Research Software Engineer (Computational Electronic Structure)

The Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) develops and operates cutting-edge, high-performance computing (HPC) systems as an essential service facility for science. The centre enables world-class research through its scientific user lab, which is available to domestic and international researchers in academia, industry, and the business sector. The centre is operated by ETH Zurich and has offices in Lugano (headquarters) and Zurich.

CSCS is leading an effort to develop scientific software and libraries for HPC platforms, supporting complex workflows that simplify access to computing resources. To support this, we develop performance-portable applications and libraries that run efficiently on a large range of hardware platforms.

A special effort is being invested in the development of scientific applications and libraries in the field of electronic structure theory, like Density Functional Theory (DFT) used in chemistry and physics to calculate the electronic structure of atoms, molecules, and solids.

To expand our team and capabilities, CSCS has an open position at one of our offices in Lugano or Zurich for a Research Software Engineer specialized in computational electronic structure.

As a Research Software Engineer, you will work with Swiss and international domain science experts to develop software in electronic structure theory that can efficiently use different HPC platforms.

Your responsibilities:

• Collaborate with domain science experts in the field of electronic structure theory from Swiss universities and international projects to define the requirements for future software developments;
• Design, develop, test, maintain and support applications and libraries in Python, Julia, and possibly in C++ and Fortran;
• Support the related user community in the utilization of the codes you have developed and improve the services provided by CSCS in this field.

You should have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, mathematics, or natural sciences, preferably with a master's, Ph.D., or relevant industry experience.

Expected qualifications:

• You have a sound knowledge of electronic structure methods and have contributed to development of related applications and libraries;
• Expertise in C++, Julia and Python is required;
• You have a sound knowledge of modern software engineering skills, such as computer science, computer architectures, and code optimization.

Knowledge of agile software engineering practices and cloud-native technologies is beneficial.

CSCS values autonomy, ownership, and continuous learning. Staff members can gain specialised hands-on experience through a variety of challenging activities typical of the HPC field.

• ETH Zurich is a family-friendly employer with excellent and flexible working conditions.
• You can look forward to an exciting working environment, cultural diversity and attractive offers and benefits.
• We value the diversity of our team and to further enhance our workforce's diversity, we encourage women to apply.