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PhD student for Climate Services Team (R1)

On-site in Barcelona·Full-time·Added today (last checked 13 Nov)

Barcelona Supercomputing Center

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Our summary

Contract: Full-time
English: Required
Benefits: Private health insurance, meal vouchers

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The role

Reference: 518_26_ES_CS_R1

Job title: PhD student for Climate Services Team (R1)

About BSC

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is the leading supercomputing center in Spain. It houses MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, was a founding and hosting member of the former European HPC infrastructure PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), and is now hosting entity for EuroHPC JU, the Joint Undertaking that leads large-scale investments and HPC provision in Europe. The mission of BSC is to research, develop and manage information technologies in order to facilitate scientific progress. BSC combines HPC service provision and R&D into both computer and computational science (life, earth and engineering sciences) under one roof, and currently has over 1000 staff from 60 countries.

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We are particularly interested for this role in the strengths and lived experiences of women and underrepresented groups to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights in science and IT research. In instances of equal merit, the incorporation of the under-represented sex will be favoured.

We promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, fostering an environment where each and every one of us is appreciated for who we are, regardless of our differences.

If you consider that you do not meet all the requirements, we encourage you to continue applying for the job offer. We value diversity of experiences and skills, and you could bring unique perspectives to our team.

Context And Mission

The aim of the Earth System Services Group (ESS) within the Earth Sciences Department is to research the impact of weather, atmospheric chemistry and climate upon socio-economic sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, water resources, urban development and climate risk management and demonstrate the ongoing value of earth system services to society and the economy.

We are seeking a highly motivated doctoral student to join our team and contribute to the development of next-generation climate services, with a primary focus on modeling extremes at the urban climate scale.

The successful candidate will play a key role in the team's contribution to the TerraDT project, linked to the Destination Earth initiative. The research will focus on the development of methods and models to estimate extreme heat in urban areas and under different scenarios. The successful candidate will collaborate with leading international scientists and stakeholders across Europe, participating in the development of innovative climate science and operational climate services with real-world impact.

This position offers an outstanding opportunity to join one of Europe's leading and most dynamic research groups in climate services, working at the interface between frontier climate science and societal applications. The successful candidate will benefit from expert mentoring, advanced training, an international and multidisciplinary research environment, and the wide range of professional development opportunities and staff benefits offered by BSC-CNS.

We welcome applications from highly motivated researchers with a strong background in climate science, experience in climate services, and a keen interest in translating scientific advances into operational solutions that benefit society.

Key Duties

Integrate and align heterogeneous data sources, combining citizen science observations with existing weather station data
Explore machine learning methods for downscaling of extreme temperature from coarse datasets to a high-resolution urban grid;
Design, implement, and evaluate spatially aware deep learning architectures (e.g., convolutional neural networks) for urban climate modelling
Validate and apply the models developed to DestinE climate data and test for a range of future scenarios
Develop approaches for uncertainty quantification
Couple the resulting temperature fields to carbon and forest models, ensuring consistent and usable downstream inputs
Design and build an interactive user interface in collaboration with end users, incorporating user feedback into iterative development
Disseminate the results in peer-reviewed scientific papers and international conferences
Teamwork: Interaction with scientists in the group and the department to favour synergies

Requirements

Education
- Masters degree in Physics, Environmental Sciences, Mathematics, Machine Learning, Computer Sciences or a related discipline.
Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
- Demonstrated interest or experience in at least two of the following: machine learning, climate science, climate predictions or projections, or data-driven scientific computing
- Experience handling, analysing and validating datasets.
- Proficiency in scientific programming in a suitable language (e.g., Python), familiarity with working in a Linux environment
- Experience with scientific ML frameworks
- Experience working with large geospatial or climate datasets, including gridded observational products and model outputs
- Foundational understanding of statistics and probabilistic modelling, ideally applied to uncertainty quantification
- Good written and verbal communication skills in English. Spanish, Catalan and/or French are desirable.
- Ability to work in a professional environment within a multidisciplinary and international team
Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
- Knowledge in climate statistics and processes, or geophysical data analysis
- Ability to design reproducible and scalable workflows within HPC environments
- Interest in user-driven climate services and the translation of technical developments into operational products
Competences
- Problem-solving, proactive, result-oriented approach to work.
- Capability to work independently and as a team in an international, very interactive and fast-paced environment
- Good communication skills.

Conditions

The position will be located at BSC within the Earth Sciences Department
We offer a full-time contract (35h/week), a good working environment, a highly stimulating environment with state-of-the-art infrastructure, flexible working hours, extensive training plan, restaurant tickets, private health insurance, support to the relocation procedures
Duration: Open-ended contract due to technical and scientific activities linked to the project and budget duration
Holidays: 22 days of holidays + 6 personal days + 24th and 31st of December per our collective agreement
Salary: we offer a competitive salary commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate and according to the cost of living in Barcelona
Starting date: January 2027

Applications procedure and process

All applications must be submitted via the BSC website and contain:

A full CV in English including contact details
A cover/motivation letter with a statement of interest in English, clearly specifying for which specific area and topics the applicant wishes to be considered. Additionally, two references for further contacts must be included. Applications without this document will not be considered.

Development of the recruitment process

The selection will be carried out through a competitive examination system ("Concurso-Oposición"). The recruitment process consists of two phases:

Curriculum Analysis: Evaluation of previous experience and/or scientific history, degree, training, and other professional information relevant to the position. - 40 points
Interview phase: The highest-rated candidates at the curriculum level will be invited to the interview phase, conducted by the corresponding department and Human Resources. In this phase, technical competencies, knowledge, skills, and professional experience related to the position, as well as the required personal competencies, will be evaluated. - 60 points. A minimum of 30 points out of 60 must be obtained to be eligible for the position.

The recruitment panel will be composed of at least three people, ensuring at least 25% representation of women.

In accordance with OTM-R principles, a gender-balanced recruitment panel is formed for each vacancy at the beginning of the process. After reviewing the content of the applications, the panel will begin the interviews, with at least one technical and one administrative interview. At a minimum, a personality questionnaire as well as a technical exercise will be conducted during the process.

The panel will make a final decision, and all individuals who participated in the interview phase will receive feedback with details on the acceptance or rejection of their profile.

At BSC, we seek continuous improvement in our recruitment processes. For any suggestions or comments/complaints about our recruitment processes, please contact recruitment [at] bsc [dot] es.
For more information, please follow this link.

Deadline

The vacancy will remain open until a suitable candidate has been hired. Applications will be regularly reviewed and potential candidates will be contacted.

OTM-R principles for selection processes

BSC-CNS is committed to the principles of the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers of the European Commission and the Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment principles (OTM-R). This is applied for any potential candidate in all our processes, for example by creating gender-balanced recruitment panels and recognizing career breaks etc.
BSC-CNS is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by applicable state or local law.
For more information follow this link

Hiring process

3 steps2 interviewsa task to do

Application
Screening · With a recruitment panel
Technical interview
With department representatives · Video call
Online interview with the department; may include a technical test.
HR interview
With HR · Video call
Online competency and attitude-based interview.
Profile questionnaire
Online test · 5 min
A five-minute questionnaire on motivation sent during the interview phase.
Contract proposal · With HR

Every interviewed candidate is told the outcome by phone or email.
Feedback or appeal requests are answered within two weeks.

About Barcelona Supercomputing Center

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) is a leading research center in high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence, located in Barcelona, Spain. It operates the MareNostrum supercomputer, one of the most powerful in Europe, and conducts research across earth sciences, life sciences, computer science, and computational social sciences. BSC is a key player in European HPC initiatives and collaborates with industry and academia worldwide.

BSC's Spain presence is centered in Barcelona, where it employs a diverse, international team of researchers and engineers. The center offers a dynamic, multidisciplinary environment with a strong focus on scientific excellence and innovation. For international professionals, BSC provides opportunities to work on cutting-edge projects in AI, climate modeling, and supercomputing, with English as a common working language and a supportive relocation environment.

Industry: Research and HPC
Founded: 2005
Employees: 500–1,000
Headquarters: Barcelona, Spain
In Spain: Barcelona

Good to know if you are moving

BSC is located in Barcelona, a vibrant Mediterranean city with a high quality of life and a large international community.
The working language at BSC is English, making it accessible for international researchers and engineers.
BSC offers competitive salaries and benefits, including support for relocation and visa processing for international staff.
The center provides opportunities for professional development, including training programs and participation in European research projects.
BSC is a non-profit research center, offering a stable and collaborative work environment focused on scientific impact.

All open roles at Barcelona Supercomputing Center