Job opening: Research Software Engineer for Materials Modeling

20 March 2019

SCM is a growing and profitable scientific software company in Amsterdam, developing and marketing software in computational (quantum) chemistry and materials science for over 20 years. For further expansion of our activities we now create a job opening with prospect of permanent employment in our core development team for an all-round computer scientist / research software engineer.

Ideal candidates must possess advanced experience in several of the following areas: Python, workflows, databases, high-performance computing (parallel, GPU), high-throughput, advanced scripting, cloud computing, data science and other technical aspects of modern computational atomistic research.

The successful candidate will, together with several other SCM developers and alongside other projects, be involved in the ReaxPro project. ReaxPro is a 4-year and 4.1 million EUR H2020 initiative coordinated by SCM that brings together atomistic, mesoscale and macroscale simulation tools into a platform for multiscale modeling of reactive materials and processes. Both in ReaxPro and more generally, the new developer will be responsible for a healthy software and hardware ecosystem for SCM’s modeling tools, making sure that the results can be easily used in external tools / visualizers / workflows, and that we can easily import and use results from many other codes and databases. In addition, our software should run efficiently and conveniently on site and in the cloud, on all popular hardware types.

Job requirements

  • Excellent software development skills – experience in writing modular, reusable, efficient quality code in various programming languages (including Python) is crucially important.
  • Experience with workflows and database development.
  • Experience with one or more of: high-performance computing, parallel programming, porting code to other platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux).
  • All-round technical skills (UNIX, debugging, system administration, automated testing, etc.).
  • MSc or PhD degree in relevant field (e.g. computer science, computational chemistry or materials science), and/or several years of relevant software development and/or IT experience.

Desirable additional knowledge and experience:

  • Experience with programming in a team, in a large-scale software packages (>100,000 lines of code).
  • Working knowledge of Fortran(90,2003), GUI development.
  • Team player, with good two-way communication skills, self-motivated and independent worker.
  • Familiarity and affinity with physics and chemistry, in particular atomistic modeling.

What we offer

  • This position will initially be for one year but is intended to be extended and become permanent in case of mutual satisfaction.
  • The position is available immediately but there is flexibility concerning the starting date.
  • Attractive, competitive salary, bonus, as well as relocation costs and secondary benefits (including pension fund), above the level of such a position at a Dutch university.
  • 34 holidays/year on top of national holidays.
  • Tax benefits (30% of salary tax-free) are usually applicable in The Netherlands (depending on circumstances) for a successful candidate from abroad.
  • This is a full-time (preferred) or part-time (at least 0.7 FTE) position based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

About SCM

Software for Chemistry & Materials B.V., SCM, is a (now independent) spin-off company of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, employing approximately 20 people. SCM develops, maintains, and markets the Amsterdam Modeling Suite, used by computational (quantum) chemists, physicists and materials scientists in academia and industry around the world. It includes the Amsterdam Density Functional (ADF) molecular DFT program, the periodic structure program BAND, the reactive molecular dynamics program ReaxFF, approximate DFT (DFTB) software, the COSMO-RS module for thermodynamics of mixed liquids, the AMS driver and their respective graphical interfaces and Python scripting environments.

The working atmosphere at SCM is that of an informal small team of PhDs and PhD students doing intellectually challenging work. SCM has its offices at the VU University and closely interacts with its well-known Theoretical Chemistry (TC) group consisting of about 30 people, including a very international mix of PhD students, postdocs, and guests. SCM cooperates with a large and growing number of academic method developers around the world and has increased its scope to non-DFT methods. SCM is a science-focused company that has been around for over two decades. It is financially solid, free of debt, growing, and profitable. SCM is located in Amsterdam, the very lively, enjoyable and internationally oriented (with 178 different nationalities) capital of The Netherlands. Thanks to its high quality of living and dynamism, Amsterdam has been elected as best European tech city and 4th most dynamic European city to work in, “best city for Millennials to live”, and it consistently ranks high in Mercer’s annual Quality of Living surveys (11th best one in the world, in 2019).

About ReaxPro

‘ReaxPro: Software Platform for Multiscale Modelling of Reactive Materials and Processes’ is a Horizon 2020 LEIT project in the call DT-NMBP-09-2018 – Accelerating the uptake of materials modelling software (IA), under grant agreement 814416.

It brings together world-class academic and industrial partners with the goal of delivering a mature software tool for understanding and designing cost-efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable processes. A primary application is the optimization of catalytic reactors by the industrial partners in this EU project.

More information about the project can be found at https://www.scm.com/about-us/eu-projects/reaxpro-multiscalereactormodeling/.

Eligibility

SCM is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants can have (almost) any current residence and nationality – unless export restrictions apply for our software.

Further information, applying

Detailed information on SCM and its software can be found at https://www.scm.com/.

Those interested in this position are encouraged to contact us at jobs at scm dot com, tel: +31-20-5987626, for further information.

Job applications can be sent by email to the same address until April 14th, 2019, but preferably sooner.

Applications should contain a CV, a cover letter explaining the motivation for applying and, if applicable, a list of publications or software projects worked on (with own contribution specified).

References and source code may be requested at a later stage. The accompanying email should briefly stress already a few key reasons why you might be the most suitable person for the position.