Research Software Engineer

Who are we?

The Netherlands eScience Center is the national centre for innovative software solutions in academic research. We aim to bridge the gap in knowledge and expertise between digital technologies on the one hand and scientific and scholarly inquiry on the other. We create the tools and digital methodologies that enable researchers across all disciplines to answer research questions, harnessing our unique blend of academic expertise and software development skills. We attach great importance to software quality and sustainability, and academic recognition of research software.

We stand for a research-focused, professional, collaborative, open and resourceful approach to everything we do, and we require that our staff can identify with these eScience Center values. Our people have a diverse background in education, gender, nationality and ethnicity. Together, we form an inclusive group with a common drive.

Our Research Software Engineers are distributed into four different sections, Life Sciences, Social Sciences & Humanities, Environment & Sustainability, and Natural Sciences & Engineering, with many opportunities to collaborate and exchange knowledge between the different sections.

We always work at the crossroads of digital technologies and academic research with projects ranging from machine learning for climate science to GPU for high-energy physics or linked data for digital humanities.

What does your work look like?

You will be a part of a multidisciplinary team. You will typically work on 2 or 3 projects simultaneously. Projects vary in size from three-month consultancy projects to large multi-year collaborations. You will share your time between our office in Amsterdam, projects locations in various universities in the Netherlands and working from home.

A typical day includes a stand-up or work meeting discussing the status of the project software: some issues with the code may need testing or require further development. You stay abreast of the latest technological and scientific developments in the project. You finish your contribution to a paper being written in your project. You attend an online presentation of a project you are interested in.

You'll have the chance to participate in global conferences across a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines, expanding your professional network and engaging with experts from diverse fields.

RSEs are explicitly encouraged to explore technological and disciplinary fields outside of their main expertise and can develop their skills by following external training, leading projects and attending community events.