The Department of Astronomy and the Gravitational-Wave Science Center (GWSC) at the University of Geneva is looking for a Research Software Engineer. This position is funded through a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) FLARE program on critical elements of the low latency computing infrastructure for the International Gravitational Wave detector Network (IGWN). Currently used by the Virgo, LIGO and KAGRA collaborations, the IGWN low latency computing infrastructure is crucial for detecting gravitational wave events with the minimal latency possible, enabling multi-messenger science.
We offer a full-time contract of one year initially, renewable for one additional year upon satisfactory performance. The salary will be in accordance with the candidate’s qualifications, following the regulations of the canton of Geneva for public employees (maximum salary class: 17; see here). The expected starting date of the position is September 1st, 2025. As a Research Software Engineer on the team, you will apply your experience in software engineering to existing scientific analysis pipelines, including AI/ML techniques, with the goal of defining deployment strategies to optimise performance using an end-to-end testbed. Based at the Department of Astronomy of the University of Geneva, this position has a high level of interaction with an international and multicultural scientific community. Working together with experts in this field will give you opportunities to further advance your skills. In this role, you will:
- Investigate and optimise integration strategies for gravitational-wave analysis pipelines to the end-to-end testbed
- Develop and deploy key components of the end-to-end testbed
- Contribute to the development of unit tests and CI/CD pipelines for all software
- Work collaboratively in a team-based research environment
Position Requirements Education:
- HES Bachelor degree or equivalent qualification
- MSc in Computer Sciences, in astronomy, physics an advantage
Professional Experience:
- Demonstrated experience in writing high quality software, preferably python, using modern best practices with tools like git, CI/CD, containers, etc.
- Clear and concise written and interpersonal communication skills
- The ability to understand and solve complex problems as part of a team
The Institute The Department of Astronomy of the University of Geneva offers a modern and vibrant scientific environment with renowned researchers in the domains of stellar physics, exoplanets, galactic and extragalactic astrophysics, observational cosmology, and high-energy astrophysics. It is actively involved in most of the major missions of the European Space Agency and several instrumentation projects at the European Southern Observatory. The Gravitational-Wave Science Center (GWSC) is a newly founded, inter-departmental research center at the University of Geneva. Its goal is to consolidate the gravitational-wave-related activities of the Astronomy department, and the departments of theoretical physics and particle physics, and promote interdisciplinary research in the domain of gravitational-wave science. Application Applications shall contain:
- A cover letter;
- A detailed curriculum vitae with links to software repositories and/or technical reports and/or a list of your most relevant scientific publications;
- The contact information of 2 referees who can later be contacted directly by the search committee
- Work certificates / letters of recommendation
- A copy of the candidate’s most advanced degree
Applications should be submitted exclusively on-line by clicking on the following link by July 31 2025 (23:59 Geneva time). APPLICATIONS SENT BY EMAIL SHALL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
The review of applications will start right away.