Data Analyst

ISS is an innovative and sustainable Portuguese marine biotech startup, dedicated to the discovery, development, production and commercialisation of sustainable and innovative ingredients derived from seaweeds, tailored to the needs of customers in cosmetics, nutraceuticals and pet care. ISS is a spin-off from CIIMAR and is well funded and supported by a lead investor which is a sizeable independent VC firm in Portugal with proven experience in successfully propelling Iberian startups into international markets.

Role summary

This role is for an autonomous and scientifically minded Data Analyst who is comfortable turning scientific literature into reliable, structured data. You will research and mine publications, reports, IP documentation and external databases on the biochemistry and bioactivity of seaweed species and extracts, then validate, clean and structure that data for our PostgreSQL-based platform. You will work alongside an experienced and engaged team, in close collaboration with the Business Development Manager, the Data & AI engineers, R&D and the executive team, to support the company’s strategic goals and roadmap.

Where you fit in

Where you fit in

You will sit in the Business Development team, working on ISS’s digital platform. You will be the scientific data curator who makes sure the biochemical and bioactivity data behind our platform is robust, traceable and ready for automated use. You will bridge science and data: working with Data & AI engineers to improve extraction and automation, and with R&D and Business teams to turn that data into biological insight and substantiated claims.

What is the role?

Your main responsibilities will include but are not limited to the following:

- Research & Data Mining: Conduct targeted research and data mining of scientific publications, analytical reports, IP documentation and external databases, primarily using Scopus and related platforms.

- Literature Curation: Identify, select, categorise and prioritise publications focused on the biochemical characterisation of seaweed species and seaweed-derived extracts.

- Data Validation: Validate extracted biochemical and bioactivity data through reliability, consistency and accuracy checks.

- Scientific Robustness: Ensure the scientific robustness and traceability of all curated data.

- Data Structuring: Sanitise, normalise and structure datasets for automated ingestion into PostgreSQL-based systems.

- Documentation & Governance: Maintain clear documentation standards, data governance practices and version control.

- Automation Support: Work closely with Data & AI engineers to improve extraction quality and automation workflows.

- R&D and Business Support: Collaborate with R&D and Business teams to contextualise biochemical data and support scientific interpretation.

- Bioactivity Metrics: Support the development and comparison of biochemical activity metrics, including IC50 calculations.

- Claims Substantiation: Link compounds, assays and bioactivities to enable biological interpretation and support substantiated marketing claims.

What do we need from you?

To succeed in this role, you will have the following:

Skills (must-have):

- Bachelor’s degree (minimum); an MSc or PhD in Biochemistry, Marine Biology, Chemical Biology, Biotechnology or a related scientific field is preferred.

- Minimum of 3 years of experience in a similar role involving scientific data analysis, validation or research.

- Strong foundation in bioactive compound analysis, enzymatic assays and IC50 interpretation.

- Experience with scientific literature review, data extraction and quality validation.

- Ability to translate biological and biochemical insight into structured, high-quality datasets.

- Literature databases: Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science.

- Chemical and bioinformatics tools: ChemDraw, PubChem, ChEBI, UniProt.

Nice to have:

- Analysis and visualisation skills in Python, R or similar (preferred).

- Familiarity with LLM-assisted data extraction tools and OCR platforms (training provided).

- Laboratory experience with HPLC, GC/MS, spectrophotometry or related techniques.

Character:

- You are a strong communicator who can explain scientific findings clearly to technical and business colleagues.

- You are a team player with the ability to work collaboratively and independently.

- You have a strong sense of responsibility and care deeply about data accuracy and traceability.

- You are a proactive problem solver with a strong analytical mindset.

- You are committed to joining a long-term effort to build a global, market-leading company.

- You are passionate about sustainability and blue economy issues.

What can you expect?

- A well-funded startup supported by an independent VC firm in Portugal as the lead investor.

- Founders with senior and executive-level expertise, where every member raises the team’s EQ.

- Competitive salary and benefits vs. similar startups and SMEs.

- On-site work with flexibility. A high-performing young startup relies on a healthy culture, which starts with the people we hire and how they interact. To have a team of people who like each other, are happy with their work, are committed and motivated, and communicate well, we believe that working together, shoulder to shoulder in the office, is important. We allow remote days but do not support full remote at this stage.

Location

Applications must include a curriculum vitae, detailed and structured, the announcement identification, full name, and contact address, including email address and telephone.

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