Join the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC)
The Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) is a national research infrastructure specializing in data science and artificial intelligence (AI) within the ETH domain, with ETH Zurich and EPFL as founding partners. Our mission is to support academic labs, hospitals, industrial sectors, and public administration in their data science journey—from data collection and management through to machine learning, AI, and industrialization.
With a large, multidisciplinary team across three locations (Lausanne, Zurich, Villigen), the SDSC provides expertise and innovative services in various domains such as health and biomedical sciences, energy and sustainability, climate and environment, and large-scale scientific infrastructures.
Current Opportunity: Software Research & Development Engineer
We are seeking a Software Research & Development Engineer to join our project-based engineering team in Zürich. This team's focus is transforming research outcomes into production-ready data science infrastructure and operates in a complementary manner to platform teams by exploring, building, and validating solutions prior to their adoption as sustainable services.
Your Role
In this position, you will work at the intersection of research and engineering, taking early-stage ideas, prototypes, and emerging solutions, and developing them into scalable and reusable systems for real-world applications. Your responsibilities will include:
- Engaging in focused exploration and prototyping during early project phases, shaping solution spaces, testing methodologies, and making technical decisions.
- Contributing to the development of Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) as projects mature, focusing on operational components ready for production environments.
- Collaborating with engineers across the stack to build end-to-end solutions, primarily working on backend, data, and infrastructure components.
- Ensuring continuity beyond project lifecycles by collaborating closely with internal platform teams and partner IT units to transition successful MVPs into operational use.
- Co-designing solutions with users and domain experts, participating in collaborative workshops, and iteratively refining requirements into robust implementations.
Your Profile
We welcome candidates from various experience levels. Whether you are at the start of your career or are more seasoned, what matters most is your approach to problem-solving and collaboration:
- You have a passion for building practical systems, navigating ambiguity, engaging with stakeholders, and iterating toward effective solutions.
- You prioritize quality, clarity, long-term usability, and security best practices in your work.
- A background in software engineering, data engineering, or a related field, along with an interest in data-intensive systems, is essential.
- You possess a solid foundation in software or data engineering, typically through a Master’s degree or higher (e.g., PhD) in Computer Science or a related field, or through equivalent professional experience.
- While experience in one of our application domains is appreciated, it is not a requirement.
- You are comfortable working at the intersection of teams, facilitating collaboration among research, engineering, and operations.
- You may have familiarity with modern software and data engineering practices, including version control, testing, APIs, data pipelines, containerization, and reproducible workflows (e.g., Docker, CI/CD, Nix), as well as programming languages such as Python, Go, Rust, or similar.
- Exposure to data modeling or semantic interoperability (e.g., ontologies, common data models) is a plus.
- We value attitude, curiosity, and a willingness to learn—technical skills can be developed on the job.
What 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 growth and learning.
- A chance to make an impact on research communities and society while pursuing your passion.
- The opportunity to ignite your creativity by experimenting with and learning new technologies.
Apply online using the form below. Please submit your CV, motivation letter, diplomas, and references as part of your application. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.
For further information about SDSC, please visit our website. Questions regarding the position should be directed to Oksana Riba Grognuz at oksana.riba@epfl.ch.
Please note that we exclusively accept online applications. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered. The pre-selection is conducted by our responsible recruiters and not by artificial intelligence.
For recruitment services, the GTC of ETH Zurich applies.