Full-stack Software Engineer

About the role

Position Title: Full-stack Software Engineer, VRE Platform

Location: Geneva

Engagement: Full-time

Compensation: 5266-5793 Swiss Francs monthly, tax-free, based on qualifications.

Position Summary

You will own the end-to-end lifecycle of services powering CERN's analysis ecosystem, from data intake to production release. Within the European ESCAPE Collaboration, you will shape the next generation Virtual Research Environment (VRE): a modular, open-source analysis platform deployed on CERN's Kubernetes infrastructure. Your work will provide researchers a unified entry point to data, software, and computing, with a clear path to federated deployment across the EOSC. You will build production-grade extensions for CERN's SWAN notebook service while contributing to the ESCAPE standards and the Open Science Competence Centre.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain Jupyter extensions for Rucio, REANA, and Zenodo using Python, integrating them as production-ready plugins within SWAN interactive notebooks.
• Deliver workshops, training sessions, and technical documentation for the Competence Centre, collecting user feedback and driving iterative product improvements.
• Architect and evolve the authentication and authorisation layer, supporting token-based and role-based models aligned with European federated-identity standards such as EduGain and MyAccessID for EOSC federation.
• Review, standardise, and consolidate unified VRE Helm charts, incorporating Prometheus-based monitoring and metrics collection.
• Package and release container images that operate reliably inside CERN's Kubernetes infrastructure, ensuring resilience and scalability.
• Partner with user communities to translate scientific requirements into technical specifications, ensuring the platform supports reproducible analysis workflows.
• Contribute to scientific workflow and data management tooling, enabling researchers to discover, process, analyse, and publish results within a single open ecosystem.

Required Professional Profile

• Demonstrated experience with Python and software development in a Linux-based production environment.
• Proven ability to work with container technologies such as Docker and orchestration using Kubernetes with Helm.
• Solid understanding of version control using Git and practical experience with CI/CD implementation patterns.
• Familiarity with authentication and authorisation technologies, including OAuth2, OIDC, and INDIGO IAM.
• A track record of meaningful contributions to open-source software projects, with an emphasis on writing clear, maintainable, and tested code.
• Strong capacity to learn new technologies and adapt to evolving requirements in a fast-paced research environment.
• Commitment to learning French while delivering reliable scientific software.

Preferred Professional Experience

• Direct experience contributing to or working with open scientific tools such as Rucio, REANA, and Snakemake.
• Hands-on work with web technologies including JavaScript, React, and JupyterLab extension development.
• Prior engagement with High-Performance Computing (HPC) or cloud computing infrastructures.

Essential Technical Skills

• Python, Git, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux administration.
• Helm, GitOps workflows, and Prometheus monitoring.
• JupyterHub and JupyterLab development.
• Rucio, REANA, and Zenodo data and workflow management.
• OAuth2/OIDC, token-based access, and INDIGO IAM.
• Kubeflow and VirtualKubelet/interLink networking is an advantage.

Eligibility Criteria

• Nationality of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• Maximum of two years of professional experience in Software Engineering or a related field following graduation.
• Highest educational qualification is a Bachelor's or Master's degree; applicants without a university degree are not eligible.
• No prior CERN fellowship or graduate contract.
• PhD holders are not eligible for this position.

Application Timeline

• Closing date: 02 September 2026 at 23:59 CEST.
• Target start date: 01 November 2026.
• Contract duration: 24 months, with a possible extension up to 36 months.
• Working hours: 40 hours per week.
• Flexibility: Hybrid work model.
• This role may require work during nights, Sundays, and official CERN holidays to meet operational needs.

Job Reference: IT-CA-IR-2026-199-GRAE

Field of Work: Software Engineering and IT

Benchmark: 200020

Computing Engineer

Global Benefits at CERN

• Monthly stipend ranging from 5266 to 5793 Swiss Francs, tax-free, depending on qualifications.
• 30 days of paid leave annually, plus a two-week winter closure.
• Comprehensive health insurance for yourself, your spouse, and children, plus membership in the CERN Pension Fund.
• Monthly family, child, and infant allowances based on individual circumstances.
• Relocation support including an installation grant and travel expense coverage.
• Possibility to extend your contract up to 36 months.
• On-the-job and formal training opportunities, including language classes.

Discover CERN

At CERN, we push the frontiers of science and technology, bringing together physicists and a wide spectrum of professionals from engineering, technical, scientific, and administrative fields. We champion inclusion and diversity as core values, driving innovation and shared purpose. If you are eager to join a dynamic, international community committed to exploring the universe, this is your place to grow and contribute.

More information: careers.cern