We are looking for two scientific programmers to develop services and tools for a Virtual Research Environment (VRE), including distributed data management, workflow automation, service deployment and performance optimization in Cloud environments.

What are you going to do?

• The candidate will work closely with the data scientists, modellers, and domain researchers to develop customised digital twin building blocks based on simulations, data assimilation, and visualization components, and integrate software components as part of a distributed Virtual Research Environment for a broader community;
• The candidate will develop user-centered composition and integration tools for coupling those building blocks as digital twins based on application-specific scenarios;
• The candidate will actively review the state-of-the-art technologies in the context of cloud computing, semantic web, search engine, big data and scientific workflow management, follow Agile, Co-development and other best practices of modern software engineering in Cloud environments to effectively deliver solutions to the VRE;

What do we require?
The ideal candidate should meet the following requirements:

• Master degree in Computer Science or similar;
• Experience in programming;
• Be familiar with data science technologies;
• Strong interest in learning new technologies from different domains;
• Willingness to work in a multidisciplinary team (ecology, computer science, software engineering);
• Ability to speak and communicate in English at an academic level both verbal and written;
• Experience in one or more major pre-programming languages (e.g. Java, Python);
• Familiar with UNIX/Linux environment;
• Up-to-date knowledge about various software development and deployment tools including minimally Git/GitHub;
• Experience with web programming, Cloud computing and elastic search;
• Experience with web applications and libraries (e.g., Jupyter, HTML, JavaScript, and PHP);
• Experiences with user studies and search evaluation;
• Based in The Netherlands and able and willing to work in the LifeWatch ERIC offices in Amsterdam.

The ideal candidate should meet the following requirements:

• Master degree in Computer Science or similar;
• Experience in programming;
• Be familiar with data science technologies;
• Strong interest in learning new technologies from different domains;
• Willingness to work in a multidisciplinary team (ecology, computer science, software engineering);
• Ability to speak and communicate in English at an academic level both verbal and written;
• Experience in one or more major pre-programming languages (e.g. Java, Python);
• Familiar with UNIX/Linux environment;
• Up-to-date knowledge about various software development and deployment tools including minimally Git/GitHub;
• Experience with web programming, Cloud computing and elastic search;
• Experience with web applications and libraries (e.g., Jupyter, HTML, JavaScript, and PHP);
• Experiences with user studies and search evaluation;
• Based in The Netherlands and able and willing to work in the LifeWatch ERIC offices in Amsterdam.

Our offer
The candidates will be contracted by the LifeWatch ERIC Virtual Laboratory and Innovation Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and will work within the premises of the Multi Scale Networks Systems Group, Informatics Institute at University of Amsterdam).

LifeWatch ERIC is a European Infrastructure Consortium providing e-Science research facilities to scientists seeking to increase our knowledge and deepen our understanding of biodiversity organisation and ecosystem functions and services in order to support civil society in addressing key planetary challenges.

LifeWatch ERIC seeks to understand the complex interactions between species and the environment, taking advantage of High-Performance, Grid and Big Data computing systems, and the development of advanced modelling tools to implement management measures aimed at preserving life on Earth.

Combining a wide range of ICT tools and resources with deep knowledge of the domain, LifeWatch ERIC's mission is to be a "first class" worldwide provider of content and services for the biodiversity research community by:

• Offering new opportunities for large-scale scientific development
• Enabling accelerated data capture with innovative new technologies
• Supporting knowledge-based decision-making for biodiversity and ecosystem management
• Providing training, dissemination and awareness programmes.

About us
The MNS group is part of the Systems and Security Lab (SNE), one of the three research clusters at the Informatics Institute. The group focuses its researches on the fundamental architectural problems that arise from the interconnection of systems and data flows, in particular the delivery of secure and sustainable ICT services across multiple domains. Within the MNS group, the “quality critical distributed computing” team is specially interested in novel programming and control models for distributed applications across large scale cloud infrastructures, and in developing interoperable data management and virtual research environment solutions for enabling interdisciplinary researches, e.g. in environmental and earth sciences or medical domains. The team leads the VRE development in the LifeWatch VL innovation center, and provides the infrastructure automation solution to several projects such as ENVRI-FAIR and CLARIFY.

The candidate will closely collaborate with domain scientists from the domains of ecosystem and biodiversity in the groups of the Biogeography & Macroecology (BIOMAC) lab (http://biomac.org/) and the Department Theoretical and Computational Ecology (http://ibed.uva.nl/research ). It is expected that their work results in scientific papers, and that they participate and present the research at LifeWatch and other international meetings.

Appointment
We offer a position for 38 hours a week in an exciting, dynamic and international research environment, starting as soon as possible. The full-time appointment will be on a temporary basis for a maximum period of 2 years with opportunities for an extension.

The Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities will be applicable for salary. The annual salary will be increased by 8 % holiday allowance and 8.3 % end-of-year bonus. You will participate in the LifeWatch-ERIC Netherlands pension scheme with RESAVER.

Questions?
Interested? For more information on this position please contact:

Dr Zhiming Zhao, assistant professor, Multiscale Networked Systems (daily supervisor), Email: z.zhao@uva.nl ; Visit https://staff.fnwi.uva.nl/z.zhao/

Application

• A short covering letter and Curriculum Vitae (EUROPASS format and annexes, 4 pages at the most) shall be written in English and submitted by 20 May 2024 to Dr. Zhiming Zhao, Email: z.zhao@uva.nl
• The selection process will follow the Employment Policy of LifeWatch ERIC;
• Only shortlisted candidates will be re-contacted. Selected candidates may be called for an interview. Interviews will take place from 21 May - 4 June 2024;
• She/he will be appointed for a 24 months month period. A competitive gross salary, 3.226,00 - 5.090,00 € based on the qualifications and experience of the candidate, will be offered. Employment will be in Netherlands, follow Dutch employment law;
• This position is Full-Time. Her/his main office will be located at the Virtual Laboratories and Innovations Centre premises in Amsterdam, Netherlands, without prejudice to the establishment of others in the future;
• Start date in office for the Developer for Cloud-based Virtual Research Environments: as soon as possible.
• A knowledge security check may be part of the selection procedure. Click here for more information;

The UvA is an equal-opportunity employer. We prioritize diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. We value a spirit of enquiry and perseverance, provide the space to keep asking questions, and promote a culture of curiosity and creativity.

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