Software Research & Development Engineer

80%-100%, Zurich, fixed-term

The Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) is a national research infrastructure 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—including cantonal and federal administrations—through the 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 provides expertise and services to various domains such as health and biomedical sciences, energy and sustainability, climate and environment, and large-scale scientific infrastructures.

Project Background

The Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) is hiring a Software Research & Development Engineer to join its project-based engineering team in Zürich. This team focuses on transforming research outcomes into production-ready data science infrastructure, operating in a complementary role to platform teams. We explore, build, and validate solutions before they are adopted as sustainable services.

In this role, you'll operate at the intersection of research and engineering, turning early-stage ideas, prototypes, and emerging solutions into reusable systems poised for real-world deployment. This includes aligning with FAIR principles, ensuring that what is FAIR is also usable, scalable, and sustainable in practice. Projects are driven by concrete needs across various domains including health and biomedical sciences, climate and environment, energy and sustainability, digital society, and large-scale data ecosystems.

Start of position: June 1, 2026 (negotiable)

Job Description

• You will contribute to projects evolving through two complementary modes.
• In early phases, engage in focused exploration and prototyping, shaping solution spaces, testing approaches, and making technical choices.
• As projects mature, contribute to Minimum Viable Product (MVP) development, building operational, reusable components that can transition into production environments.
• Collaborate with engineers across the stack to build end-to-end solutions, focusing primarily on backend, data, and infrastructure components, while occasionally supporting lightweight user-facing elements as needed.
• Ensure continuity beyond the project lifecycle by working closely with internal platform teams and partner IT units to transition successful MVPs into production, ensuring maintainability and operational readiness.
• Co-design solutions with users and domain experts, participate in collaborative workshops, and iteratively refine requirements into robust implementations.
• Follow established engineering and data best practices, with a strong focus on reproducibility, maintainability, interoperability, and production readiness.

Profile

• We welcome candidates with varying levels of experience; whether you are early in your career or seasoned, your approach to problem-solving and collaboration is what matters most.
• You enjoy building practical systems and are comfortable navigating ambiguity, engaging with stakeholders, and iterating towards solutions.
• You care about quality, clarity, long-term usability, and building systems that are secure by design and aligned with best practices.
• You likely have a background in software engineering, data engineering, or a related field, with an interest in data-intensive systems.
• A strong foundation in software or data engineering is essential, typically developed through a Master’s degree (or higher) in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. Experience in one of the application domains is a plus, but not required.
• Comfortable working at the interface between teams, helping bridge research, engineering, and operations, ensuring successful adoption and sustainability of what is built.
• Experience with modern software and data engineering practices such as version control, testing, APIs, data pipelines, containerization, and programming in languages like Python, Go, or Rust is beneficial.
• Exposure to data modeling or semantic interoperability (e.g., ontologies, common data models) is a plus.
• While we do not expect you to know every technology we use, we value curiosity and a drive to learn; technical skills can be developed on the job.

Workplace

The work environment at SDSC fosters collaboration and innovation, making it an ideal setting for professional growth.

We Offer

• A stimulating, collaborative, cross-disciplinary environment in a world-class research institution.
• Flexible work arrangements.
• Exciting challenges, varied projects, and ample opportunities for learning and growth.
• The chance to blend your passion and skills to positively impact research communities and society.
• Opportunities to spark your creativity by experimenting with and learning new technologies.

We Value Diversity and Sustainability

In alignment with our values, ETH Zurich promotes an inclusive culture that values diversity and equality of opportunity. We nurture a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all staff and students are respected. Visit our Equal Opportunities and Diversity website to learn more about how we foster a fair and open environment that allows everyone to grow. Sustainability is at our core, and we continuously strive toward a climate-neutral future.

Curious? So Are We.

We invite you to apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.

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

About ETH Zurich

ETH Zurich is one of the world's leading universities specializing in science and technology, known for outstanding education and cutting-edge research. Over 30,000 individuals from more than 120 countries find inspiration and independence at our university. Located in the heart of Europe, we connect globally to develop solutions for the challenges of today and tomorrow.