HPC Software and Support Engineer

De Universiteit Gent is een wereld op zich. 15.000 medewerkers zijn er dagelijks aan de slag in onderwijs, onderzoek en ondersteunende diensten.

Voor hen is de Universiteit Gent een logische keuze: het is een van de grootste, meest boeiende en toekomstgerichte werkgevers van de regio.

The HPC team of the ICT department of Ghent University offers centralized services in the field of scientific computing, including access to infrastructure, training and support for researchers from Ghent University, industry, and other knowledge institutions. As part of this assignment, the HPC-UGent team is involved in collaborations both at the national and international level. Within Flanders, the team is active in the Flemish Supercomputer Center (VSC, https://www.vscentrum.be). In the context of the EuroHPC ecosystem, the HPC-UGent team is a.o. a member of the consortium that is tasked with developing the EuroHPC Federation Platform (https://my-eurohpc.eu).

We are looking for a new colleague to help perform the tasks that are assigned to Ghent University in 2026-2029 to develop the EuroHPC Federation Platform (EFP), and assist with providing support to researchers using the HPC infrastructures of Ghent University and the Flemish Supercomputer Center (VSC).

Tasks will include a.o.:

• You contribute to the technical work to integrate EESSI into EFP, a.o. documenting best practices, testing and improving the user experience, contributing changes to EESSI, evaluating and monitoring the operational status of the Federated Software Catalog across various systems;
• You actively work with the various EuroHPC Hosting Entities by giving advice and providing help with the deployment of EESSI and the EFP Federated Software Catalog on the EuroHPC systems they operate (https://eurohpc-ju.europa.eu/supercomputers/our-supercomputers_en);
• You help with adding software installations to EESSI through EasyBuild;
• You help with providing support in the context of EFP, in collaboration with consortium partners, to end users of EuroHPC systems, and to support teams and system administrators of EuroHPC Hosting Entities and other European HPC infrastructures like the Flemish Supercomputing Center;
• You are involved in user testing of EFP throughout its development;
• You contribute to the EFP user-facing and integration documentation, as well as the HPC-UGent and VSC user documentation;
• You help with organizing EFP-related training events, including webinars, in-person events, etc.;
• You report progress and developments within EFP back to the HPC-UGent team and help with implementing these within the context of Ghent University;
• You help represent Ghent University in the EFP consortium, along with other colleagues of the HPC-UGent team;
• You attend EuroHPC-related and other international events to disseminate and promote the EuroHPC Federation Platform, and related projects like EESSI and EasyBuild, to foster further collaboration with the European HPC community.

For more information regarding the job content, you can contact Kenneth Hoste via [email protected]. (Please note: do not send your application by e-mail, but apply online.)

Knowledge and experience

• You ideally have some experience in scientific computing and/or scientific research that can benefit from using large-scale distributed computing;
• You have experience in working with Linux systems, and you are fluent in using a Linux shell environment like bash;
• You have hands-on experience with the installation of scientific software, preferentially both for software implemented in compiled programming languages (like C++) and interpreted programming languages (like Python);
• You have good knowledge of English (reading, writing, speaking);
• You preferably have a good command of Dutch, or you are willing to quickly develop your Dutch language skills to a good level.
• Familiarity with tools and technologies that are relevant for this role, like CernVM-FS, EasyBuild, or EESSI, are a plus.

Skills and attitudes

• You can work in an international team in a results-oriented way;
• You are proactive and have a sense of initiative;
• You can analyze and synthesize results;
• You can communicate clearly in a professional context;
• You can work independently.