Reference: 348_25_LS_INB_RE3
Job title: Senior Research Engineer on Trusted Research Environment (TRE) Infrastructures for Secure and/or Sensitive Data projects (RE3)
About BSC
The Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is the leading supercomputing center in Spain. It houses MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, was a founding and hosting member of the former European HPC infrastructure PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), and is now hosting entity for EuroHPC JU, the Joint Undertaking that leads large-scale investments and HPC provision in Europe. The mission of BSC is to research, develop and manage information technologies in order to facilitate scientific progress. BSC combines HPC service provision and R&D into both computer and computational science (life, earth and engineering sciences) under one roof, and currently has over 1000 staff from 60 countries.
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We are particularly interested for this role in the strengths and lived experiences of women and underrepresented groups to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights in science and IT research. In instances of equal merit, the incorporation of the under-represented sex will be favoured.
We promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, fostering an environment where each and every one of us is appreciated for who we are, regardless of our differences.
If you consider that you do not meet all the requirements, we encourage you to continue applying for the job offer. We value diversity of experiences and skills, and you could bring unique perspectives to our team.
Context And Mission
In recent years, the rapid growth of data in various scientific fields, especially in healthcare, genomics, and life sciences, has significantly outpaced the ability to securely and efficiently manage, share, and analyze this data. As research becomes increasingly data demanding, both in quantity and quality, the need to create infrastructures that support secure, responsible, and efficient access to sensitive data has never been more critical. A Trusted Research Environment (TRE) serves as the foundation for enabling such access while maintaining the highest standards of data security, privacy, and compliance.
For scientific research to make meaningful advances, especially in fields like precision medicine, genomics, and healthcare, researchers need to collaborate across institutions, borders, and disciplines. However, the complexity of handling sensitive data — such as genomic sequences, medical records, and clinical images — poses significant challenges in terms of data privacy, security, and regulatory compliance, particularly with European regulations like the GDPR.
A TRE provides a secure platform that facilitates this collaboration, ensuring that data is not only accessible but also protected. It allows researchers to analyze sensitive data in a controlled, transparent, and auditable environment, while ensuring that data sovereignty, privacy, and ethical considerations are upheld. This infrastructure is essential for enabling the use of sensitive biomedical data in large-scale studies, such as those focused on understanding disease mechanisms, developing new treatments, and improving patient care.
We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated professional to join our team in developing and deploying a Trusted Research Environment (TRE) infrastructure primarily focused on supporting Spanish healthcare, genomics, and life sciences research. This role involves contributing to the design, implementation, and deployment of a secure, federated, and sustainable platform for accessing, analyzing, and sharing sensitive data. The TRE will primarily support Spanish research efforts, including national initiatives in precision medicine, genomic data integration, and healthcare innovation. However, the infrastructure will also ensure interoperability with European projects such as the European Genomic Infrastructure (GDI) and the European Federation for Cancer Imaging (EUCAIM), and many others.
Working closely with Spanish stakeholders, including the Spanish National Health System (SNS) and Health Research Institutes (IIS), as well as European research infrastructures, you will ensure that the TRE infrastructure aligns with national strategic goals while promoting secure and compliant data-sharing practices.
Key Duties
Infrastructure Development: Collaborate with stakeholders from diverse National and European projects to design and implement a robust TRE infrastructure.
Data Integration: Enable the integration of large-scale, sensitive biomedical data from multiple sources, ensuring the infrastructure supports FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles for research data.
Security & Compliance: Ensure the infrastructure adheres to the highest standards of data security, privacy, and regulatory compliance, providing a trustworthy environment for researchers to conduct sensitive studies.
Requirements
EducationSuperior degree in computer science engineering and/or bioinformatics-related fields.
Essential Knowledge and Professional ExperienceOver 5 years’ experience in cloud computing and VREs.
Over 2 years’ experience in cloud infrastructure management.
Additional Knowledge and Professional ExperienceExperience in authentication/authorization protocols.
Strong technical skills including experience with cloud-based technologies.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills (Spanish, Catalan, and/or English).
CompetencesAbility to understand scientific literature and software documentation.
Ability to communicate scientific results. Ability to work independently.
Ability to represent the team in national or international project meetings.
Conditions
The position will be located at BSC within the Life Sciences Department
We offer a full-time contract (37.5h/week), a good working environment, a highly stimulating environment with state-of-the-art infrastructure, flexible working hours, extensive training plan, restaurant tickets, private health insurance, support to the relocation procedures
Duration: Open-ended contract due to technical and scientific activities linked to the project and budget duration
Holidays: 23 paid vacation days plus 24th and 31st of December per our collective agreement
Salary: we offer a competitive salary commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate and according to the cost of living in Barcelona
Starting date: asap
Applications procedure and process
All applications must be submitted via the BSC website and contain:
A full CV in English including contact details
A cover/motivation letter with a statement of interest in English, clearly specifying for which specific area and topics the applicant wishes to be considered. Additionally, two references for further contacts must be included. Applications without this document will not be considered.
Development of the recruitment process
The selection will be carried out through a competitive examination system (“Concurso-Oposición”). The recruitment process consists of two phases:
Curriculum Analysis: Evaluation of previous experience and/or scientific history, degree, training, and other professional information relevant to the position. – 40 points
Interview phase: The highest-rated candidates at the curriculum level will be invited to the interview phase, conducted by the corresponding department and Human Resources. In this phase, technical competencies, knowledge, skills, and professional experience related to the position, as well as the required personal competencies, will be evaluated. – 60 points. A minimum of 30 points out of 60 must be obtained to be eligible for the position.
The recruitment panel will be composed of at least three people, ensuring at least 25% representation of women.
In accordance with OTM-R principles, a gender-balanced recruitment panel is formed for each vacancy at the beginning of the process. After reviewing the content of the applications, the panel will begin the interviews, with at least one technical and one administrative interview. At a minimum, a personality questionnaire as well as a technical exercise will be conducted during the process.
The panel will make a final decision, and all individuals who participated in the interview phase will receive feedback with details on the acceptance or rejection of their profile.
At BSC, we seek continuous improvement in our recruitment processes. For any suggestions or comments/complaints about our recruitment processes, please contact recruitment@bsc.es.
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Deadline
The vacancy will remain open until a suitable candidate has been hired. Applications will be regularly reviewed and potential candidates will be contacted.
OTM-R principles for selection processes
BSC-CNS is committed to the principles of the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers of the European Commission and the Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment principles (OTM-R). This is applied for any potential candidate in all our processes, for example by creating gender-balanced recruitment panels and recognizing career breaks etc.
BSC-CNS is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by applicable state or local law.
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