Research Ontology Specialist

For over 100 years we have been driving change to defeat diabetes, but we know that what got us here today is not necessarily what will make us successful in the future. We are now transforming our business and taking our expertise into new territories including obesity and rare blood and endocrine diseases.  

Our story is one of incredible growth and success, which has culminated in receiving many prestigious awards, such as Best Places to Work and Vitality – Britain’s Healthiest Workplace.

The position

We are looking for two experienced Ontologist, with expertise in implementing domain-specific terminologies to enhance core knowledge models? If so, this is the right role for you, because we are looking for two professionals to join our team.  

In this role, you will leverage your extensive knowledge of Bio-Ontologies and ontology pipelines to construct robust, scalable ontology frameworks. You will play a critical role in the development of ontologies that drive our cutting-edge research and data management initiatives. 

As an Ontology Specialist, you will work closely with cross-functional teams, leveraging your extensive knowledge of the Web Ontology Language (OWL), Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS), and other World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards. Your contributions will help harmonize complex datasets and improve semantic interoperability throughout our organization.

Specifically, the Research Ontologist will:

•    Develop and Implement Ontology Pipelines: Design and build robust ontology pipelines that support the development and integration of application ontologies, ensuring alignment with organizational goals. 
•    Leverage Bio Ontologies: Utilize your extensive knowledge of Bio Ontologies, to create and refine domain-specific ontologies that meet our research and data management needs. 
•    Apply W3C Standards: Employ OWL, SKOS, and other relevant W3C standards to ensure that all ontological models adhere to industry best practices for semantic web technologies. 
•    Optimize Ontology Development: Continuously improve and optimize ontology development processes, ensuring that the ontology pipelines are efficient, scalable, and maintainable. 
•    Maintain Ontology Quality: Oversee the quality assurance of ontological models, including validation, consistency checks, and version control, to maintain the integrity and usability of the ontologies. 

In this role, you will report directly to the Manager of Ontology & Semantic Engineering, joining a dynamic multicultural team of four professionals and one contractor. The team brings diverse expertise, ranging from ontology engineering and programming to cloud technologies.

This role is based in our new London office at King’s Cross, with a hybrid work model requiring 2-3 days per week in the office.

Qualifications

To thrive and succeed in this role, we would expect you to have:

• Extensive hands-on experience in Bio Ontologies. It will be advantageous if you have experience with OBO Foundry.
• A solid background in biological or biomedical sciences, with the ability to understand and model complex biological concepts.
• In-depth understanding of OWL, SKOS, and other relevant W3C standards for ontology development.
• Proficient experience in using ontology development tools such as Protégé, Topbraid, ROBOT, and other relevant software for ontology editing and management.

This role requires the ability to influence diverse stakeholders to adopt new concepts and methodologies, even in challenging circumstances. Strong persuasive skills within your area of expertise, coupled with exceptional global and cross-functional collaboration and problem-solving capabilities, are essential.

About the department

The main duties of the Data Governance and Ontology team involve collaborating with various departments at Novo Nordisk to advance capabilities in utilizing and reusing cross-domain knowledge. This effort plays a crucial role in facilitating informed decision-making and promoting discovery within the organization.

Digital Science & Innovation (DSI) is supporting the digital journey across all our therapy areas in R&ED. In DSI, we work in multidisciplinary teams – in strong collaboration with all areas across R&ED and R&ED IT. We participate in drug development projects across the value chain, from early discovery to pre-clinical development. We engage in external collaborations to ensure access to the latest research and technology enablers, and we automate our labs and processes, and we focus on developing and retaining top talent.

Working at Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is its people. We know that life is anything but linear and balancing what is important at different stages of our career is never easy. That’s why we make room for diverse life situations, always putting people first. We value our employees for the unique skills they bring to the table, and we work continuously to bring out the best in them. Working at Novo Nordisk is working toward something bigger than ourselves, and it’s a collective effort. Together, we go further. Together, we’re life changing.

What We Offer

• Bonus: We do our best work to succeed together. When goals are reached, you’ll be rewarded through our bonus scheme.
• Your workplace: Our offices will be your primary workplace but with flexibility to work 2-3 days at home during your working week.
• Pension: a market leading pension scheme with generous employer contributions
• Wellness: We want you to be your best self, so you’ll have access to an award-winning Wellness programme, including Private Medical Insurance.
• Insurances: All colleagues are covered by our private medical, life and disability insurance which provides protection and peace of mind.
• Inclusive culture: our culture is one of care, support and respect for our people.  We are committed to making your workplace safe and believe that a transparent, inclusive culture and leadership is the way to empower every individual to do their very best.

Application support

We are an equal opportunities employer, and we commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants.  If you're a person with a disability, if you're neurodivergent, and need any adjustments to be made during the application and selection process, please send an email to Ola, akrw@novonordisk.com.  Please include your name, the role you are interested in and the type of adjustment your need. 

Deadline

Please apply before 18th October 2024

We commit to an inclusive recruitment process and equality of opportunity for all our job applicants. 

At Novo Nordisk we recognize that it is no longer good enough to aspire to be the best company in the world. We need to aspire to be the best company for the world and we know that this is only possible with talented employees with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and cultures. We are therefore committed to creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity of our employees, the patients we serve and communities we operate in. Together, we’re life changing.