Research Engineer - System Validation Engineer (RE1)

Job Reference

354_26_ES_CES_RE1

Position

Research Engineer - System Validation Engineer (RE1)

Closing Date

Sunday, 16 August, 2026

Reference: 354_26_ES_CES_RE1

Job title: Research Engineer - System Validation Engineer (RE1)

About BSC

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.

Context And Mission

The Department of Earth Sciences of the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS), BSC-ES henceforth (bsc.es/earth-sciences) is one of the most active groups in atmospheric composition modelling, climate prediction, and climate services in Europe. The department is currently composed of 260 people, including scientists and technical and support staff, and is structured in five distinct but interacting research groups: Atmospheric Composition (AC), Climate Variability and Change (CVC), Earth System Services (ESS), Global Health Resilience (GHR), and Computational Earth Sciences (CES).

BSC-ES is developing different aspects of a digital replica of the Earth for climate adaptation based on global climate models that can perform climate simulations at unprecedented resolutions. The development and use of this model open substantial technical and scientific challenges. Besides, this tool is co-developed with a number of users with a broad range of profiles who will inform about the socio-economic priorities for the adaptation to climate change at regional and local scales.

The Earth-Sciences department is looking for a System Validation Engineer for the Climate Digital Twin (ClimateDT) of the Destination Earth initiative. The candidate will interact with BSC-ES' research engineers and scientists and with those in other partnering institutions to develop and operate the system-validation framework for ClimateDT, supporting the integration, validation, and continuous evolution of the operational system.

Key Duties

Operate and monitor system testing of the integrated Climate DT system, running Earth System Models (ESMs) with downstream climate applications in several High-Performance Computing environments.

Execute system validation activities on operational environments, configurations and software, assess system behaviour and performance, and deliver validation reports documenting test outcomes, observations, and issues identified.

Develop, maintain, and improve tools that support testing activities, including test execution, monitoring, reporting, and opportunities for increased automation of validation workflows.

Diagnose technical issues identified during testing and support effective feedback loops between testing activities and development teams.

Contribute to the development and execution of integration checks for priority interfaces.

Contribute to documenting, maintaining, and improving testing procedures, validation workflows, and technical reports.

Requirements

Education

Having a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Physics, Engineering, Mathematics, Environmental Sciences, or a related discipline.

Having a Master’s degree will be valued.

Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience

Familiarity with running scientific applications, technical workflows, or data-intensive computing environments.

Some experience with programming or scripting (e.g., Python, Bash, or similar).

Ability to analyse, diagnose, and document technical issues and testing outcomes.

Experience with UNIX/LINUX environments.

Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience

Previous experience with High Performance Computing (HPC) systems or scientific computing environments will be valued.

Familiarity with testing, validation, operational environments, or software quality practices will be valued.

Previous experience with workflow systems, monitoring tools, or automation of technical processes will be valued.

Previous exposure to Earth System Models (ESMs), climate modelling, numerical modelling, or scientific applications will be valued.

Familiarity with coding and documentation best practices and standards will be valued.

Competences

Good problem-solving skills and a proactive approach to new obstacles.

Ability to take the 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.

Conditions

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

Applications procedure and process

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.

Development of the recruitment process

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.

For more information, please follow this link.

Deadline

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

OTM-R principles for selection processes

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.

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