Open Position Junior Research Software Engineer within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan – Funded by the European Union – Next Generation

About IFAE

The Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE) is a public consortium of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, a public university) whose main objective is to carry out research and to contribute to the development of high energy physics from a theoretical, experimental and technological point of view. IFAE has the status of a “University Institute" attached to the UAB and its premises are within the campus of the University.

About PIC

The Port d’Informació Científica (PIC) is a scientific-technological center specialized in developing advanced tools and methods for scientific data analysis. We participate in research projects across multiple disciplines with challenging data environments, including particle physics, astrophysics, biology, materials science, and others. Our main objective is to accelerate research by making data analysis more effective through the use of Machine Learning, High-Throughput Computing, and Big Data techniques, using distributed computing to support collaborative research.

To support these endeavors, PIC designs, implements, and manages high level services for data management and analysis, such as CosmoHub (cosmohub.pic.es), Rucio (rucio.cern.ch) or JupyterHub (jupyter.org/hub). These services often run on scalable platforms, including HTCondor, Kubernetes and Hadoop, to be able to handle the complexity and scale of the data. Additionally, the automation of workflows and processes is a key focus, achieved through the adoption of DevOps techniques, which enhance the reliability and reproducibility of services while optimizing resource management.

PIC is looking for a highly motivated software engineer with a background in programming and big data analytics, and an interest in scientific research.

The successful candidate will join the Services team of the PIC data center and will work in close collaboration with scientists to develop, deploy and operate services to carry on the research data analysis.

Job Description

• Software development of data analysis / management tools
• Customization, configuration and integration of 3rd party software
• Implementation of data intensive workflows
• Service administration on Linux systems
• User support and documentation
• Task automation, DevOps techniques

Competencies and Qualifications Required

• Degree in computer science, physics, or equivalent experience.
• Experience in the following fields:
  • Python programming language
  • Distributed computing tools: Hive, Spark, Dask, HTCondor, etc
  • Relational databases, SQL
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to foster a positive working environment with team members, researchers, and supervisors
• Proactive approach and ability to adapt and enhance IT services to meet user needs
• Competence in spoken and written English

Evaluation criteria:

Score:

• Criterion 1 - Programming experience in research environments according to the CV : 50
• Criterion 2 - Suitability and interest in the position offered: 20
• Criterion 3 - Letters of recommendation: 30

Experience in any of the following is a plus

• Unix Systems Administration
• Other programming languages: bash, C++, Java, JavaScript
• Container technologies: Docker, Apptainer, Kubernetes
• Software development lifecycle and related tools: GitHub / GitLab, CI/CD
• Working experience with research users and international research projects

You will have the support of the Operations and Services teams at PIC. Teamwork is of utmost importance for this job.

Contract characteristics

The recruiting center will be the Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE). The place of work will be the headquarters of PIC at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (https://www.pic.es )

One full-time (40h/week) position. Flexible schedule. Temporal Contract. The position will correspond to a Junior Research Software Engineer position. The position will correspond to “Enginyer” within the IFAE professional categories. Salary will be commensurate with experience and qualifications within the corresponding category range. The successful candidate would start working at PIC as soon as possible. Application and Selection process Applications should be submitted to pic.jobs@pic.es stating the job reference (2024-56_PIC2024-LHC-SVC-1_MRR) as the Subject of the message. The mail should include a cover letter and an updated CV. Sending CVs to the above address implies consent to the legal warning at the bottom of IFAE’s Home Page.

The application must contain a personal identification number (DNI, NIE or passport) in order to proceed to the verification of absence of conflict of interest required by Recovery and Resilience Mechanism of the Spanish Government.

IFAE is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workplace and social integration of people with a disability. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates. People from groups that are typically underrepresented in the labor market in general and in Science and Engineering in particular, such as women, minorities, or people with a disability, are particularly encouraged to apply.

You may contact pic.jobs@pic.es for any questions related to this job opening.

A Selection Committee will evaluate the received applications. If more than one candidate seems equally suitable for the position, the Selection Committee will arrange an on-line interview with each one of them as part of the Selection process.

In compliance with article 121 of the Spanish Public Sector Legal Regime Act, staff with a pre-existing relationship with the Consortium administration (Generalitat de Catalunya and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) will have priority in the awarding of the position.

Funding Statement