Research Software Engineer – AI and Earth Observation

In this position, you will join our Simulation and Data Lab for AI and Machine Learning for Remote Sensing. The lab advances interdisciplinary research and operational services by combining geoscience and remote sensing methods with AI and advanced computing technologies for Earth observation (EO) applications. Your work will focus on deploying, operating and scaling scientific software, AI services and data workflows across supercomputing, cloud and quantum computing environments. You will work closely with our researchers and international partners from academia, industry and public agencies, bringing together scientific computing, data engineering and AI to address EO challenges.

Specifically, you will:

• Design, deploy and operate end-to-end federated EO and AI workflows, from multisource data collection and pre-processing to model training, serving and delivery of actionable information
• Build and maintain containerised and cluster-based environments for AI services, including deployment pipelines, monitoring, logging and alerting
• Develop, port and optimise scientific software and workflows across HPC, cloud and hybrid quantum-classical environments, ensuring performance, scalability, portability and reliability
• Apply sustainable software engineering and MLOps practices, including CI/CD, automated testing, packaging, versioning and documentation, to support reproducibility and maintainability
• Develop and document stable APIs and accessible interfaces that help users integrate EO and AI services into their operational workflows
• Collaborate with researchers and infrastructure teams to align applications with available computing, storage and networking resources, and support the adoption of HPC and AI services
• Contribute expertise in advanced analytics to research initiatives and the preparation of proposals for national and international funding calls and tenders
• Contribute to open-source projects, technical reports, publications, presentations and educational activities, including courses, hackathons and community events

Your qualifications and technical background include:

• An excellent master’s degree (and a PhD) in computer science, software engineering, data science or a related field
• At least a few years of industry experience in software engineering, data engineering, scientific computing or AI engineering, with hands-on experience delivering and supporting production software, data-intensive workflows or computing services
• Strong programming skills and practical experience with Linux, containerisation, version control and service deployment on HPC systems or cloud infrastructure, including GPU-accelerated workloads
• Experience with deep learning frameworks, production model serving and end-to-end data and model pipelines, including monitoring, experiment tracking and model lifecycle management
• Evidence of research or software contributions through publications and/or open-source projects
• Self-motivation, autonomy and sound judgement, with the ability to take a system-wide view and adapt to operational challenges
• The ability to collaborate effectively in multidisciplinary, international teams, supported by a very good command of written and spoken English with extensive vocabulary (at least B2 level according to the CEFR), ideally supported by a certificate confirming the language level

• Meaningful tasks: The position offers a varied and diverse role in an international environment  
• Work-life balance: Optimal conditions for balancing work and private life, as well as a family-friendly company policy. The option of flexible working (in terms of location) is generally available after consultation and in line with upcoming tasks and (on-site) appointments
• Vacation: You will receive 30 days of vacation plus additional days off (e.g. between Christmas and New Year's)
• Flexibility: Flexible working time models, including options close to full-time, allow you to tailor your working hours to suit your individual needs
• Knowledge & further training: Your professional development is important to us – we provide targeted, individual support
• Campus experience: Our research campus in the countryside creates ideal conditions for collegial exchange and sporting activities right on site. Our cafeteria offers a wide range of options—you can enjoy a relaxing lunch break with a lake view
• Fair remuneration: Depending on your existing qualifications and the tasks assigned to you, you will be classified in pay grade 13 of the TVöD-Bund (Collective Agreement for the Public Service). All information on the TVöD-Bund collective agreement can be found on the BMI website. The monthly salaries in euros can be found on page 74 of the PDF download
• Additional benefits: Benefit from attractive additional services such as a company pension scheme with employer contribution. In addition to the basic salary, there is an additional year-end bonus under the collective pay agreement amounting to 75% of a monthly salary, as well as capital-forming benefits
• Fixed-term: The position is initially limited to 2 years
• Support for international employees: Our International Advisory Service makes it easier for international employees to get started

In addition to exciting tasks and a collegial working environment, we offer you much more: https://go.fzj.de/benefits