Research Officer in Numerical Support (0.8 - 1.0 FTE)

In recent years, the Department of Earth Sciences (DES) at Utrecht University has seen a substantial increase in computational research related to topics from the energy transition to blue-sky science. We expect that this demand will grow in the near future. As a Research Officer, you will support scientists at the DES in computational research and education on topics ranging from sustainable use of the subsurface in the energy transition to understanding Earth’s processes across a broad range of space and time scales. Ideally, you will help transfer in-house codes into High Performance Computing (HPC) and implement new computational frameworks, such as GPU- and cloud-based computing. Finally, you will be working in an engaging environment collaborating with scientists and students at various educational stages (i.e., PhD, MSc, and BSc). Tasks for this position involve, but are not limited to:

• development, optimization, parallelization, maintenance, compilation, and documentation of new and existing codes, including porting of existing codes to the latest computational frameworks, such as CPU- and GPU-based High-Performance Computing (HPC) as well as cloud computing options;
• train students and support scientists in developing, running, and analyzing numerical simulations.

The Department of Earth Sciences has its own computational cluster ‘eejit’ and staff uses and anticipates to extend its usage of the Dutch National Super Computer. The department also hosts advanced laboratory and imaging facilities, including the new Earth Simulation Laboratory cluster, producing increasingly larger data sets that require machine learning techniques to aid in analysis.

• experience in the development and maintenance of software/systems engineering with High-Performance Computing (HPC) elements, preferably in the context of scientific- and/or research-related products;
• experience with state-of-the-art HPC hardware, such as multi-GPU clusters or cloud environments;
• experience with deploying and supporting open-source software, running on remote platforms;
• a strong interest in and affinity with open-source scientific research and teaching (a PhD is optional) and for knowledge sharing of best practices in scientific software development;
• a critical, open, and interdisciplinary mindset when setting up and analyzing numerical simulations;
• strong teamwork affinity to work in a diverse environment of scientists and students;
• excellent written and spoken English skills, as well as good general communicational skills.

We offer a temporary position (0.8 - 1.0 FTE) for one year in an international working environment. Permanent employment will be offered based upon good performance, according to the Faculty’s performance indicators, after one year. The gross salary - depending on previous qualifications and experience  - ranges between €3,098 and €4,257 (scale 9.0 – 10.9 according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) per month for full-time employment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions  (multiple choice model). More information about working at Utrecht University .

• Wednesday 26 October between 15.00 - 16.00 CEST.
  Please send an email to Sophie Ketting via s.j.ketting@uu.nl if you want to participate in the meeting. The Teams link will then be sent to you.

You can ask us about our profiles and tasks of the offered position, the possibilities of professional development, and moving to and living in Utrecht (housing, visa, schools, partner opportunities). We look forward to meeting you!