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• EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, is one of the most dynamic university campuses in Europe and ranks among the top 20 universities worldwide. The EPFL employs more than 6,500 people supporting the three main missions of the institutions: education, research and innovation. The EPFL campus offers an exceptional working environment at the heart of a community of more than 17,000 people, including over 12,500 students and 4,000 researchers from more than 120 different countries
• The NCCR Catalysis (Sustainable Chemical Processes Through Catalyst Design, ) has the ambition to make the production of commodity chemicals and fuels sustainable and carbon-neutral, and therefore to contribute to mitigate climate change. This initiative is led by ETHZ as leading house and EPFL as co-leading house, with many other Swiss educational centers participating (45 research group across Switzerland)
• The mission of the Data Officer will be to maintain and provide the future development of our data management system in the field of catalysis research, and to help the involved research groups in the process of digitalizing and standardizing their data. You will be part of the NCCR Catalysis Project Office located at ETHZ, whereas you will be at EPFL. You will be located within the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering (ISIC,, ) at EPFL, and will have a privileged interaction as well with the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC, ) and the SwissCAT+ Hubs (). Remote (home office) work will be possible for most of the activities
• Motivated and qualified candidates should submit their application online , but no later than November 1, 2024. Applications will be evaluated continuously, and promising candidates will be invited for an onsite interview until the position is filled. The CV should contain the list of technical and scientific skills, previous professional experience, education, copy of the most recent degree, and names and contact details of at least 3 references. The motivation letter should highlight the candidate’s interest and past experience which could be exploited for the position

Main duties and responsibilities

• Data Digitalization and Standardization (RDM strategy, interactions with research groups and implementation of RDM practices, especially electronic laboratory notebooks (ELN), development of tools together with developers and researchers)
• Software Development (Databases exposed through GUI/REST interface, Full-stack development with Python backends and JS/HTML/CSS frontends or NextJS/React with postgresql))
• System administration (Managing communication and data platform of NCCR Catalysis, managing cloud servers (Mattermost, Invenio, …) with technologies such as Linux, openstack, Ansible, ngingx, uwsgi, AirTable)
• Training and education (Organizing workshops, support for research groups)
• Reporting (Yearly reporting on RDM and open science activities, monitoring of RDM status in research groups)
• Apply for grants to obtain more resources for projects, accelerate their progress, and strengthen the team

Your profile

• A master degree in Computer Science/Engineering or Data Science (or related topic) with an interest for applications in natural sciences
• A PhD degree in Science or Engineering with at least three years of experience in software-related positions (building systems within the scope of a graduate degree counts towards these three years) with validated experience in large software architectures, data management and digitalization
• Previous experience in data science related to molecular sciences (chemistry, chemical engineering, materials, biology) is a strong asset
• Capable of participating in multi-disciplinary teams involving participants with very low data management knowledge
• Eagerness to provide training, support and maintenance work, and to participate in network-wide in-person events (1-2 per year)
• Ability to conduct independent work and to work in a team as required by the task at hand
• Identifies optimal solutions across diverse fields, rapidly mastering new software and tools as needed
• Excellent written and spoken English communication skills. Knowledge of French and German is an asset
• Travel attitude (mainly within Switzerland: the NCCR Catalysis Project Office will in particular have regular meetings at ETHZ in Zurich)

We offer

• A unique occasion to contribute to realizing one of the major societal tasks of this century: achieving a carbon-neutral society
• An opportunity to contribute to the growth of the emerging field of Digital Chemistry
• A stimulating work environment including multiple research groups at EPFL, ETHZ, IBM Research, Swiss cantonal universities and Universities of Applied Science and multiple partners in data science
• Access to many continuing education courses
• A competitive salary commensurate with skills and experience, and subject to EPFL pay scale. EPFL is an equal-opportunity employer
• EPFL and ETHZ are international and world-class universities. They offer state-of-the-art facilities, scientific events and training and hosts a vibrant entrepreneurial community. Candidates will be recruited on merit only
• Opportunities for development within the Institution with permanent employment contracts

Duration: 1 year, renewable