Sr. Research Software Engineer - Sustainable Infrastructure

Qabird; Leiden; Hybrid; EUR 40,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Digital strategy

Collaborative environment

Professional development

LIACS collaboration

Diverse team

Job summary

Leiden University’s Institute of Environmental Science (CML) is seeking a Senior Research Software Engineer with a research systems and infrastructure focus. You will lead the digital infrastructure powering CML’s work in industrial ecology and sustainability assessment, shaping architecture, computing environments, cloud/hybrid setups, security and data governance.

You will mentor junior developers, set institute‑wide standards for reproducibility, collaborate with LIACS and other partners,

Qualifications

• A PhD in computer science, software engineering, environmental informatics, AI, or a closely related field.
• Strong Python skills; additional languages/stack knowledge is a plus.
• Experience in system administration / platform engineering for research or data-intensive environments
• Experience with software development architecture (service design, APIs, observability, reliability).
• Expertise in data governance and FAIR practices
• Knowledge of database administration, data catalogs, and metadata standards.
• Excellent communication skills and commitment to open science, documentation, and reproducibility.
• Experience with grant writing and technical leadership in projects are a plus

Responsibilities

• Owning the technical roadmap for CML’s software and data ecosystem: architecture, standards, and long-term sustainability.
• Designing and operating research platforms & infrastructure
• Defining and implementing institute-wide software engineering and data management protocols for FAIR, metadata, documentation, versioning, licensing, and release processes.
• Leading reproducible computational pipelines (workflow engines, packaging, CI/CD
• Mentoring junior developers/researchers; run code reviews and technical design reviews.
• Expanding collaborations with the institute of computer science of Leiden University LIACS and other university initiatives on research software and data.
• Advising on and support computing & storage solutions; liaise with central IT, LIACS, and faculty services, as well as Surf and e-Science center.
• Contributing to project acquisition: help develop grant proposals, technical work packages, budgets, and risk & data management plans.

Skills

Python

System administration

Platform engineering

Software architecture

Data governance

FAIR practices

Database administration

Metadata standards

Open science

Grant writing

Technical leadership

Education

PhD in computer science

PhD in software engineering

PhD in environmental informatics

PhD in AI

Tools

CI/CD

Job description

Leiden University’s Institute of Environmental Science (CML) is seeking a Senior Research Software Engineer with a research systems and infrastructure focus. You will lead the digital infrastructure powering CML’s work in industrial ecology and sustainability assessment, shaping architecture, computing environments, cloud/hybrid setups, security and data governance.

You will mentor junior developers, set institute‑wide standards for reproducibility, collaborate with LIACS and other partners,