Would you like to contribute to the quality of academic research at the University of Groningen (UG)? Do you have affinity with research software management and engineering, and do you have a background in research? Do you enjoy contemplating organisational issues and giving training courses and workshops? Then we are looking for you!

Research software is crucial for analysing and generating research data. In some cases, research software may even be the most important form of academic output in a research project. Proper research software management (RSM) contributes to making research software reliable, reusable and sustainable and is crucial for high-quality and reproducible science. In your role as research software engineer you contribute to developing a university-wide vision on FAIR research software and the support that is needed at the UG. You will also provide consultancy, share best practices and give and develop training and workshops. You will be working with DCC partners, such as faculties and research institutes, researchers, other supporting services of the University Library (UB) and the Center for Information Technology (CIT), University Services and IT specialists. Your appointment is with the Research Domain of the CIT and you are part of the enthusiastic and dynamic DCC team (location CIT Zernike Campus). This team consists of about 15 colleagues with an appointment with the UB or the CIT. The primary language in the team is English.

What will you be doing?

- together with DCC colleagues you contribute to formulating a university-wide vision on FAIR research software and the research support that is needed
- you give advice to researchers on best practices, including documentation, licensing, archiving, version control and testing of research software, as well as (supporting) the development and maintenance of existing software and workflows
- you provide feedback on Software Management Plans
- you contribute to knowledge building within the team on the topic of research software management and engineering
- you will set up new training courses and help to improve existing workshops on various aspects of research software management and best practices
- you give policy advice on FAIR research software management, as addition to the current UG research data policy
- you contribute to the UG Open Science Programme
- you form part of the national research software community and participate in national networks focused on Research Data Management (RDM) and RSM (e.g. eScience Center, SURF, thematic DCCs).

Organization
The UG's Digital Competence Centre (DCC) provides support on the main themes of research data and software management, privacy and (research) data protection, and related IT solutions. Furthermore, the DCC promotes making research output accessible and reusable ('FAIR') through sharing best practices, training courses, and organising community events. The DCC is a collaboration between the UB and the Centre for Information Technology (CIT), and the organisation is housed at the CIT.

The Center for Information Technology (CIT) of the University of Groningen is the leading university center in the Netherlands in the field of information and communication technology. With over 300 employees, CIT manages the necessary IT facilities and support processes for approximately 34,000 students and 6,500 employees. The University of Groningen (UG) is among the top 100 universities worldwide.

CIT supports and facilitates scientific research and university education with innovative data and IT solutions, consultancy and training. Our mission is 'Education and research: supported by innovative and reliable IT'.
In order to make a maximum contribution to the strategic objectives of the UG every day, CIT works in a customer-oriented way with 23 self-organising teams in five domains: Education, Research, Organizational Systems, Basic Workplace and Infrastructure. Our core values are Respect, Collegiality, Together, Fun, Openness and Commitment.

Since you will be working in a relatively new and dynamic team, we are looking for someone who embraces learning on the job, and can handle a high degree of autonomy and the self-organisation this requires.

What do we expect from you

- you have experience with academic research, and preferably have a PhD
- you are familiar with the basics of research data and software management, or are willing to learn them
- you are familiar with programming languages (Python, R), working within a Linux environment and writing scripts to plot or process data
- you have experience working with code versioning platforms such as GitHub or GitLab and using Git
- you have demonstrable didactic skills and experience in training and/or teaching
- excellent analytical skills
- good communication and networking skills
- good command of English and Dutch, both written and spoken, or a willingness to learn Dutch.

Also if you do not fully meet these requirements but still think you are suitable for this position, we sincerely invite you to apply.

Fixed-term contract: 12 months.

We offer in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU):

● a salary of minimum € 3,226 to maximum € 5,090 (salary scale 10) gross per month for a full-time position (38 hours), depending on qualifications and experience
● 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% End-of-year bonus on the annual gross income
● a temporary employment contract for 1 year that will be converted to an employment contract for an indefinite period, subject to satisfactory performance and depending on organizational developments
● attractive secondary employment conditions such as the Choice Model Employment Conditions and a good pension and leave scheme.

A Certificate of Conduct (VOG: Verklaring omtrent Gedrag) may be requested for this position.

Starting date: as soon as possible