Research Software Engineer

Brookhaven National Laboratory (www.bnl.gov) delivers discovery science and transformative technology to power and secure the nation’s future. Brookhaven Lab is a multidisciplinary laboratory with seven Nobel Prize-winning discoveries, 37 R&D 100 Awards, and more than 70 years of pioneering research. The Lab is primarily supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science. Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA) operates and manages the Laboratory for DOE. BSA is a partnership between Battelle and The Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University. BSA salutes our veterans and active military members with careers that leverage the skills and unique experience they gained while serving our country. Our organization fully supports service members transitioning from active duty to civilian life and pledge’s our commitment to actively hire veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. Military personnel who have been formally trained or have relevant experience obtained while in service may meet educational requirements and are encouraged to apply for job opportunities at BSA.

The National Synchrotron Light Source II is an X-ray light source used by visiting researchers around the world, spanning industry, academia, government, to advance our knowledge in a wide range of scientific disciplines such as life sciences, quantum materials, energy storage, advanced materials science, physics, chemistry, and biology. From batteries and microelectronics to drug design and future quantum computers, NSLS-II enables its growing research community to study materials with nanoscale resolution and exquisite sensitivity by providing cutting-edge capabilities.

The Data Science and Systems Integration (DSSI) Program is a growing program of about 50 people within NSLS-II with a mission to use modern hardware and software to squeeze the greatest scientific impact out of each X-ray photon. DSSI expertise spans a large technical area; fromdetector development and low-level hardware integration through scientific library development, development and deployment of instrument controls and data services, and web and desktop application development. Nearly all the software development work is open source. Members of DSSI find opportunities to contribute to major upstream open-source projects relied on by NSLS-II and its user community, including Matplotlib and Jupyter. DSSI originated a multi-facility open-source collaboration, Bluesky (https://github.com/bluesky), with large and growing adoption at NSLS-II's peer facilities across the US and around the world.

The National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory is seeking exceptional candidates for The Data Science and Systems Integration (DSSI) Program. This role resides in the Data Engineering group, within DSSI, and it will provide opportunity. The successful candidate will develop and deploy a growing number of software libraries, services, and applications which support getting synchrotron data to scientists in a useful form, for both scientific data analysis and in-the-loop experiment automation. This role also includes a support and teaching component, helping instrument scientists and visiting users integrate, use, and troubleshoot the software tools successfully. The successful candidate will have regular opportunities to work collaboratively on targeted projects that advance NSLS-II capabilities across the hardware and software stack.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Work collaboratively on data-oriented software projects to develop new capabilities at NSLS-II.
• Develop and deploy software and provide support for its performance in operations
• Provide support to other scientific staff and facility users, through both teaching and troubleshooting.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• PhD in Computer Science, Physical Sciences, Applied Mathematics or related field; or Master’s degree plus 3 years of experience; or Bachelor’s degree plus 5 years of experience.
• Ability to employ sound software engineering methodologies.
• Demonstrated record in collaborative software development.
• Demonstrated experience in programming with Python.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to be able to interact effectively with a diverse group of scientists, engineers, and technical staff.
• Self-motivated and able to work in a team environment.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Current knowledge in related scientific data collection, data management, and data analysis concepts, and/or experience as an experimental scientist.
• Experience managing distributed software systems.
• Experience with containerized and virtualized infrastructure.
• Scientific computing or data management at a synchrotron light source, neutron source or other major scientific user facility.
• Experience with database schema design and deployment.
• Knowledge of web technologies and web development.
• Experience contributing to community-led open-source software projects.

OTHER INFORMATION: (add if applicable)

• The selected candidate will be placed at the appropriate level contingent upon their depth and breadth of relevant knowledge and skills.
• This is an on-site position eligible for consideration of flexible work arrangement (hybrid telework) at the discretion of the manager/dept chair.

Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Energy and Photon Sciences Directorate are committed to your success. We offer a supportive work environment and the resources necessary for you to succeed.

At Brookhaven National Laboratory we believe that a comprehensive employee benefits program is an important and meaningful part of the compensation employees receive. Our benefits program includes, but is not limited to:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Care Plans
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Paid Time-off and Leave Programs (vacation, holidays, sick leave, paid parental leave)
• Lab-funded Retirement Plan
• 401(k) Plan
• Flexible Work Arrangements
• Tuition Assistance, Training and Professional Development Programs
• Employee Fitness/Wellness & Recreation: Gym/Basketball Courts, Weight Room, Fitness Classes, Indoor Pool, Tennis Courts, Sports Clubs/Activities (Basketball, Ping Pong, Softball, Tennis)
• Coming soon – Child Development Center