Research Assistant in Scientific Software Development

Dt Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY Personalabteilung; Hamburg; Hybrid; EUR 52.000 - 72.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

DESY seeks a Research Assistant in Scientific Software Development in Hamburg. You will lead and contribute to research software projects across photon science and high-energy physics, coordinating with DESY groups and upcoming projects such as PETRA IV and HL-LHC.

You will work with international partners (CERN, ESRF, European-XFEL) to maximize scientific impact, while supporting others in software development, considering GPUs and AI tooling. Fluency in English is required.

Qualifikationen

• Doctoral degree in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, or a related field
• In-depth expertise in scientific software research, engineering and development
• Proficient in modern programming languages (Julia, C/C++, Python)
• Proven problem solving skills in research software
• Excellent English, written and spoken

Aufgaben

• Lead and contribute to research software scientific activities at DESY
• Coordinate requirements with DESY groups and projects (PETRA IV, HL-LHC, FCC)
• Collaborate with international partners to develop open source software
• Provide consultation, training and support on software development

Kenntnisse

Scientific software development

Programming languages

Teamwork

Independent work

Ausbildung

Doctoral degree in Mathematics/Physics/CS

Tools

Git

Profilers

Debuggers

CI/CD

Jobbeschreibung

Research Assistant in Scientific Software Development

For our location in Hamburg we are seeking:

Remuneration Group 13 | Limited: 2 years | Starting date: earliest possible | ID: FHMA023/2026 | Deadline: 10.09.2026 | Full-time/Part-time | Remote work possible

DESY, with more than 2900 employees at its two locations in Hamburg and Zeuthen, is one of the world's leading research centres. Its research focuses on decoding the structure and function of matter, from the smallest particles of the universe to the building blocks of life. In this way, DESY contributes to solving the major questions and urgent challenges facing science, society and industry. With its ultramodern research infrastructure, its interdisciplinary research platforms and its international networks, DESY offers a highly attractive working environment in the fields of science, technology and administration as well as for the education of highly qualified young scientists.

The DESY group Information Technology (IT) participates in a variety of high profile national and European projects, evaluating new and innovative IT technologies. In the Research Software subgroup, we support the research software that plays a critical role across all areas at DESY, including photon science and high energy physics. Improving sustainability at all levels of the software stacks is crucial for the development of future HEP software as well as for future photon science data streaming and data analysis workflows at PETRA IV. International partnerships with CERN, ESRF and others are a key part of our success.

About your role:

• Lead and contribute to research software scientific activities at DESY, particularly in relation to software developments in photon science and high-energy physics
• Coordination and requirements gathering in cooperation with DESY research groups and upcoming projects (PETRA IV, HL-LHC, FCC)
• Work with other international partners (CERN, ESRF, European-XFEL) to develop open source software collaborations that maximise the scientific benefits of DESY experiments
• Engage in consultation, training and support of others' writing software, taking into account the evolving landscape of hardware (e.g., GPUs) and software tooling (e.g., AI)

About you:

• Successfully completed doctoral degree in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, or a related field
• ln-depth expertise in scientific software research, engineering and development, particularly in physics software relevant to DESY
• ln-depth expertise in modern efficient programming languages (Julia, C/C++, etc.) and user facing languages (Python)
• Proven problem solving skills and results delivery in research software
• Excellent English language skills, both written and spoken
• ln-depth expertise in code development tools and methods (git, Cl, profilers, debuggers, etc.)
• Strong teamwork and communication skills
• Ability to work independently and to conceptualise software-related tasks

Good reasons to join:

Look forward to a unique working environment on our international research campus. Respectful cooperation and the well-being of our DESY employees are particularly important to us. Gender equality is an important aspect for us. To support work-life balance we offer flexible working hours, variable part-time, job-sharing models and participation in mobile work (up to 50%). You will benefit from our family-friendly and collegial atmosphere, our established health management and occupational pension provision. As a public funded employer, we offer you a secure workplace and facilitate your individual career with our comprehensive training and development opportunities. Remuneration is according to the regulations of the TV-AVH. DESY offers its employees a financial supplement for a German job ticket (Deutschland-Ticket) at both locations.

For further information, please contact Graeme Stewart at [phone]‑3221 ([e-mail]).

DESY promotes equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion.

We therefore welcome applications from people of all dimensions of diversity. The professional development of women is very important to us and therefore we strongly encourage women to apply for the vacant position. Applications from severely disabled persons and those with equivalent status will be given preference if they are equally qualified (sbv.desy.de).

You can find further information here: https://www.desy.de/career/apprenticeship/

Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY

Human Resources Department | Notkestraße 85 | 22607 Hamburg

Phone: [phone]‑3392