Chief of Staff & Director of Strategic Engineering Programs

Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación; Barcelona; Presencial; EUR 80.000 - 120.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

A leading research institution in Barcelona is seeking a Chief of Staff & Director of Strategic Engineering Programs to support operational excellence and long-term strategy execution. The role involves overseeing engineering best practices, strategic program management, and facilitating collaboration across departments. Ideal candidates should possess extensive experience in managing AI and engineering programs, along with strong leadership and communication skills. A competitive salary and a dynamic working environment await the successful applicant.

Servicios

Flexible working hours

Private health insurance

Extensive training plan

Restaurant tickets

23 paid vacation days

Formación

• 15+ years of experience managing large-scale engineering or AI programs.
• Proven experience in technical program or product management.
• Fluency in English and Spanish required; knowledge of Catalan is a plus.

Responsabilidades

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the Director, coordinating leadership initiatives.
• Oversee engineering best practices across the center, focusing on AI.
• Facilitate cross-organizational coordination on infrastructure and policy initiatives.

Conocimientos

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Communication

Educación

Bachelor’s or higher degree in Engineering or Computer Science

Descripción del empleo

Reference: 547_25_DIR_COS
Job title: Chief of Staff & Director of Strategic Engineering Programs

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 Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), home to a multidisciplinary research team of over 1,400 people, is seeking a high-caliber professional to support the Director in driving operational excellence, long-term strategy execution, and organizational transformation. The successful candidate will act as the Chief of Staff and strategic technical program leader, with a mandate to establish engineering processes, enable effective decision-making, and coordinate strategic initiatives across research and administrative units.
This is a unique opportunity for an experienced leader with a technical background and deep experience in managing complex engineering or AI programs to influence and shape the future of one of Europe’s leading research institutions.

Key Duties

– Serve as a strategic advisor to the Director, coordinating leadership initiatives and tracking key actions.
– Oversee the design and implementation of engineering best practices across the center, especially in AI, computing, and systems research programs.
– Establish and drive adoption of project management frameworks (OKRs, quarterly planning, annual roadmaps, 5-year strategic planning).
– Ensure high-level visibility and tracking of progress for cross-cutting programs and institutional initiatives.
– Improve internal communications, workflows, and information systems between the Director’s office and sub-directorates, departments, and external stakeholders.
– Facilitate cross-organizational coordination on initiatives involving infrastructure, policy, and strategic partnerships.
– Lead strategic projects and special initiatives as delegated by the Director.
– Provide analytical support and scenario modeling to assist leadership in data-driven decision-making.
– Liaise with key external partners including EU institutions, national and regional governments, and top international research entities.

Requirements

Education
– Bachelor’s or higher degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field;
– Advanced degrees (MSc, PhD) preferred.

Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
– 15+ years of experience managing large-scale engineering, AI, or computing programs in top-tier institutions or companies.
– Proven experience in technical program or product management, especially within research, AI, or complex systems environments.
– Strong understanding of organizational design, strategic planning, and change management.

Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
– Fluency in English and Spanish is required. Catalan and/or other EU languages are a plus.
– Ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders, including senior leadership, researchers, and policymakers.
– Focus on doing and executing

Competences
– Strategic thinking with hands-on execution capacity.
– Strong leadership, influencing, and facilitation skills.
– Deep organizational awareness and process thinking.
– Experience working with complex R&D ecosystems and multidisciplinary teams.

Conditions

– The position will be located at BSC within the Directors’ Office.
– We offer a full-time contract (37.5h/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
– Duration: Open-ended contract due to technical and scientific activities linked to the project and budget duration
– Holidays: 23 paid vacation days plus 24th and 31st of December per our collective agreement
– Salary: we offer a competitive salary commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate and according to the cost of living in Barcelona
– 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
– 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
– 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 [e-mail] more information, please follow this link.

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.