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# Research Software Engineer for Data Catalogues and Federated Data Infrastructure

- **Company:** Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH
- **Location:** München, Germany
- **Salary:** €156,000.0
- **Contract:** Temporary contract
- **Skills:** Data Analysis, Automation of Tests, Cloud Computing, Code Review, Collaborative Software, Databases, Continuous Delivery, Continuous Integration, Data Infrastructure, Python (Programming Language), Open Source Technology, OpenShift, Software Architecture, Scientific Computating, Software Deployment, Software Engineering, Openstack Neutron, Kubernetes, Information Technology, Free and Open-Source Software, Software Version Control, Microservices
- **Published:** November 3, 2026
- **Apply:** https://recruiting.fz-juelich.de/jobposting/9efef2e4b244cc05c7d016b7e38a77fcd018663a0

## About the Role

* A master's degree or diploma in computer science, informatics, physics, mathematics, engineering, or a related discipline
 * Practical experience developing and maintaining production-quality software using microservice-based or distributed software architectures
 * Experience with collaborative software-development, including version control, code review, automated testing, continuous integration, and continuous delivery
 * Experience with containers and cloud-native application deployment on Kubernetes
 * The ability to analyze complex technical requirements and translate them into maintainable software solutions
 * A collaborative and self-directed working style suited to an interdisciplinary, distributed project
 * Very good command of written and spoken English with extensive vocabulary is required (at least B2 level according to the CEFR)

Preferred qualifications:

 * Experience with Red Hat OpenShift or a comparable Kubernetes platform
 * Practical experience implementing FAIR data principles in research data catalogues or repositories
 * Software development experience in Python or other languages relevant to this role
 * Previous contributions to open-source software or distributed research-infrastructure projects

## Description

The Jülich Centre for Neutron Science - Neutron Methods (JCNS-4) operates at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Garching near Munich a suite of high performance neutron scattering instruments. It provides access to these instruments for scientists from universities and research institutions in Germany and throughout the world. Within the user program more than 1000 scientists visit the MLZ every year to perform experiments in the physical, chemical, biological and materials sciences. In addition, JCNS is actively pursuing a research program in the field of soft matter science and condensed matter physics. We are looking for a Research Software Engineer to join the JCNS cloud infrastructure group. The group develops and operates the infrastructure that connects research data, metadata catalogues, storage, and scientific computing services. This is a position for Task Area 2 in the framework of the DFG-funded project DAPHNE4NFDI, a consortium in Germany's National Research Data
Infrastructure (NFDI). Within DAPHNE4NFDI, JCNS contributes to making research data from photon and neutron experiments FAIR: findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable.

Your Job

Photon and neutron experiments generate growing volumes of complex scientific data and metadata. Researchers need reliable ways to find these datasets, understand their context, access them securely, and connect them to suitable data analysis environments.

You will develop and operate the MLZ data platform on our on-premises Kubernetes infrastructure based on Red Hat OpenShift. A central part of your work will be developing and integrating the SciCat metadata catalogue and associated microservices to provide a central point of access to MLZ data and metadata. The role combines software engineering, cloud infrastructure, and research data management with close collaboration across large-scale research facilities, universities, and national and European infrastructure initiatives.

List of tasks and responsibilities:

 * Develop, operate, and continuously improve SciCat and its associated microservices on our Red Hat OpenShift infrastructure, contributing relevant improvements to upstream open-source projects
 * Integrate metadata from instruments, sample databases, proposal systems, electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs), and other relevant sources
 * Collaborate with Task Area 3 to connect the data catalogue with storage, computing resources, interactive analysis environments, and scientific workflow services, providing an entry point for launching analyses and recording the associated metadata to ensure provenance and reproducibility
 * Develop shared metadata models, machine-readable catalogue interfaces, search endpoints, and mappings to ontologies and terminology services
 * Connect the MLZ data catalogue with external catalogues, federated search services, and relevant NFDI and European research data infrastructures
 * Collaborate with software engineers, instrument scientists, experimental physicists, and DAPHNE4NFDI partners in interdisciplinary and international open source projects
 * Document and communicate results through technical documentation, workshops, project meetings, conferences, and scientific publications, * Meaningful tasks: The position offers responsible tasks at the interface between science, administration, business, and politics