Junior/ Research Software Engineer

Organisation/Company IIASA Department Human Resources Research Field Computer science » Modelling tools Engineering » Computer engineering Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Positions Master Positions Application Deadline 1 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Vienna) Country Austria Type of Contract Permanent Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 40 Offer Starting Date 1 Jan 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number 260488 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The Energy, Climate, and Environment (ECE) program at IIASA is searching for a Research Software Engineer to support the development, operation, quality assurance, and modernization of scientific software and data infrastructure used for integrated assessment modelling.

The position will work closely with Research Software Engineers, researchers, and scientific domain experts and will contribute to the technical infrastructure supporting the GAINS (Greenhouse Gas - Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies) model . Front and Backend development are based on the following tools and infrastructure: Oracle | SQL | PL/SQL | Java | Apache Tomcat | SQL Developer | Eclipse | SourceTree |

A key aspect of the role is interdisciplinary teamwork: understanding scientific requirements and domain-specific concepts and translating them into reliable technical solutions. A particular focus will also be the practical integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into scientific software and data workflows.

Role Development

The successful candidate will initially work on software, database, data-processing, quality-control, and AI proof-of-concept tasks together with experienced Research Software Engineers and scientific domain experts.

An important part of the onboarding and development process will be building an understanding of the GAINS model, its underlying scientific concepts, data structures, and modelling workflows.

With increasing domain and technical knowledge, the candidate is expected to take responsibility for individual software components, database processes, automated QC procedures, model workflows, and AI-assisted analytical tools.

The role provides a development path toward independently designing and implementing reliable scientific software, data-processing systems, and AI-supported tools while acting as an effective technical interface between software engineering and scientific domain expertise.

Main Tasks and Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain components of scientific modelling applications and data-processing workflows.
• Work with large databases and develop SQL queries, views, procedures, validation routines, and automated data-processing tools.
• Support the technical operation and further development of the GAINS modelling system, including scenario updates, model inputs, emissions, control technologies, costs, and model-result validation.
• Support modernization of existing scientific applications and workflows.
• Develop automated tests, quality checks, technical documentation, and reproducible workflows.
• Translate scientific and domain-specific requirements into appropriate software, database, and data-processing solutions.

Interdisciplinary Teamwork & Domain Knowledge

• Work closely with researchers, domain experts, data specialists, and other software engineers.
• Discuss requirements and model behaviour directly with scientific experts and translate methodological requirements into robust technical implementations.
• Contribute to shared documentation and knowledge transfer within the team.
• Continuously learn from both the software-engineering and scientific sides of the modelling system.

SKILLS, QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

Education and Background

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree, or equivalent experience, in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, Scientific Computing, Engineering, Natural Sciences, or related discipline.

Essential skills and competencies:

• Good knowledge of SQL and relational database concepts.
• Java or similar coding experience is an advantage, particularly for working with and further developing existing application components.
• Understanding of software development principles, testing, debugging, and version control.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and the ability to work carefully with large and complex scientific datasets.
• Ability and willingness to understand scientific models and the relationships between model inputs, calculations, and results.
• Strong ability and willingness to work collaborati