Software Research & Development Engineer / Software Research & Development Engineeress

Join the Swiss Data Science Center

The Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) is a national research infrastructure specializing in data science and artificial intelligence (AI) within the ETH domain, with EPFL and ETH Zurich as founding partners. Our mission is to support academic labs, hospitals, industry, and public sector stakeholders through their entire data science journey, from data collection and management to machine learning, AI, and industrialization. With a large multidisciplinary team of professionals across three locations (Lausanne, Zurich, Villigen), the SDSC offers expertise and services in various domains, including health and biomedical sciences, energy and sustainability, climate and environment, and large-scale scientific infrastructures.

We Are Hiring: Software Research & Development Engineer

The Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) is seeking a Software Research & Development Engineer to join its project-based engineering team in Zürich. This team is dedicated to transforming research outcomes into production-ready data science infrastructure and operates in a complementary role to platform teams by exploring, building, and validating solutions before these are adopted as sustainable services.

Your Role

You will work at the intersection of research and engineering, converting early-stage ideas, prototypes, and emerging solutions into reusable systems designed for real-world deployment. This includes aligning with FAIR principles while ensuring that the systems developed are usable, scalable, and sustainable in practice.

Key Responsibilities

• Engage in focused exploration and prototyping during early project phases, shaping solution spaces and making technical decisions.
• Contribute to Minimum Viable Product (MVP) development, creating operational, reusable components ready for production.
• Collaborate with engineers across the stack to build end-to-end solutions, primarily focusing on backend, data, and infrastructure components.
• Ensure continuity beyond project lifecycles by working closely with internal platform teams and partner IT units.
• Co-design solutions with users and domain experts, participating in collaborative workshops to refine requirements into robust implementations.

Your Profile

We welcome candidates with various levels of experience. What matters most is your approach to problem-solving and collaboration. You should possess the following attributes:

• A passion for building systems that work in practice, alongside comfort in navigating ambiguity.
• A keen interest in quality, clarity, long-term usability, and security best practices.
• A background in software engineering, data engineering, or a related field, with a focus on data-intensive systems.
• A solid foundation in software or data engineering, typically gained through a Master’s degree or higher in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience with modern software and data engineering practices such as version control, testing, APIs, data pipelines, containerization, and programming languages like Python, Go, or Rust.

What We Offer

• A stimulating, collaborative, cross-disciplinary environment in a world-class research institution.
• Flexible work arrangements with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
• Engaging challenges and diverse projects that allow you to make an impact on research communities and society.
• The chance to spark your creativity by experimenting with and learning new technologies.

Application Process

Apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.

Additional Information

For further information about SDSC, please visit our website. Any questions regarding the position should be directed to Oksana Riba Grognuz at oksana.riba@epfl.ch (no applications).

Please note that pre-selection is carried out by responsible recruiters, not by artificial intelligence. The General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of ETH Zurich apply for recruitment services.