Climate and Health Data Scientist (RE2)

Barcelona Supercomputing Center; Barcelona; Presencial; EUR 70.000 - 90.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

A premier research institution in Barcelona is seeking a highly motivated data scientist to enhance public health resilience to climate change. The candidate will perform data audits, create dashboards, and develop automated data pipelines. This role requires strong programming skills in R and Python and offers a full-time position with a competitive salary, flexible working hours, and various staff benefits.

Servicios

Restaurant tickets

Private health insurance

Relocation support

Extensive training plan

Formación

• Experience in data management and statistical analyses.
• Strong programming skills in R or Python.
• Experience with version control systems like git.
• Experience in using data visualization packages.

Responsabilidades

• Co-create decision support systems for health resilience.
• Conduct data audits of existing information.
• Process, clean, and verify data integrity.
• Harmonize multi-source datasets.
• Develop automated data pipelines.
• Produce dashboards and visualizations.
• Communicate research results at conferences.

Conocimientos

Data management

Statistical analyses

Programming (R, Python)

Data visualization (Shiny, Tableau, Power BI)

Version control (git)

Linux environments

Educación

BSc and MSc in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Meteorology, Environmental Sciences, Physics, Public Health Geography, Demography, Epidemiology

Herramientas

R

Python

Linux

Docker

Descripción del empleo

Context And Mission

The Global Health Resilience (GHR) group led by ICREA Research Professor Rachel Lowe at the BSC-CNS is seeking a highly motivated data scientist to co-create robust harmonised datasets, R packages and dashboards for decision-support tools to enhance surveillance, preparedness, and response to global health challenges, including climate-sensitive infectious diseases.

The GHR group conducts cutting-edge methodological research on disentangling the impacts of global environmental change on infectious disease risk and co-developing impact-based forecasting models at sub-seasonal to decadal timescales in collaboration with public health, disaster risk management, and humanitarian agencies. The GHR group works closely with the Earth System Services (ESS) group, whose mission is to research the impact of weather, atmospheric chemistry and climate upon socio-economic sectors, including renewable energy, agriculture, water management, forest fires, urban development and health and demonstrate the ongoing value of earth system services to society and the economy.

The selected candidate will conduct data audits and exploratory data reports to summarise characteristics, biases and completeness of both open-source and stakeholder provided data to provide decision-support at multiple spatial scales and different forecasting horizons. They will perform data linkage, involving post-processing, downscaling, integration, harmonization and machine learning techniques, and visualization of multi-source, multi-scale epidemiological, climatic, environmental, demographic, socio-economic, human movement, and health systems datasets. They will develop R packages for data harmonisation and modelling, co-design dashboards to summarise and visualise multi-sourced data and facilitate communication with the team and stakeholders, and prepare and deliver material for stakeholder training and capacity building activities. The successful candidate will work in close collaboration with the Data and Diagnostics team that co-develops the analysis packages. This position presents an opportunity to work alongside a wide range of leading international climate and health scientists delivering cutting-edge climate services for the health sector to inform policymakers in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, and worldwide.

Successful candidates will benefit from expert training and BSC-CNS staff benefits : international multidisciplinary scientific environment and advanced applied research training. We encourage applications from highly motivated candidates with demonstrated experience in impact modelling for public health and an interest in applied research in the context of climate and environmental change.

Key Duties

• Co-create decision support systems to enhance public health resilience to climate change
• Conduct data audits of existing epidemiological, health system and environmental information
• Process, clean, and verify the integrity of data to be used for analysis
• Perform Extraction, Transform and Load (ETL) processes
• Harmonise multi-source, multi-scale datasets health surveillance, demographic, climate, hydrological, socio-economic, mobility, etc.)
• Develop automated data pipelines for operational decision support tools
• Conduct exploratory statistical analyses and create exploratory data analysis reports
• Produce dashboards and design innovative ways to visualise data
• Develop training materials for researchers, data managers and stakeholders
• Communicate research results at scientific conferences and in refereed journals
• Support applications for competitive grants and projects
• Support administrative duties of the group, including arranging meetings, taking minutes, writing deliverable and mission reports, maintaining Wiki / webpages, etc.
• Engage with local stakeholders, data managers and policy makers
• Develop and maintain open-source data and modelling tools, R packages

Requirements

Education

• BSc and MSc in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Meteorology, Environmental Sciences, Physics, Public Health Geography, Demography, Epidemiology, or equivalent

Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience

• Experience in data management and statistical analyses
• Strong programming skills in a suitable language R, Python)
• Experience with version control systems git)
• Experience using data visualisation packages, mapping tools and dashboard creation Shiny, Tableau, Power BI)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, demonstrated in scientific publications and / or well documented repositories
• Ability to work in a collaborative professional environment within a transdisciplinary and international team
• Experience with Linux environments and scripting languages bash)

Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience

• Fluency in English is essential. Proficiency in Spanish and other languages would be advantageous
• Experience with machine learning methods and AI
• Experience with statistical downscaling and bias adjustments techniques
• Experience with various types of data epidemiological, meteorological, environmental, mobility, hydrological)
• Experience working with climate projections and counterfactuals
• Experience in the processing and evaluation of satellite / drone images and geodata GIS).
• Experience with Docker
• Experience working with public health stakeholders and international agencies

Competences

• Problem-solving, proactive, result-oriented work attitude
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to show initiative, prioritize tasks and meet deadlines
• Ability to learn and adapt to multiple programming languages easily
• Demonstrates kindness, empathy, and respectful communication in team interactions, fostering collaboration and a positive work environment

Conditions

• The position will be located at BSC within the Earth Sciences Department
• We offer a full-time contract 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