;
- contributing to the development of professional processes, procedures, and standards for delivering quality products;
- working within established development standards and methodologies;documenting and promoting best practice and patterns; and,
- evaluating/researching current and new software development technologies.
More details
- One Software Engineer will have significant back-end experience, while the other will focus mainly on GUI.
- Both Software Engineers will report to the Senior Software Engineer. All three positions are based with the iPlant development team at The University of Arizona, Tucson, USA, and are for a fixed-term contract of two years, with possibility for renewal subject to performance and funding.
Application deadline (all three positions): 31st January 2011
For further details on the position, organisation and on how to apply, please download the relevant vacancy announcement:
Previously Published Positions
Data Manager/Training Specialist
Breeding Services Manager (Integrated Breeding Platform)
Scientist - Post-Doctoral (Bioinformatics)
Scientist - Post-Doctoral (Bioinformatics)The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is requesting applications for the position of Post-Doctoral Bioinformatics Scientist, to work on a special project, funded by the Generation Challenge Programme (GCP), on NGS data analysis tools and pipeline.
This position is open only to Indian nationals who hold a Ph.D in Bioinformatics/ Life Sciences with specific practical knowledge of: optimization of tools and development of pipelines for analysis of next generation sequencing (NGS) data, perl scripting, development of bioinformatic tools/ databases for sequence and gene expression analysis. Knowledge in Java programming and database design is an added advantage.
This national position, based at ICRISAT headquarters in India, is for an inital period of one year, with possibility for renewal subject to performance and necessity.
Deadline for applications: August 25, 2010
For further details on the position, organisation and on how to apply, please download the Vacancy Announcement.
Data Manager/Training SpecialistThe Generation Challenge Programme (GCP) is seeking a Data Manager/Training Specialist who will manage the crop registry of GCP, provide technical support and training to project investigators and users of the Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP). She/he will maintain, update and curate the crop registry and provide support to the users in accessing it. She/he will work with the IBP Informatics Coordinator in handling training, writing training materials and providing technical support to the users of the IBP informatics tools.
The Data Manager will report to the Informatics Coordinator of the IBP and will interact with project investigators and users of the Informatics Breeding Platform to ensure that the data generated by the platform are well managed and technical support to the use cases are timely and properly done. This international position, based at GCP headquarters in Mexico, is for a fixed-term contract of three years, with possibility for renewal subject to performance and funding.
Deadline for applications: July 15, 2010
For further details on the position, organisation and on how to apply, please download the Vacancy Announcement.
Breeding Services Manager (Integrated Breeding Platform)
The Generation Challenge Programme (GCP) is seeking a Services Manager who will manage the marker services and trait and metabolite services provided by the GCP as part of the Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP). The marker services of the IBP currently consist of a combination of low-throughput SSR genotyping laboratories and high-throughput SNP genotyping services contracted to service the needs of molecular breeders and other scientists associated with the IBP and other GCP-supported projects.
The Services Manager will report administratively to the Platform Manager but will also work closely with the Integrated Breeding Leader for strategic issues. She/he will interact closely with the users of the IBP (primarily molecular breeders and traditional breeders integrating markers into their breeding programmes) and with services providers to ensure that the users’ needs are met and to assess future needs. This international position, based at GCP headquarters in Mexico, is for a fixed-term contract of three years, with possibility for renewal subject to performance and funding.
Deadline for applications: July 23, 2010
For further details on the position, organisation and on how to apply, please download the Vacancy Announcement.
- Introduction to GCP (slides in PDF, 8.27 MB)
- Brochures
- Posters
- Strategy
- Reviews and evaluations
Meet the people
- Governance
- Governance & Advisory
- Advisory
- Research
- Administration
- Partners