Research Engineer - Hardware/Software Co-Design for Embedded Systems

Job Reference

228_26_CS_SDES_RE1

Position

Research engineer - hardware/software co-design to improve non-functional metrics in embedded systems (RE1)

Closing Date

Tuesday, 26 May, 2026

Reference: 228_26_CS_SDES_RE1

Job title: Research engineer - hardware/software co-design to improve non-functional metrics in embedded systems (RE1)

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 High-Performance Embedded Systems (HPES) laboratory aims at enabling the adoption of hardware, software, and artificial intelligent (AI) high-performance solutions in embedded systems as its center of gravity, but also in any system with some form of criticality, like cars, airplanes, and satellites. Our work is mainly carried out in the context of bilateral projects with several processor companies as well as several European-funded projects. For a complete list of publications of the group in the last years, please visit HPES page at the following link: https://www.bsc.es/discover-bsc/organisation/research-structure/high-performance-embedded-systems-hpes.

The overarching objective of this position is to work in a small team of researchers to develop techniques for hardware and software co-design with the goal of improving non-functional metrics (NFM) like average performance, power consumption, guaranteed performance (execution time determinism), and resilience to hardware faults. These techniques will address a set of challenges related to the lack, especially in cutting-edge AI-oriented Custom Off The Shelves (COTS) platforms, of adequate software and hardware support to ensure the thresholds set for selected NFMs are achieved. This internship position will focus on the identification, design, and deployment of efficient hardware and software solutions that contribute to that goal. The developed methodologies will be tested on representative setups aiming at reconciling AI-based systems with real-time constraints.

We are seeking applications for a part-time Research Engineer position from candidates with a background in embedded systems and familiarity with both hardware and software analysis and configuration. Applicants are expected to hold both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in fields related to embedded systems, computer architecture, or closely related areas.

The position offers opportunities to collaborate with research institutions and industrial stakeholders across several European locations, providing a stimulating environment for professional growth, knowledge exchange, and hands-on research experience.

Key Duties

• Contribute to the research hardware and software codesign to improve non-functional metrics (NFM) in embedded systems with different criticality levels.
• Develop software solutions that help to guarantee higher coverage of NFMs that can be achieved
• Assess the proposed methodologies on a representative setup
  
  

Requirements

• Education
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Architecture, or a related field
• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Architecture, Embedded Systems, or a related field, either completed or in progress
• Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
• Experience with embedded systems
• Experience with low-level programming and firmware programming
• Demonstrated experience in generic programming (C, C++, etc.)
• Familiarity with scripting languages (e.g. Python)
• Experience with Vivado/Vitis development environments

Looking to advance your Development & Programming career with relocation support? Explore Development & Programming Jobs with Relocation Packages that include comprehensive packages to help you move and settle in your new role.

• Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
• Background on computer architecture in general
• Experience with Linux and low-level programming
• Competences
• Problem-solving, proactive, collaborative, and result-oriented work attitude
• Good communication skills including proficiency in English (both written and spoken)
  

Conditions

• The position will be located at BSC within the Computer 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: 01.07.2026
  
  

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 recruitment@bsc.es.

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

Application Form

You are applying for the following job offer

Name and Surname *

Gender ** *

Female

Male

Other

Email *

Nationality** *

Where did you first see this job offer (Please indicate the name of the website, social media, referral etc.)? *

please choose one of this and if needed describe the option : - BSC Website - Euraxess - Spotify - HiPeac - LinkedIn - Networking/Referral: include who and how - Events (Forum, career fairs): include who and how - Through University: include the university name - Specialized website (Metjobs, BIB, other): include which one - Other social Networks: (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube): include which one - Other (Glassdoor, ResearchGate, job search website and other cases): include which one

Indicate what BSC department/s you want to apply.

Computer Sciences

CASE

Life Sciences

Earth Sciences

Indicate what research group/s you want to apply.

Upload CV (select the file, then click the Upload button) *

Please, upload your CV document using the following name structure: Name_Surname_CV

Files must be less than 3 MB.

Allowed file types: txt rtf pdf doc docx.

Cover Letter (optional) (if so, select the file and then click the Upload button)

Please, upload your CV document using the following name structure: Name_Surname_CoverLetter

Files must be less than 3 MB.

Allowed file types: txt rtf pdf doc docx zip.

Other Documents (optional) (if so, select the file and then click the Upload button)

Please, upload your CV document using the following name structure: Name_Surname_OtherDocument

Files must be less than 10 MB.

Allowed file types: txt rtf pdf doc docx rar tar zip.

• Consider that the information provided in relation to gender and nationality will be used solely for statistical purposes.
  
  

Data policy: *

I accept the data policy *

Other: *

I confirm that the information given in this form is true, complete and accurate.

Leave this field blank