IRB Barcelona, a world-class research center, seeks a scientific high-performance computing engineer to work in the Genome Data Science Laboratory (led by ICREA professor Fran Supek) at the IRB Barcelona.

The group aims to attract a Bioinformatics and Scientific Computing Specialist to fill a Lab Manager role. Their overall mission will to be design and administer the hardware and software infrastructure that enables scientific research on genomic big data. Further, they will supervise and train team members.

The Genome Data Science laboratory is dedicated to discovering new ways to diagnose and treat cancer, in the framework of the European Research Council (ERC) project “HYPER-INSIGHT” and the EU Horizon2020 projects “DECIDER” (ovarian cancer) and “LUCIA” (lung cancer).

The role will focus on the design, testing and maintenance of state-of-the-art high-performance computing systems, and implementation of scientific computing tools (genomics pipelines), in the collaborative setting of the Genome Data Science laboratory. In particular, this will involve being responsible for maintaining the group’s compute cluster (Linux system admin; SLURM workload manager admin; scientific software setup) and the group’s storage units (Netapp, Synology).

Furthermore, the lab manager will interface with the central IRB scientific IT team to expedite solutions for diverse computing issues in the group. They will also supervise and train lab members in their use of the group’s HPC resources.

Finally, the lab manager will maintain the code of the group’s existing genomics pipelines and run the pipelines on the group cluster or on the cloud (e.g. AWS or Google).

Optionally, if desired, there is possibility of the person developing own research projects that fit within the research interests of the group, at the interface of genomics and AI.

A competitive salary can be offered, commensurate to experience. Flexible working arrangement. Starting date is as soon as possible.

Early applications are encouraged.

DUTIES: 

• Design, testing and maintenance of broad, state-of-the-art high-performance computing services to support scientific software in the Genome Data Science lab.
• Designing and administering the group’s compute cluster (Linux system administration and software installation; SLURM workload manager administration).
• Helping design, implement and maintain the groups’ netapp and Synology storage systems; helping manage the group’s Linux workstations.
• Choosing/purchasing new computing equipment, together with the PI and IRB administration.
• Interfacing with the IRB central IT service to expedite solutions for IT-related issues in the team.
• Training lab members in applying best-practices to the use of the group’s IT resources and supercomputing/cloud computing services.
• Maintaining and running the lab’s scientific computing software (genomics/bioinformatics pipelines) on own cluster, and/or on supercomputers.

EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS:

Must Have – Required: 

• Experience: One year or more experience in work on administering Linux machines (preferably servers/compute clusters).
• Background: BSc or MSc in field relevant to the duties described (e.g. software engineering, computer science, bioinformatics/genomics). PhD-level candidates are also encouraged to apply.
• Skills: Ability to work independently. Ability to interact well within an international team consisting of researchers of diverse career stages (PhD students, postdocs). Self-management.
• Languages: A solid level of spoken English is required

Desirable:

•  Experience: 
  • (i) administering and troubleshooting Slurm or another workload manager (SGE, HTCondor etc.); 
  • (ii) use of supercomputing and/or cloud computing (e.g. AWS, Google Cloud or similar); 
  • (iii) set up of containers (Singularity, Docker), and/or Conda and/or EasyBuild.

• Knowledge:
  • (i) knowledge and/or desire to learn about bioinformatics methods and tools – e.g. aligners, variant callers [mutations, structural variants]).
  • (ii) knowledge of latest AI techniques, specifically deep learning (e.g. convolutional nets for analyses of text or images or similar).
  • PhD-level candidates are also encouraged to apply, although a PhD is not at all required.

• Skills: supervision/training of junior colleagues. Ability to deal with exceptional situations on short notice.

WORKING CONDITIONS & ENTITLEMENTS:

• Working conditions: Employed in compliance with Spanish legislation and regulations under a full-time contract. Employees receive the benefits of the Spanish Social Security system covering sickness, maternity/paternity leaves and injuries at work. Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications.
• International Environment: The opportunity to join a prestigious international research institution and become a member of an elite research group.
• Continuous training in a high-quality environment.

HOW TO APPLY & SELECTION PROCESS:

Applications for the above opening should include ( i ) a CV (listing 1-3 relevant accomplishments, e.g. technical achievements, or software developed, or work on collaborative projects, or scientific publication; and explaining the candidate’s contribution to each project in several sentences), ( ii ) motivation letter, and ( iii ) contact information of 2-3 potential referees

• Deadline for applications: 15/03/2023 (If no suitable candidate is found, the deadline will be extended) 
• Number of positions available: 1
• Selection process:
  • Pre-selection: Will be based on CV, motivation letter, experience, management of research and innovation. 
  • Interviews: Short-listed candidates will be interviewed.
  • Job offer: Will be sent to the successful candidate after the interview. 

Note: The strengths and weaknesses of the applications will be provided upon request.