Bioinformatics Technician

Pūtaiao Koiora | School of Biological Sciences

Located in Ōtautahi | Christchurch, Aotearoa | New Zealand

Part-time role at 18.75 hours per week (0.5 FTE)

Fixed term until 11 December 2026

Āu Mahi | What You Will Do

The role of the Bioinformatics Support Technician is to provide technical management for undergraduate teaching computer laboratories using a broad range of bioinformatics analysis platforms, assist in the use of bioinformatics analysis platforms in research, where appropriate and as time allows and to act in other flexible technical roles within the School/Faculty as might reasonably be required. This role requires hands-on management of bioinformatics software on high-performance computing (HPC) systems, including installation, configuration, and maintenance of software modules in a Slurm-managed cluster environment.

Mōu | Who You Are

Bachelor’s Degree (NZQA Level 7) in Bioinformatics, Computer Science, computational biology, or related field. Candidates with relevant technical experience in HPC systems administration and bioinformatics may be considered in lieu of specific degree requirements

A minimum of 2 years relevant work experience in bioinformatics support or related technical environment

Demonstrated experience with Linux system administration in HPC or cluster computing environments, including software installation, configuration, and troubleshooting

Proficiency with command-line interfaces, shell scripting (Bash), and HPC job schedulers (Slurm experience highly desirable)

Experience with bioinformatics programming languages (e.g., R, Python) and software dependency management (conda, module systems, containerization)

Experience installing and configuring scientific software in Linux environments, with working knowledge of HPC job schedulers (Slurm experience highly desirable) and batch job submission systems

Understanding of biology, particularly molecular biology and genomics

Current First aid certification

Proven ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing

Knowledge of Health and Safety procedures, legislation and obligations to staff, students and visitors

Strong problem-solving skills with ability to work independently and collaboratively, with attention to detail and excellent timekeeping

Strong problem-solving skills with ability to work independently and collaboratively, following technical documentation and contributing to team knowledge sharing

Work accurately and with attention to detail and excellent timekeeping skills

An alignment with our organisation's values and culture, promoting a positive and inclusive work environment.

Mahi Ngātahi | Who You Will Work With

With nearly 100 staff and several hundred students we are a large and dynamic school offering a diverse range of courses across undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Our passionate teaching staff are active researchers, leading investigations across a wide range of biology disciplines. From understanding nutrient flows in terrestrial-freshwater-marine ecosystems to investigating the amazingly good eyesight of jumping spiders and pioneering treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases like Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis, our faculty is at the forefront of innovative research. To support this work, our state-of-the-art research building is packed full of equipment such as an analytical ultra-centrifuge and confocal laser scanning microscope to measure, manipulate, visualise and quantify the living world.

For more information about our School and team, please visit us here Biological Sciences

Ngā Painga o UC | Why UC

Ngā Uara | Our Values of manaakitanga, whanaungatanga and tiakitanga guide our decisions and behaviour and provide a roadmap for how we do things at UC, affirming our commitment to pastoral care and support for our ākonga and staff. They challenge and inspire us to be the best we can, and make UC a great place to work and study. For more info on Ngā Uara | Our Values visit us here.

We are committed to accessible higher education, service to the community and the encouragement of talent without barriers of distance, wealth, class, gender or ethnicity. The University explicitly aims to produce graduates and support staff who are engaged with their communities, empowered to act for good and determined to make a difference in the world.

We offer a range of fantastic benefits including flexible work practices, study opportunities and generous superannuation and leave provisions. For more information, please visit us: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/joinus/benefits/

For more information about Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury, please visit https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/

The closing date for this position is: 9 July 2026 (midnight, NZ time)

Please note, applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place before the close date.

Pēhea te tono mai | How You Apply

Applications for this position must be submitted via our careers website and should include a cover letter and resume.

Please note, we do not accept applications by email, however we are happy to answer your queries in relation to the application process, please forward these to [email protected]

You must have Aotearoa New Zealand or Australian citizenship/permanent residency to be considered for this role.

Please note, this is an onsite position.

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Job Details

Reference # 32739

Closes on 09 Jul 2026 23:55

Location(s) Christchurch

Expertise Education & Training

Job level(s) Academic

Work type(s) Fixed term part-time