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 Computational Social Science and Humanities program envisions preparing the social sciences and humanities for the era of data, artificial intelligence (AI), and Exascale supercomputing. Our mission is to foster collaboration between social scientists and computer scientists, making high-performance computing (HPC) accessible to all researchers in the field. Through innovative approaches, we aim to apply social science and humanities research to contribute valuable insights for informed policy making. In our pursuit, we focus on a wide range of key societal research areas such as Equity and Welfare, Education, Social Services and Labor Market, Public Opinion and Political Communication in (Social) Media, Social-Ecology, Science and Technology Studies, Archived History, Archeology and Cultural Heritage. Employing a mixed of advanced AI/ML models, including Large Language Models (LLMs), Agent-Based Modeling (ABM), and Social Network Analysis (SNA), we use high-performance computational methods to a wide range of large datasets, such as official statistics, surveys, social media, web-tracking data, news, laws, bibliometric data, historical archives, current data archives, archaeology data, citizen volunteered data, and public administration and industry data.
We are seeking a highly experienced and dedicated researcher in High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a strong interest in the Social Sciences and Humanities, to join the Methods and Engineering group of the CSSH Lab.
The ideal candidate will excel in interdisciplinary environments, combining technical expertise with a collaborative mindset. They will also be committed to mentoring junior team members and fostering a supportive research culture.
The successful applicant will report directly to the MESSH Group Lead and will work closely with the Lab Director, Dr. Mercè Crosas.
Key Duties
- Co-lead and contribute to the research strategy for the MESSH group, collaborating with other PIs.
- Seek competitive research funding for new development of AI and computational methods applied to CSSH, with a particular focus on LLMs.
- Carry out high-quality interdisciplinary research in HPC and AI for the SSH.
- Contribute to the strategy for technical and computational support for researchers in the CSSH Lab, and coordinate the development of new, cutting-edge computational methods to advance CSSH research.
- Assess and support researchers’ technology needs, including the design and development of methods and research infrastructure, such as AI and data tools, HPC research software, and data repositories for training datasets and big data in CSSH.
- Help position the group at the cutting edge of AI and large language models (LLMs).
- Provide mentorship and training to the MESSH team members.
- Work alongside the MESSH lead to leverage team strengths and foster professional growth.
- Contribute to and foster external engagement, including collaborations with academic and other relevant partners.
Requirements
- Education
- PhD in a relevant field (e.g., computational social science, computer science, applied mathematics, statistics, physics, data science, or related discipline).
- Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
- Demonstrated strong research track record, including peer-reviewed publications and participation in international research collaborations.
- Expertise in advanced computational methods, including high-performance computing (HPC) and distributed computing.
- Extensive experience with large language models (LLMs), machine learning (ML), and artificial intelligence (AI).
- Strong programming skills (e.g., Python, R, or similar) with proven experience in modern data science workflows, including large datasets, scalable data processing environments, statistical modeling, and large-scale data analysis.
- Experience applying advanced computational methods to create usable tools, workflows, or services for researchers across disciplines.
- Knowledge of reproducible research practices, version control systems (e.g., Git), and open science workflows.
- Experienced in mentoring researchers and engineers, supporting methodological development within research teams.
- Ability to engage with researchers in the social sciences and humanities to identify methodological needs and design appropriate computational solutions.
- Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
- Experience designing and delivering training activities, workshops, or courses in computational methods, data science, or AI.
- Successful experience contributing to grant proposals, collaborative projects, or research programmes.
- Experience developing research software, computational platforms, or shared research infrastructure.
- Experience collaborating with interdisciplinary teams, including researchers in the Social Sciences and Humanities.
- Competences
- Ability to stay updated and identify emerging methodological trends in AI, data science, and computational research.
- Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team and in a multi-cultural environment.
- Excellent problem-solving skills, with keen attention to detail.
- Hard-working and highly organized.
- Good communication skills for effective collaboration with researchers, research engineers and data scientists across career levels.
- Good mentoring skills.
Conditions
- The position will be located at BSC within the Directors Department
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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
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Duration: Open-ended contract due to technical and scientific activities linked to the project and budget duration
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Holidays: 22 days of holidays + 6 personal days + 24th and 31st of December per our collective agreement
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Salary: we offer a competitive salary commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate and according to the cost of living in Barcelona
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
BSC-CNS is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by applicable state or local law.
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