Senior HPC for Earth Sciences Team Leader (RE3)
Barcelona Supercomputing Center
Context And Mission
The mission of the Earth Sciences Department of the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, led by Prof. Francisco Doblas-Reyes, is to carry out research and develop methods for environmental forecasting, with a particular focus on the atmosphere-ocean-biosphere system. This includes the management and transfer of technology to support key societal challenges through the use of models and data applications in High Performance Computing (HPC) and AI infrastructures. It also includes the dissemination of real-time air quality and climate information based on its research expertise in collaboration with the Spanish authorities and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
The successful candidate will join the Computational Earth Sciences group to co-lead the activities of the HPC for Earth Sciences team, which is responsible for the good scalability and efficient hardware resource usage of Earth models and applications by identifying computational bottlenecks and optimizing them using cutting-edge performance tools and HPC techniques, including from more efficient numerical algorithms to architecture-aware approaches.
The HPC for Earth Sciences team plays a crucial role in the research to operations cycle, including initiatives such as Destination Earth and the European Digital Twin of the Ocean. It has strong links with the other teams in the Computational Earth Sciences group and with the research groups in the department.
Key Duties
- Contribute to the coordination and supervision of a team of 15 research engineers and scientists.
- Lead the planning, execution and completion of ongoing and new engineering and research projects within the team, assigning tasks and prioritising them.
- Identify and pursue opportunities for the sustainability of the team and the department’s models and tools.
- Contribute to the development strategy of the department’s tools, thereby increasing the applicability and international visibility – and hence impact – of the research arising from current and future projects.
- Contribute to the research activities of the team by identifying potential new lines of research and assisting in the publication and dissemination of the team’s research activities.
- The selected candidate will lead the HPC for Earth Sciences team, manage tasks and deliverables, and supervise team members. The candidate will report to the Head of the Computational Earth Sciences Group.
Requirements
Education
- Possess a bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, physical engineering, mathematics, physics, or a closely related field. A PhD in a related field is not essential but will be appreciated.
Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
- Experience in Earth science research or applied work, with a focus on HPC performance analysis and development.
- Experience in leading or managing a team, including assigning tasks, setting goals, providing feedback and facilitating collaboration.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to work effectively within interdisciplinary teams and with external stakeholders.
Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
- Proven ability to manage large and collaborative projects, including supervision of PhD or Masters students.
- Proficiency in high-level programming languages such as FORTRAN and C/C++, with experience in UNIX/Linux environments and scripting languages such as bash and Python.
- Proven experience in scientific research, particularly in areas related to climate or ocean modelling.
- Familiarity with large HPC systems, including parallel programming paradigms such as MPI, OpenMP, etc.
- Familiarity in compiling and deploying large codes from source on different HPC systems.
- Familiarity with profiling tools such as Intel VTune.
Competences
- Proven leadership skills, including the ability to inspire and motivate team members, foster a collaborative and inclusive working environment, and resolve conflict effectively.
- Ability to interact and build strong relationships with colleagues across scientific disciplines, fostering a collaborative research environment.
- Strong organisational skills, including the ability to prioritise tasks, manage resources efficiently and meet deadlines.
- Strategic thinking and problem solving skills, with the ability to anticipate challenges and develop innovative solutions.
- Proficiency in English, both written and oral. Experience in writing technical reports and/or scientific publications will be appreciated.
Conditions
- The position will be located at BSC within the Earth Sciences Department
- We offer a full-time contract (37.5h/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: 23 paid vacation days plus 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