Research Software Engineer

Aalto Scientific Computing is looking for a

RESEARCH SOFTWARE ENGINEER

To a permanent, full-time position. The desired start date is autumn 2023.

Are you more of a programmer than your researcher colleagues?  Are you more of a researcher than commercial developers?  Do you fit in both, but have a home in neither?  Is "research" a team effort for you?  Be a Research Software Engineer with us and find your home.  If you are looking for a career path which combines the interesting parts of both fields, this is a good choice.

Aalto Scientific Computing is a specialized type of research support, providing high-performance computing hardware, management, research support, teaching, and training.  Our team consists of a core of PhD staff working with top researchers throughout the university.  Our services are used by every school at Aalto University and known throughout Finland and the Nordics.  All our work is open-source by default and we take an active part in worldwide projects.

In this position, you will:

• Provide software development and consulting as a team service, depending on demand from research groups.

• Provide one-on-one and group research support from a software, programming, Linux, data, and infrastructure perspective: short-term projects helping researchers with specific tasks, so that the researchers gain competence to work independently.

• Provide good role models of best open science practices.

• As needed and depending on interest, teaching and other research infrastructure support.

• Continually learn new skills as part of our team.

General qualifications: There are two main tracks, and candidates of diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply – every candidate will be evaluated according to their own unique experiences.

• PhD degree with research experience in some computational field and much knowledge of practical computing strategies for research, or

• Software developer or computational scientist with a strong software/open source/Linux background, scientific computing experience, and some experience in research.  Masters degree or similar experience.

This particular call emphasizes the ability to work in machine learning and AI environments, in particular the software infrastructure underlying large language models.  The chosen candidate will work closely with machine learning researchers, and thus a background in machine learning is highly desirable.

 

To apply successfully:

Please include a separate cover letter (~1-2 pages).

Please try to write your cover letter avoiding information like name, gender, nationality or other demographic information that is not directly related to why you would be the right person for this position (this includes, for example, a signature on the letter) unless you think it benefits you.  This will assist in anonymous recruitment possibilities. The letter should include for example:

• Why being a Research Software Engineer is for you,
• experience relevant to this call's special topics (see above)
• any special background, experiences, or skills you will bring,
• past research experience, if any
• past technical teaching or mentoring experience,
• past software development experience (even informal self-learning),
• past Linux, command line, or scripting experience,
• highlight one (or a few) collaborative projects you have taken part in and your role within it, and
• what you bring and what you intend to learn, and
• why you want to work in, or any connections to, Finland or Aalto University (optional, if there are motivating factors) (Presence in Finland is required, and residence in the Helsinki metropolitan area is strongly recommended).

A normal professional or academic CV including

• a list of your technical and programming tools and level of proficiency (e.g. basic/proficient/expert). This is the time to show the breadth of your experience.
• Github link or other public sample code.If not available, whatever is possible to demonstrate past programming experience.Please highlight one or two of your outstanding research software projects.

Read this blog post for hints on applying.

Ready to apply?

Please submit your application through Aalto University recruitment system as soon as possible. The desired start date is autumn 2023. Please note: Aalto University’s employees and visitors should apply for the position via our internal system Workday → find jobs (not external aalto.fi webpage on open positions) by using their existing Workday user account.

The ad has been re-published, since as mentioned in the previous ad, the position is open for applications as long as it has been filled. The applicants from the first application period will be automatically taken into consideration in the ongoing first screening phase.

For further information, please contact Staff Scientist Richard Darst by email richard.darst(at)aalto.fi (please contact by email to arrange phone calls).

More information on Aalto as employer: https://www.aalto.fi/en/careers-at-aalto 

Important skills:

• Ability to tackle any problem with a researcher's mindset and a developer's passion for technology.

• Experience or knowledge of the principles of open source software, open science, and software development tools such as version control.

• Please see https://scicomp.aalto.fi/rse/become-a-rse/ for more information on what kind of skills we value - or more precisely what you are likely to learn.

• Good skills and experience in written, spoken, and collaborative work in English.

What we offer: 

• You will join the dynamic Aalto Scientific Computing team, where you will learn from some of the best research IT specialists in Finland.

• Co-working within top-quality research groups, getting experience in a wide variety of fields and developing an extensive network of scientific contacts.  This includes contacts to the Aalto startup scene and community.

• A way to be close to the research process while focusing on interesting computational problems and not the publication process.

• Mentorship to improve your software, data, and computing skills – you are expected to engage in plenty of professional development.

• Open Source is our expectation.  All (or most) of your code may be open source and may be added to your public CV, depending on the needs of researchers.

• All other standard benefits of Aalto as an employer: pleasant campus, occupational healthcare, a sustainable workplace, support and coaching, and robust opportunities for professional development.  Read more.

Salary will be according to experience. For those with relevant experience, roughly equivalent to an academic Staff Scientist, e.g. 4200-4500€/month.  For those with less experience, e.g. 3600-4000€/month. Work hours are flexible, but are expected to sync with the researchers being served.  The primary workplace is Otaniemi, Espoo (Helsinki region), Finland, and our team takes good advantage of the potential of hybrid work.