Research Engineer - Operational air quality forecast technical coordinator (RE2)

Reference: 178_26_ES_AC_RE2

Job title: Research Engineer - Operational air quality forecast technical coordinator (RE2)

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.

The Earth Sciences Department of the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, led by Prof. Francisco Doblas-Reyes, is one of the most active groups in air quality and atmospheric composition modelling, climate prediction and climate services in Europe.

The group contributes to various forecasting activities. MONARCH is the operational model of the first WMO Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for Atmospheric Sand and Dust Forecast (i.e., the Barcelona Dust Regional Center, https://dust.aemet.es), and contributes to the International Cooperative for Aerosol Prediction (ICAP). The group is actively involved in the Copernicus Programme of the European Union and MONARCH is one of the models in Europe contributing to the multi-model ensemble production of the Copernicus Regional Service (CAMS2_40bis; https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu). Copernicus products are widely used by administrations and policy makers across Europe. The group also develops and maintains the CALIOPE air quality system (https://caliope.bsc.es), which provide high-resolution air quality forecasts over the Iberian Peninsula, Catalonia and the Barcelona metropolitan area using the in-house emission modelling system HERMESv3.

Within the Computational Earth Sciences (CES) group, we are looking for a research engineer to contribute to various forecasting activities carried out in collaboration with the Atmospheric Composition (AC) and the Earth System Services (ESS) groups of the department. The selected candidate will be part of the Models and Workflows team and will be responsible for optimizing the architecture and resilience of our production forecasting systems. The candidate will lead the charge in identifying vulnerabilities, designing improvements, coordinating deployments, and ensuring our production is consistently mission-critical and reliable.

• Coordinate the technical deployment of the operational systems upgrades, ensuring all requirements are met

• Collaborate in the planning and execution of the different operational activities

• Diagnose operational technical issues of current production chain, suggest and put in practice measures to solve them with the rest of the team, exchanging information with colleagues

• Optimize the use of IT resources and enhance the reliability of the production maintained in multiple HPC systems

• Interact with computational earth sciences scientists to improve the performance and the reliability of the systems. This includes communication with HPC user support, both at BSC and other collaborating centers

• Contribute to document, update and improve the operational procedures

• Contribute to the design of a long-term roadmap including the transition of the current systems to AI-driven solutions

• Education
  • Master's or PhD in computer science, engineering, or a related discipline

• Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
  • Demonstrated experience in implementing operational or engineering projects with a strong technical component
  • Proven experience in using high-performance computing platforms
  • Experience in the design of the use of IT infrastructures, such as the use of high-performance computing, large data archive systems and software stacks, based on user requirements
  • Ability to develop strong relationships and excellent steering skills
  • Previous experience in the use of geophysical models, workflow systems and scientific data

• Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
  • Experience with Linux systems and scripting languages
  • Experience in implementing operational policies and procedures will be valued
  • Experience with operational environments or IT service monitoring will be valued
  • Fluency in English and Spanish, both spoken and written

• Competences
  • Ability to take initiative, prioritize and work under set deadlines and pressure
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Good set of interpersonal skills to interact and build strong relations with a diverse set of people
  • Ability to work in a professional environment and within a multidisciplinary research team
  • Good problem-solving skills and a proactive approach to new obstacles

• 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: ASAP

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.

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

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.
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