At CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. Using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments, they study the basic constituents of matter - fundamental particles that are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives physicists clues about how particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature.
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Job description
Join CERN's Storage and Data Management group, to develop data storage systems for physics experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The Storage and Data Management Group is responsible for enabling data access for the laboratory, in particular the long-term archival, preservation and distribution of LHC data to a worldwide scientific community. CERN, take part!
As a Data Storage R&D Engineer you will join the CERN Tape Archive (CTA) team, responsible for the archival and management of 1.5 Exabytes of physics data from the entirety of CERN's experimental programme. Your job will include R&D, software development and operations tasks.
Your responsibilities
Analyse metadata and logs to optimise physical data placement on storage media.
Research appropriate mathematical models and propose optimisations to CTA's scheduling algorithms within specified cost constraints.
Develop and maintain software in C++/Linux.
Participate in operations, troubleshooting and support as part of a team.
Your profile
You have good technical and analytical skills, with a background in algorithms and optimisation.
You have knowledge of statistics, data modelling and data visualisation, as well as experience in software development with C++.
Experience with storage technologies or data management is a bonus.
Prior experience with tape storage systems and robotic libraries is not expected.
Skills
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including mathematical modelling and optimisation are require.
Experience in software development with C++ and Python is required.
Experience with Linux operating system and command-line tools (e.g. bash shell, grep with regular expressions) is required.
Knowledge of databases (SQL) is an advantage (training will be provided if necessary).
Experience with version control systems (e.g. git) is an advantage (training will be provided if necessary).
Experience with containers (e.g. Kubernetes) is an advantage (training will be provided if necessary).
Knowledge of monitoring tools (e.g. Grafana, Prometheus) is an advantage (training will be provided if necessary).
Spoken and written English, with a commitment to learn French.
Eligibility criteria:
You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
You have a professional background in Mathematics or Computer Science (or a related field) and have either:
a Master's 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.
This position involves:
Stand-by duty, when required by the needs of the Organisation.
Work during nights, Sundays and official holidays, when required by the needs of the Organisation.
What we offer
A monthly stipend ranging between 6,372-7,004 Swiss Francs (net of tax).
Coverage by CERN's comprehensive health scheme (for yourself, your spouse and children), and membership of the CERN Pension Fund.
Depending on your individual circumstances: installation grant; family, child and infant allowances; payment of travel expenses at the beginning and end of contract.
30 days of paid leave per year.
On-the-job and formal training at CERN as well as in-house language courses for English and/or French.
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