Research Assistant (RE1)

Barcelona Supercomputing Center; Barcelona; Presencial; EUR 28.000 - 42.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Restaurant tickets

Private health insurance

Relocation support

Flexible working hours

Descripción de la vacante

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS) invites applications for a Research Assistant in the Earth Systems Services Group. The role focuses on data preparation, ML approaches for automated picture and text analysis, and programming support for the research team.

You will join a project applying social science and humanities research to inform policy making, using AI/ML models and high‑performance computing.

Formación

• MSc in Computational Science or related
• Data gathering and organization
• System administration
• Backend and frontend development
• Natural language processing
• Machine learning approaches (image and text)
• Experience in Computational Social Science
• Diversity in programming languages
• Good communication skills in English (verbal and written)
• Spanish, Italian, German or Portuguese language skills are a plus

Responsabilidades

• Data preparation for human and computational assessments
• Development of machine learning approaches for automated assessment of picture and text analysis
• Programming support to the research team

Conocimientos

Data gathering

System administration

Backend development

Frontend development

Natural language processing

Machine learning

Diversity in programming languages

Science visualization

English communication

Spanish / Italian / German /Portuguese

Educación

MSc in Computational Science or related

Herramientas

Python

TensorFlow/PyTorch

R

SQL

Git

Descripción del empleo

Job Reference

401_26_ES_ESS_RE1

Position

Research Assistant (RE1)

Closing Date

Friday, 28 August, 2026

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.

Look At The BSC Experience: BSC-CNS YouTube Channel Let's stay connected with BSC Folks! 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.

For the projects related to this position we use innovative approaches, to apply social science and humanities research to contribute valuable insights for informed policy making. The project work focuses on a wide range of key societal research areas such as Equity and Welfare, Education, Social Services and Labor Market, Public Opinion and Political Communication in (Social) Media, Social-Ecology, Science and Technology Studies. Employing a mixed of advanced AI/ML models, including Large Language Models (LLMs), Agent-Based Modeling (ABM), and Social Network Analysis (SNA), we use high-performance computational methods to a wide range of large datasets. We are seeking a qualified person with the capacity to bridge between social-ecological and computational research. The candidate will join the Earth Systems Services Group and report to Dr. Johannes Langemeyer. The candidate will become part of the ERC-project BIG-5 (big-5.eu), investigating the creation of nature values across virtual communities and the implication of digital nature values for environmental stewardship.

Key Duties

• Data preparation for human and computational assessments
• Development of machine learning approaches for automated assessment of picture and text analysis
• Programming support to the research team

Requirements

• Education
  • MSc in Computational Science or related
• Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
  • Data gathering and organization
  • System administration
  • Backend and frontend development
  • Natural language processing
  • Machine learning approaches (image and text)
  • Experience in Computational Social Science
• Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
  • Diversity in programming languages
  • Science visualization
  • Good communication skills in English. (verbal and written)
  • Highly valuable to have good communication skills in Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese
• Competences
  • Interdisciplinarity
  • Independency
  • Leadership
  • Creativity

Conditions

• The position will be located at BSC within the Earth Sciences Department
• We offer a full-time contract (35h/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: 22 days of holidays + 6 personal days + 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]. For 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.