Software engineer (Python/Bash/DevOps): Earth System Model software…

Area of research:

Scientific support staff

Job description:Software engineer (Python/Bash/DevOps): Earth System Model software infrastructure (m/f/d)

Background
The Climate Dynamics section at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven, Germany, invites applications for a software engineer (Python/Bash/DevOps) for the development, maintenance and support of Earth System Model software infrastructure.

ESM-Tools is an open-source software product, developed and maintained at AWI, that aims to unify Earth System Model (ESM) infrastructure. ESM-Tools tackles the challenges associated with the configuration, building, operation and distribution of ESMs across different High Performance Computing (HPC) platforms; at the same time it provides basic workflow-management capabilities, a plugin manager and a standardized experiment file structure. ESM-Tools is widely used by AWI’s climate-modelling sections and by other partners in the Helmholtz Association; and it is employed in several national and international modelling projects.

You will work with leading European climate modelers, computing scientists and software engineers on developing and maintaining ESM-Tools, as well as on supporting and training the software users.

Tasks
You will be part of a team responsible for development, maintenance and support of ESM-Tools.

Development tasks: you will join the team to collect user requirements, develop new features and refactor old ones, deploy testing strategies, and contribute to the overall design and documentation of the software.

Supporting tasks: You will be involved in assisting the ESM-Tools users with diagnosing and resolution of technical issues related with the software, as well as, in advising with best software development practices. You will also contribute to training AWI personnel and other project partners in ESM-Tools, version control software, programming languages, data analysis and software development strategies.

Requirements

• A master or PhD in one or more of the following fields is required: computer science, mathematics, data sciences, physics, meteorology, oceanography, climate sciences, or related field
• Demonstrated skill/proficiency in Python and bash scripting
• Fluency in English
• Demonstrated skill/proficiency in version control (git)
• Experience with developing software tests and writing software documentation
• Ability to work in a team
• Ability to organise your own work, meet deadlines and prioritize
• Ability to multitask
• Ability to diagnose and solve technical problems timely
• Ability to effectively and patiently assist users on technical problems

Moreover, having one or several of the following skills would be a distinct advantage:

• Experience with HPC systems
• Knowledge of Fortran, R, Julia, Matlab, or any other high-level programming language
• Experience with CMake and Make
• Knowledge of workflow managers (e.g. Airflow, Prefect, Cylc, Autosubmit, ecFlow)
• Working with containers (Docker, Singularity)
• Knowledge of CD/CI tools
• Working with complex climate models and geophysical data formats (netCDF, GRIB, zarr)

Further Information
The AWI is characterised by

The AWI is characterised by

• our scientific success – excellent research
• collaboration and cooperation – intra-institute, national and international, interdisciplinary
• opportunities to develop – on the job, aiming at other positions and beyond AWI
• a culture of reconciling work and family – an audited and well-supported aspect of our operation
• our outstanding research infrastructure – ships, stations, aircraft, laboratories and more
• an international environment – everyday contacts with people from all over the world
• having an influence – fundamental research with social and political relevance
• flat hierarchies – facilitating freedom and responsibility
• exciting science topics, with opportunities also in technology, administration and infrastructure

Equal opportunities are an integral part of our personnel policy. The AWI aims to increase the number of female employees and therefore strongly encourages qualified women to apply.

Disabled applicants will be given preference when equal qualifications are present.

The AWI fosters the compatibility of work and family in various ways and has received a number of awards as a result of this engagement.

This research center is part of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. With more than 42,000 employees and an annual budget of over € 5 billion, the Helmholtz Association is Germany’s largest scientific organisation.