AddressYour role
We are looking to hire a highly motivated Research Software Engineer (A2) to work on the development of data infrastructure services for machine learning in Destination Earth (DestinE). This role is an integral part of a dynamic team, consisting of scientists and Software Engineers contributing to building ECMWFs next generation of weather forecasting systems.
At ECMWF, you will find a passionate community, collectively aiming to bring novel technology and science to the cutting-edge of numerical weather prediction. ECMWF is one of the three organisations entrusted to deliver Destination Earth, a flagship initiative of the European Commission to develop a highly accurate digital model of the Earth on a global scale. In the framework of ECMWFs contribution to the Destination Earth initiative of the European Commission (DestinE), you will work on the Digital Twin Engine (DTE), a set of interoperable software components and services which support end-to-end execution of the Digital Twins.
With the recent breakthrough in in AI-driven weather forecasting, it becomes clear that AI will play a key role in the next generation of forecasting systems. To this end, ECMWF is building a dedicated multi-disciplinary group to tackle these challenges. ECMWF has been the first operational weather centre to publish results of their own global machine learned weather model the Artificial Intelligence Forecasting System (AIFS). Within DestinE, ECMWF will now develop and deploy workflows of machine-learned Earth-system components of a European foundation model.
In this role, you will have the opportunity to develop and implement innovative solutions for deploying AI-driven weather models. This includes creating a versatile, self-contained 'forecast-in-a-box' that comprises the AI inference model, diverse post-processing pipelines, user-centric control systems, and efficient data handling mechanisms. The forecast-in-a-box will deliver enhanced interactivity within DestinE, bringing opportunities for edge-computed weather forecasting. As part of this role, you will research and develop creative solutions for effective deployment of GPU-accelerated, user-controllable forecasting systems.
The role sits in the Data Infrastructure Services team, within the Development Section in the Forecasts and Services Department. The primary focus of the team is to ensure the scalability, usability, and robustness of internal and external services related to the operational weather forecasting pipeline. The team is dedicated to navigating scalability challenges posed by future model upgrades; to exploring new technology, such as accelerators and novel storage hardware; to novel algorithms, including machine learning; and to flexible and reliable deployment technology. This effort supports ECMWFs strategy of producing cuttingedge science and world-leading weather predictions and monitoring of the Earth system.
This role, funded by the Destination Earth initiative, involves close collaboration with various teams at ECMWF. You will integrate numerous advancements from across ECMWF core activities, Destination Earth and Copernicus. The forecast-in-a-box will be deployed as part of Destination Earth and will also feedback to operational AI-driven weather prediction systems at ECMWF.
About ECMWF
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is a world-leader in weather and environmental forecasting. As an international organisation we serve our members and the wider community with global weather predictions and data that is critical for understanding and solving the climate crisis. We function as a 24/7 research and operational centre with a focus on medium and long-range predictions, holding one of the largest meteorological data archives in the world. The success of our activities builds on the talent of our scientists and experts, strong partnerships with 35 Member and Co-operating States and the international community, some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, and the use of innovative technologies and machine learning across our operations. ECMWF is a multi-site organisation, with a main office in Reading, UK, a data centre/supercomputer in Bologna, Italy, and a large presence in Bonn, Germany. ECMWF has also developed a strong partnership with the European Union and has been entrusted with the implementation and operation of the Destination Earth Initiative and the Climate Change and Atmosphere Monitoring Services of the Copernicus Programme. Other areas of work include High Performance Computing and the development of digital tools that enable ECMWF to extend provision of data and products covering weather, climate, air quality, fire and flood prediction and monitoring.
See www.ecmwf.int for more info about what we do.
The Destination Earth (DestinE) initiative
ECMWF is one of the three entities entrusted to implement the DestinE initiative of the European Commission, alongside with ESA and EUMETSAT as partners. DestinE aims to deploy several highly accurate thematic digital replicas of the Earth, called Digital Twins.The Digital Twins will help monitor and predict environmental change and human impact, in order to develop and test scenarios that would support sustainable development and corresponding European policies for the Green Deal. ECMWF is responsible for the delivery of these digital twins and of the Digital Twin engine, the software infrastructure needed to power them of some of Europes largest supercomputers, those of the European HPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC).
The second phase of DestinE covers the period June 2024 May 2026, and future phases are foreseen (subject to funding).Phase 2 will focus on early operations with consolidation, maintenance, and continuous evolution of the DestinE system components developed in the first phase. There will also be an enhanced focus on ML activities, including the deployment of workflows of components of a ML model for the Earth system, optimisation of the Digital Twin Engine to enable efficient model training and simulations, and other activities. One key element of the ML activities in phase 2 includes training. This shall build on recent ML training initiatives at ECMWF, including the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on ML for Weather and Climate.
(see https://learning.ecmwf.int/course/index.php?categoryid=1)
For more information on DestinE, see https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/destination-earth-destine and https://www.ecmwf.int/en/about/what-we-do/environmental-services/destination-earth
Your responsibilities
- Contribute to integrate the multiple software components of the AI-driven weather-forecasting DE stack.
- Develop a portable deployment of this system as a forecast-in-a-box for DestinE end-users
- Explore performance portability for data-centric workflows executing on GPU-enabled platforms.
- Deploy the forecast-in-a-box on the DestinE and ECMWF systems.
- Contribute to the ECMWF and DestinE open-source software stack.
What we're looking for
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with a proactive, continuous improvement approach.
- Initiative and ability to work collaboratively with other ECMWF teams but also able to work independently.
- Good interpersonal and communication skills.
- Dedication, passion, and enthusiasm to succeed both individually and across teams of developers.
- Highly organised with the capacity to work on a diverse range of tasks to tight deadlines.
- Ability to collaborate effectively in an international work environment and with people from diverse backgrounds.
Education and Experience
- Advanced university degree (EQ7 level or above) or equivalent professional experience in computer science or engineering, computational science, physics or natural sciences, mathematics, or a related discipline.
- Experience developing object-oriented software in Python.
- Experience in software deployment.
- Experience in either system design, micro-service architectures, containerisation, or networking would be advantageous.
- Experience developing scientific software to process large datasets is an advantage, but not required.
- Experience developing or operating software in high-availability operational environments is an advantage, but not required.
Dont be discouraged if you do not meet all the requirements. ECMWF invests in people with training and multiple opportunities for development.
Skills and knowledge
- Competence in Object-Oriented Analysis and Design, preferably in Python.
- Demonstrated ability programming in UNIX/Linux systems.
- Familiarity with the software development lifecycle as part of a team is desirable.
- Knowledge of microservice design and related technology is desirable.
- Candidates must be able to work effectively in English.
- Good knowledge of one of the Centres other working languages (French or German) would be an advantage.
Other information
Grade remuneration: The successful candidates will be recruited at theA2 grade, according to the scales of the Co-ordinated Organisations. The position is assigned to the employment categorySTF-PS as defined in the ECMWF Staff Regulations. Full details of salary scales and allowances available on the ECMWF website at www.ecmwf.int/en/about/jobs.
Starting date: As soon as possible
Candidates are expected to relocate to the duty station. As a multi-site organisation, ECMWF has adopted a hybrid organisation model which allows flexibility to staff to mix office working and teleworking, including away from the duty station (within the area of our member states and co-operating states).
Interviews by videoconference (MS Team) are expected to take place shortly after the closing date.
Who can apply
Applicants are invited to complete the online application form by clicking on theapplybutton below.
At ECMWF, we consider an inclusive environment as key for our success. We are dedicated to ensuring a workplace that embraces diversity and provides equal opportunities for all, without distinction as to race, gender, age, marital status, social status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, personality, ethnicity and culture. We value the benefits derived from a diverse workforce and are committed to having staff that reflect the diversity of the countries that are part of our community, in an environment that nurtures equality and inclusion.
Applications are invited from nationals from ECMWF Member States and Co-operating States, as well as from all EU Member States. In these exceptional times, we also welcome applications from Ukrainian nationals for this vacancy. Applications from nationals from other countries may be considered in exceptional cases.
ECMWF Member States and Co-operating States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
