Master Student for Earth Science (R0) in De Bilt, Nederland

Reference: 41126 ES CS R0 Job title: Master Student for Earth Science (R0)

About BSC

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is the leading supercomputing center in Spain. It houses MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, was a founding and hosting member of the former European HPC infrastructure PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), and is now hosting entity for EuroHPC JU, the Joint Undertaking that leads large-scale investments and HPC provision in Europe. The mission of BSC is to research, develop and manage information technologies in order to facilitate scientific progress. BSC combines HPC service provision and R&D into both computer and computational science (life, earth and engineering sciences) under one roof, and currently has over 1000 staff from 60 countries. Look at the BSC experience: [BSC-CNS YouTube Channel](#) [Let's stay connected with BSC Folks!](#) We are particularly interested for this role in the strengths and lived experiences of women and underrepresented groups to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights in science and IT research. In instances of equal merit, the incorporation of the under-represented sex will be favoured. We promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, fostering an environment where each and every one of us is appreciated for who we are, regardless of our differences. If you consider that you do not meet all the requirements, we encourage you to continue applying for the job offer. We value diversity of experiences and skills, and you could bring unique perspectives to our team.

Context And Mission

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is the leading supercomputing center in Spain. It houses MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, was a founding and hosting member of the former European HPC infrastructure PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), and is now hosting entity for EuroHPC JU, the Joint Undertaking that leads large-scale investments and HPC provision in Europe. The mission of BSC is to research, develop and manage information technologies in order to facilitate scientific progress. BSC combines HPC service provision and R&D into both computer and computational science (life, earth and engineering sciences) under one roof, and currently has over 1000 staff from 60 countries. Look at the BSC experience: BSC-CNS YouTube Channel Let's stay connected with BSC Folks! We are particularly interested for this role in the strengths and lived experiences of women and underrepresented groups to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights in science and IT research. In instances of equal merit, the incorporation of the under-represented sex will be favoured. We promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, fostering an environment where each and every one of us is appreciated for who we are, regardless of our differences. If you consider that you do not meet all the requirements, we encourage you to continue applying for the job offer. We value diversity of experiences and skills, and you could bring unique perspectives to our team. The aim of the Earth System Services Group (ESS) within the Earth Sciences Department is to research the impact of weather, atmospheric chemistry and climate upon socio-economic sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, water resources, urban development and climate risk management and demonstrate the ongoing value of earth system services to society and the economy. Within this context, this is a full time position in the ESS group for a master’s student to carry out their master thesis. The successful candidate will contribute to a Destination Earth (DestinE) Initiative which is a flagship initiative of the European Commission to develop a highly-accurate digital model of the Earth. The masters thesis will focus on the evaluation of the next generation of km-scale global climate models, specifically IFS-FESOM, IFS-NEMO and ICON. The student will evaluate the performance of the free-running global climate models over the Caribbean to assess they how well capture current and potential future climate risks. The student will be primarily based at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), with the possibility (not confirmed) of one or more research stays at KNMI, De Bilt/Utrecht, Netherlands. The student will be primarily supervised by researchers at the BSC with additional supervision support from KNMI. The student will also be expected to collaborate with researchers at the University of the West Indies to understand specific regional priorities.

Key Duties

• Evaluate the large-scale ocean-atmosphere dynamics known to control Caribbean precipitation, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and its associated sea-surface temperature (SST) biases, and the position and structure of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
• Evaluate the projected changes in these large-scale ocean-atmosphere dynamics
• Contribute to further develop the work of Brotons, M., et al. (2024). (

Requirements

• Education
• Conducting a Degree/Master in Physics, Meteorology and Climate Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Mathematics (or equivalent)
• Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
• Bachelor in engineering, physics, mathematics or related field.
• Experience with climatic statistical analyses.
• Experience with Python-based climate data analysis, and familiarity with working in a UNIX environment. Experience working in high performance computing (HPC) environments is also valuable but not required.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and fluency in English.
• Ability and willingness to work in a professional environment within a multidisciplinary and international team.
• Competences
• Excellent problem-solving skills with a proactive approach.
• Ability to take initiative, prioritise and work under set deadlines.
• Ability to work both independently and within a team.
• Working knowledge of the climate system.

Conditions

• The position will be located at BSC within the Earth Sciences Department
• We offer a full-time contract (35h/week), a good working environment, a highly stimulating environment with state-of-the-art infrastructure, flexible working hours, extensive training plan, restaurant tickets, private health insurance, support to the relocation procedures
• Duration: Open-ended contract due to technical and scientific activities linked to the project and budget duration
• Holidays: 22 days of holidays + 6 personal days + 24th and 31st of December per our collective agreement
• Salary: we offer a competitive salary commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate and according to the cost of living in Barcelona
• Starting date: December 2026

Applications procedure and process

All applications must be submitted via the BSC website and contain:

• A full CV in English including contact details
• A cover/motivation letter with a statement of interest in English, clearly specifying for which specific area and topics the applicant wishes to be considered. Additionally, two references for further contacts must be included. Applications without this document will not be considered.

Development of the recruitment process The selection will be carried out through a competitive examination system ("Concurso-Oposición"). The recruitment process consists of two phases:

• Curriculum Analysis: Evaluation of previous experience and/or scientific history, degree, training, and other professional information relevant to the position. - 40 points
• Interview phase: The highest-rated candidates at the curriculum level will be invited to the interview phase, conducted by the corresponding department and Human Resources. In this phase, technical competencies, knowledge, skills, and professional experience related to the position, as well as the required personal competencies, will be evaluated. - 60 points. A minimum of 30 points out of 60 must be obtained to be eligible for the position.

The recruitment panel will be composed of at least three people, ensuring at least 25% representation of women. In accordance with OTM-R principles, a gender-balanced recruitment panel is formed for each vacancy at the beginning of the process. After reviewing the content of the applications, the panel will begin the interviews, with at least one technical and one administrative interview. At a minimum, a personality questionnaire as well as a technical exercise will be conducted during the process. The panel will make a final decision, and all individuals who participated in the interview phase will receive feedback with details on the acceptance or rejection of their profile. At BSC, we seek continuous improvement in our recruitment processes. For any suggestions or comments/complaints about our recruitment processes, please contact [[email protected]](#). For more information, please follow [this link](#).

Deadline

The vacancy will remain open until a suitable candidate has been hired. Applications will be regularly reviewed and potential candidates will be contacted.

OTM-R principles for selection processes

BSC-CNS is committed to the principles of the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers of the European Commission and the Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment principles (OTM-R). This is applied for any potential candidate in all our processes, for example by creating gender-balanced recruitment panels and recognizing career breaks etc. BSC-CNS is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by applicable state or local law. For more information follow [this link](#)