Software Engineer in Data Management

Salary: CHF 90'000 - 120'000 per year

Requirements:

• Proven experience in software engineering for distributed, large-scale, or data-intensive systems.
• Strong track record of developing and maintaining production-grade software.
• Experience in the design and implementation of distributed services, APIs, or data management systems at scale.
• Practical experience with DevOps practices, including automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and production service operations.
• Experience operating or supporting production services in Linux-based environments.
• Experience with containerised deployments and orchestration in production environments is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with scientific computing environments and large-scale data processing frameworks is an advantage.
• Contribution to open-source software projects or experience in collaborative distributed development environments is an asset.
• Excellent proficiency in Python programming.
• Demonstrated knowledge of distributed systems, data-intensive applications, computer networks, and database technologies.
• Proven experience in software design, system architecture, and CI/CD practices in production environments.
• Proficiency in Linux and Kubernetes-based environments.
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively in international, multidisciplinary, and distributed development teams.
• Spoken and written English, with a commitment to learn French.
• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• You have a professional background in Computer Science or a related field and have either a Masters degree with 2 to 6 years of post-graduation professional experience, or a PhD with no more than 3 years of post-graduation professional experience.
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.

Responsibilities:

• Evolve the transfer and policy engines of Rucio to meet HL-LHC scale requirements.
• Improve the usability, scalability, and performance of Rucio for the ATLAS Experiment.
• Contribute to DevOps and operational activities for the ATLAS Rucio production deployment.
• Help maintain core components of Rucio.
• Contribute to the evolution of Rucio within the broader scientific data management community.

Technologies:

• CI/CD
• CMS
• DevOps
• Support
• Kubernetes
• Linux
• Python

More:

We are offering a position within the ATLAS Experiment at CERN, contributing to the development and operation of Rucio, a widely used open-source scientific data management system supporting some of the largest scientific collaborations in the world. Experiments such as ATLAS, CMS, Belle II, SKA, and DUNE rely on Rucio to manage globally distributed data at the multi-exabyte scale. Rucio is developed across CERNs Research Computing Sector within the EP-ATL-CO section, focused on extending, integrating, and operating the system in support of the ATLAS Experiment. You will join a team of software engineers and computing specialists working on distributed scientific data management, collaborating closely with experts across CERN, the ATLAS collaboration, and the wider Rucio open-source community. You will also contribute to the evolution of the system to meet the data challenges of the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider. The role is based at CERN with a hybrid working arrangement, a 24-month contract with possible extension up to 36 months, 40 hours per week, and a target start date of 01-August-2026. The position may involve stand-by duty and work during nights, Sundays, and official holidays when required. CERN offers global benefits including a monthly stipend, paid leave, health insurance, pension membership, family and child allowances, relocation support, and training opportunities.

last updated 27 week of 2026