Software Research & Development Engineer / Software Research & Development Engineeress

Join the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC)

The Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) is a national research infrastructure in data science and artificial intelligence (AI) within the ETH domain, supported by founding partners EPFL and ETH Zurich. Our mission is to assist academic labs, hospitals, industry, and public sector stakeholders—including cantonal and federal administrations—through every stage of their data science journey. We facilitate everything from data collection and management to advanced machine learning, AI, and industrialization. With a diverse multidisciplinary team across three locations (Lausanne, Zurich, Villigen), SDSC delivers expertise and services across various fields, including health and biomedical sciences, energy and sustainability, climate and environment, and large-scale scientific infrastructures.

Position: Software Research & Development Engineer

SDSC is hiring a Software Research & Development Engineer to enhance its project-based engineering team in Zürich. This team’s focus is on converting research findings into production-ready data science infrastructures and plays a complementary role to platform teams by exploring, building, and validating innovative solutions prior to their adoption as sustainable services.

Your Role

In this position, you will operate at the intersection of research and engineering, transforming early-stage ideas, prototypes, and emerging solutions into reusable systems ready for real-world application. You will adhere to FAIR principles, ensuring that solutions are not only Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable but also usable, scalable, and sustainable in practice.

Project Focus

Your contributions will address pressing needs across various domains, including:

• Health and Biomedical Sciences
• Climate and Environment
• Energy and Sustainability
• Digital Society
• Large-scale Data Ecosystems

Position Details

Start date: June 1, 2026 (negotiable)

Responsibilities

• Participate in focused exploration and prototyping during early phases of projects.
• Contribute to Minimum Viable Product (MVP) development, crafting operational and reusable components suitable for production environments.
• Collaborate with engineers across the stack to build end-to-end solutions, primarily focusing on backend, data, and infrastructure components.
• Ensure continuity beyond each project lifecycle through close collaboration with internal platform teams and IT partners.
• Co-design solutions with users and domain experts, refining requirements into robust implementations.

Ideal Candidate

We are open to candidates at various experience levels. Whether you are early in your career or seasoned, what counts is your problem-solving approach and ability to collaborate effectively. The ideal candidate should possess the following:

• A passion for building practical systems, with expertise in navigating ambiguity and engaging with stakeholders.
• A commitment to quality, clarity, usability, and best practices in security and design.
• A background in software engineering, data engineering, or a related field, with an interest in data-intensive systems.
• A solid foundation in software or data engineering, ideally developed through a Master’s degree or higher (e.g. PhD) or equivalent professional experience. Experience in relevant domains is a plus but not essential.
• Comfort in collaborating between teams to bridge research, engineering, and operations.
• Familiarity with modern software and data engineering practices such as version control, testing, APIs, data pipelines, and containerization. Experience with languages like Python, Go, or Rust is preferred.
• An eagerness to learn, as we value attitude and curiosity over specific technological expertise.

What We Offer

• A stimulating, collaborative, cross-disciplinary environment in a world-class research institution.
• Flexible work arrangements.
• Exciting challenges, diverse projects, and ample opportunities for personal and professional growth.
• The chance to ignite your creativity by experimenting and learning new technologies.

Apply online using the form below.

Further Information

For additional details about SDSC, please visit our website. For inquiries regarding the position, feel free to reach out to Oksana Riba Grognuz at oksana.riba@epfl.ch (please note that no applications will be accepted via email).

Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.

We look forward to receiving your application!