The Max Planck Society is Germany's premier research organization. The currently 86 Max Planck Institutes and facilities conduct basic research in the service of the general public in the natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences and the humanities.

The Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) is located at the Science Campus Hamburg-Bahrenfeld and investigates dynamical phenomena within matter down to the elementary timescales of atomic and electronic motions, the femtosecond or attosecond timescale. The focus is on the use of short wavelength ultrafast probes, such as X-rays or electron pulses, which are capable of measuring atomic and electronic structures in matter of all kinds.

The MPSD currently consists of three scientific departments focusing on solid state physics, physical chemistry and theoretical methods in these fields. The MPSD is a partner in the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), collaborating with the Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY) and the University of Hamburg in the development of science based on the X-ray Free Electron Lasers.

An additional building to accommodate the growing Institute is currently being constructed next to the CFEL. It is scheduled to be ready for occupancy by the end of 2020 and will provide space for two additional departments and several new research groups.

We seek an exceptional scientist for the position of

Head of the Scientific Service Unit (SSU) for Computational Data-Analysis

Starting date: as soon as possible

The scientific service unit (SSU) for computational data analysis and high-performance computing (HPC) will provide the necessary expertise and computational infrastructure, including storage, database servers, high-throughput data analysis, and high-performance compute clusters to tackle the increasing demand within the institute for big-data techniques and high-performance computing. Large-scale data acquisition and processing, statistical evaluation, visualization, and scientific high-performance computing are the key components required in many of the present (and future) scientific activities at the institute.

The SSU will build on the computational infrastructure presently available at the institute and will work closely with the theory and experimental departments, scientific groups and central IT of the institute to operate the large-scale infrastructure at the computer server room in the new MPSD building. The Head of the SSU will build and lead the operational group that consist of one additional scientist and two engineers

The envisioned tasks of the SSU comprise the following activities:

• Define and deploy the high-performance computing at the institute (new GPU-based
   high-performance cluster infrastructure). This includes a strong involvement in
   proposal writing and subsequent hardware acquisition to establish the needed computing
   infrastructure.
• Explore new architectures and algorithms to keep the storage, database servers, and
   high-performance computing systems of the institute at the forefront of computational
   science.
• Support the continued software development and new implementations for computational
   data analysis, big-data, artificial intelligence/machine learning, and visualization.
• Maintain the infrastructure that supports scientific code development (buildbot, testfarm,
   toolchains, service websites, etc.) and optimize for new hardware architectures of the in-
   house software projects like Octopus and others.
• Coordinate the user service support with the central IT of the institute.
• Provide documentation for deployed hardware, software and services as well as offer
   tutorials for scientists in the institute.
• Collaborate with the services provided by the Max Planck Computing and Data Facility in
  Garching (see https://www.mpcdf.mpg.de/about-mpcdf/profile).

About 75% of your time will be dedicated to support requirements from the research departments of the institute. We expect 25% percent of your time allocated to plan and conduct your own scientific research agenda

Your qualifications:

Applicants should have several years of scientific experience in research. We expect applicants to have a PhD in mathematics, informatics, physics (or a relevant related field) together with extended knowledge in operating HPC systems, file servers, and database servers. Experience in state-of-the-art high performance infrastructures and new computational architectures is mandatory. Knowledge in big-data analytics, artificial intelligence/machine learning, GPU programming, and data visualization is desirable.

Fulfilling the profile requires experience in organizing and supervising small and medium sized teams. With staff and guests from more than 25 nations, our institute is a very international and culturally diverse place. Therefore, applicants must be fluent in English and preferably, have a good knowledge of German

Our offer:

We offer an innovative environment, which will give you the opportunity to develop your own ideas at the forefront of scientific high-performance computing embedded in the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL). We offer an attractive remuneration up to TVöD E15 according to the German public pay scale. The appointment is for two years with the possibility to be made permanent. In exceptional cases permanent appointments will be considered ab initio.

The Max Planck Society seeks to increase the proportion of women in areas where they are under-represented. Hence, we are particulary encouraging qualified women to apply. In addition, the Max Planck Society aims to hire more people with disabilities. Applications from disabled candidates are expressly welcome.

Please submit your complete application documents and a list of three colleagues that can provide references at the MPSD online job portal https://jobs.b-ite.com/jobposting/b3836b38874e45c0edafc67ac65c8cdcce4e3f995.

Review of applications and scheduling of interviews will begin on June 15, 2020 and will continue until the position is filled.