Technical Consultant Data Preservation Services

Are you interested in IT solutions for research and education? Are you analytically strong and also a good communicator? We are looking for a technical consultant that helps researchers make the most of SURF services and infrastructures by providing support, consultancy, and tailoring solutions to their needs. Are you interested in this job? We would love to see your application!

Where you will work

SURF is the ICT cooperative for Dutch educational and research institutions. Together with them, we work on digital services and complex innovation challenges to enhance the quality of education and research.

Working at SURF means working for a unique and open organization. This is evident in everything: the structure of the organization, the setup of the project teams, the culture in our offices, and the atmosphere among colleagues. SURF offers excellent terms of employment and takes a flexible approach to work/life balance. Employees enjoy working independently. In addition, everyone is given the space and freedom to use and develop their talents as effectively and broadly as possible.

The team you will join

You will be part of our Data Preservation Services team. This team develops and runs services that are essential to the long-term preservation and retention of research data and open science. Among them is the the SURF Data Archive, a nearline storage solution built on magnetic tapes that houses more than 100 petabytes of research data, a backup and restore solution, a data repository, and persistent identifier services.

The team works in agile way, using a scrum framework adjusted to a team that does operations as well as development and project-based work. We have an amazing team dynamic based on trust and excellence. We make the most of hybrid working by having specific team days when we plan team meetings and tasks that are better done in person, for instance brainstoring or planning sessions, and using our remote working days for deep and focused work.

What you will do

As a technical consultant you will provide advice and support for the services that the team runs. You will be involved in European projects on Research Data Management (mostly within the EOSC landscape). Our technical consultants have a deep understanding of scientific research and can translate this into IT services and solutions. You recognize researchers’ needs for services that SURF is already offering or might develop in the future. You can identify possibilities for improvement and innovation and drive the development of new solutions.

Other tasks you handle:

• You help research communities make optimal use of SURF servicesby translating and explaining their needs to our system experts.
• You build and maintain relations with scientific researchers, research groups, research supporters (such as IT departments of universities and research institutions) and other stakeholders.
• You communicate effectively between different teams within SURF and externally – both on a national and international level.
• You respresent SURF at (inter)national project meetings and conferences in the field.
• You train researchers on topics related to Data Preservation and Research Data Management (FAIR data, metadata, trusted repositories, persistent identifiers, etc.) and on using SURF services or services that we develop with our partners.
• You will keep up with developments in the field and develop your knowledge and skills in preserving and managing research data, open science, high-performance computing and related domains.

Your skills and experience

• An academic level of thinking and working. You hold an MSc or PhD in a data or computationally-intensive research field such as computer science, artificial intelligence, mathematics, etc. or you have equivalent professional experience.
• Experience with programming (preferably C/C++/Java and/or Python), and good knowledge of Unix/Linux systems.
• You speak and write fluently in English (and preferably also in Dutch).
• You excel at presenting your work, both verbally and in writing, for instance via presenting at conferences, technical blogs, etc. Having written scientific papers or books is an advantage.
• Experience in teaching or delivering training sessions is an advantage.
• You have knowledge of scientific workflows, data processing algorithms and data structures; knowledge or experience in project management and data management or high-performance computing is an advantage.

Prior to starting this job, a VOG must be presented.

SURF takes pleasure in doing its recruitment itself; acquisition is therefore not appreciated.