Software Developer for the MediaDive Database (m/f/d)

The Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH, Braunschweig offers the position starting January 1, 2027 for a

Software Developer for the Media*Dive* Database (m/f/d)

The position has a salary level according to TV-L 13 and is part of the NFDI4Microbiota project (https://nfdi4microbiota.de/). It is initially limited to 2 years and is offered as full time (39.8 hours per week). The position is located in Braunschweig and is not suitable for full remote work.

MediaDive (https://mediadive.dsmz.de/) is the world's largest database for cultivation media, providing standardized recipes and growth conditions for thousands of microorganisms. It serves as a vital resource for microbiologists worldwide. The further development of MediaDive is embedded in the NFDI4Microbiota consortium (https://nfdi4microbiota.de/), which is part of the German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). The consortium's mission is to support the microbiological research community by providing access to data, analysis tools, and standards according to the FAIR principles.

As a developer for MediaDive, you will be responsible for maintaining, expanding, and modernizing the web application, APIs, and underlying database infrastructure. Together with the DSMZ team of biologists and software engineers, as well as partners within the NFDI4Microbiota consortium, you will develop new features and align services with the needs of the microbiological research community.

Your responsibilities:

• Further development of the MediaDive web application, backend, and RESTful API
• Expanding data standardization, ontology integration, and FAIRness of cultivation data within the framework of the NFDI4Microbiota project
• Coordinate the development of MediaDive with other resources of the DSMZ Digital Diversity platform and external NFDI services
• Developing user-friendly tools for recipe calculation, media prediction, and data visualization

Your profile:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in computer science, bioinformatics, or a related field
• Strong programming skills in backend and frontend web development
• Experience with document and relational databases
• Experience with version control (Git), Linux environments, and containerization (Docker)
• Interest in microbiological data, data standardization (FAIR principles), and ontologies is beneficial
• Accuracy, quality-orientation, and a structured way of working
• Intrinsic motivation and team-spirit
• Fluent in English / knowledge of German is beneficial
• Willingness to undertake occasional business travel (e.g., to NFDI4Microbiota consortium meetings)

We offer:

• An interdisciplinary working environment with frequent exchange of experience
• Participation in building a national research data infrastructure (NFDI)
• Motivated colleagues and a pleasant working atmosphere in a scientific area
• Further development and support of scientific data services at the DSMZ
• Plenty of room for creativity & challenging topics
• Opportunities for further education and training
• An employer certified according to audit berufundfamilie®, therefore flexible possibilities to combine work and family life.

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The position is located in Braunschweig and requires a substantial amount of on-site work. Mobile office work is possible for up to 3 days per week.

About the DSMZ and new biodata infrastructure DSMZ *Digital Diversity*:

The Leibniz-Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures establishes an integrated suite of scientific databases of fundamental relevance for life sciences. The databases include BRENDA, SILVA, LPSN, Bac*Dive* and TYGS which are developed in a highly coordinated manner. A dedicated team of 22 scientists and software engineers creates a research data infrastructure which will significantly improve the access to curated and standardized biological data. The resulting data platform DSMZ *Digital Diversity* will provide an integrated resource and will allow to link and comprehensively analyze the different types of scientific data from all domains of life sciences. For more information visit hub.dsmz.de.

The DSMZ is funded by the State of Lower Saxony and the German Federal government and is a member of the Leibniz Association. The DSMZ strives to increase the proportion of female scientists and encourages female candidates to apply. At the same time, we are committed to reflecting the diversity of society. We therefore warmly welcome all applications, regardless of gender, cultural or social background, religion, beliefs or sexual identity. Disabled applicants with identical technical and personal qualifications will be preferentially selected. In the case of degrees obtained abroad, proof of equivalence with a German degree must be enclosed. For further information, please refer to the website of the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB).

The DSMZ is an equal opportunity employer, supports balanced work-life career development, and holds the certificate of the audit berufundfamilie®.

For further information please contact Lorenz Reimer ([email protected]). Please send your complete application documents including a CV, motivation letter, copies of certificates, and (if applicable) links to software projects/GitHub with application number 11/26 as a single pdf file to [email protected] (max. 10 MB).

Applications are welcome in English or German and will be accepted on a rolling basis so early applicants are encouraged! The deadline for this application is 20.11.2026.