Full-stack Software Engineer at CERN.
About the role Position Title: Full-stack Software Engineer, VRE Platform Location: Geneva, Switzerland 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
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
What you’ll do
- Do the work posted for Full-stack Software Engineer at CERN.
- Follow scope Practical notes