Simulations are currently the backbone of many numerical discoveries. The application of such simulations span from exploration of new potential drugs to the investigation of the next generation fusion reactors. The more detailed the simulation is, the more complex the computation must be. As such, these simulations can become prohibitively slow, unless they use massive computing resources (like supercomputers) *efficiently*. This is why computational and computer scientists work together to build the right hardware and software infrastructure to improve the computational and energy efficiency of such simulations. In this project, we focus specifically on building efficient solutions for running such simulations, based on high-end computational models, at very large scale. Our goal is to explore new methods to improve the efficiency of these simulations.

What are you going to do?

Your main objective will be to design and develop new methods and techniques to improve the performance and energy efficiency of large-scale coupled numerical models. These new techniques will be tested on simulations such as HemoCell. You will cooperate with multiple research groups throughout the process.

You will:

• define, deploy, and validate accurate performance models in multi-scale computational models for massively parallel computer systems;
• design a novel framework for dynamically minimizing the load-imbalance of a given multi-scale model on high-performance computing platforms;
• implement and demonstrate the framework using an existing multi-scale computational models, e.g. HemoCell, and Cartesius, the local supercomputing system;
• complete and defend a PhD thesis within the official appointment duration of four years;
• collaborate with researchers from multiple domains (primarily computer and computational scientist) within our group and in external groups;
• regularly present intermediate research results at international conferences and workshops, and publish them in proceedings and journals;
• assist in relevant teaching activities.

• A Master's degree in computer science, computational science, computational physics, applied mathematics, or in a closely related discipline;
• a strong background in programming (C/C++ and Python preferred);
• a strong interest in computational modelling and simulation;
• good communication, presentation, and writing skills of English;
• pro-active, cooperative attitude and creative out-of-the-box thinking;
• capability to work in an international multidisciplinary research environment.

Knowledge on the following is not required, but can be considered as an advantage:

• numerical techniques used in computational science, and/or
• scheduling systems of high-performance computing machines, and/or
• programming models and/or models of computation for parallel and distributed computing.

Our offer

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week preferably starting 1 October 2020 for the duration of 4 years (initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of 4 years) and should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). You will get a customized Training and Supervision Plan, that will be evaluated every year. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduate and master students.

The salary will be €2,325 to €2,972 (scale P) gross per month, based on full-time employment (38 hours a week). These amounts are exclusive 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% end-of-year bonus. A favorable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Then find out more about working at the Faculty of Science.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 6,500, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.