An exciting opportunity has arisen for a range of positions at the University of Cambridge to expand the work of the Green Algorithms Initiative. This is a great opportunity to be at the forefront of Environmentally Sustainable Computational Science, and help to make research and computing more environmentally friendly.
The closing date for these roles is the 25th November 2024, with interviews being held the weeks commencing on the 2nd December 2024 and 16th December 2024.
We are looking for 5 people to join our team: 3 research roles, a Software Engineer Lead and a Community manager/project coordinator. Below is a quick overview of each position, for more detailed descriptions (and to apply!), check out the job adverts linked. As a group, we value and encourage applications from a diversity of backgrounds and experiences to contribute to the highly interdisciplinary research programme. In particular, we are not only looking for computer scientists, but also people with experience in sustainability and study design. We strongly value and encourage Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as well as a flexible working environment.
Where? The group is based in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, one of Europe’s leading academic departments for population health sciences. It sits in the new Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart & Lung Research Institute on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (Papworth Road, Trumpington, Cambridge CB2 0BB), with the option of hybrid working.
With whom? You will be based in Dr Loïc Lannelongue’s group and work in close conjunction with the senior scientists in the Green Algorithms Initiative, including Professor Michael Inouye. You will also work closely with other members of the Department and scientific collaborators based in other institutions.
How long? The positions are for two years in the first instance, with the possibility of extension.
Informal enquiries are welcome and can be made to Dr Loïc Lannelongue (LL582@medschl.cam.ac.uk), indicating which role you are interested in.
More about each role
Community manager and project coordinator (1 role)
[advert] [further particulars]
You will play a crucial role in making the Green Algorithms Initiative a success. You will be responsible for developing the Communities of Practice (CoPs) around green computing, making sure you understand their requirements and helping to translate these into action. This includes the new Environmentally Sustainable Computational Science (ESCS) community as well as domain specific CoPs when appropriate. More generally, you will take the lead in creating and developing initiatives to support the community in ways they find beneficial. You will also coordinate the day-to day running of the research programmes within the Green Algorithms Initiative. This will involve developing and implementing operational procedures, monitoring progress against deliverables, and work closely with internal and external stakeholders. Various events will come out of the Initiative, and you will be responsible for organising and coordinating these. More info and how to apply here.
Software Engineer Lead (1 role)
[advert] [further particulars]
You will be responsible for the development, dissemination and maintenance of the existing tools as well as the design of new emerging tools related to the group’s activities. In particular, you will take lead on the development of the upcoming Green Algorithms Dashboard for HPC and on the continuing improvement of the online calculator, ensuring that it meets open source and sustainability development best practices. More generally, you will work on the architecture (e.g. databases, services, computational tools), user-interface (website, API), and related software tooling. More info and how to apply here.
Researchers (3 roles)
These research roles can be appointed whether at Research Associate level (i.e. post-docs) or Research Assistants (without a PhD), the emphasis is on relevant expertise and an interest in sustainable computational science.
Successful candidates will be trained to obtain the required expertise in green computing and environmental sustainability, and their work is expected to lead to first author high-impact publications.
Researcher in Sustainable Computational Science
[advert] [further particulars]
This post will suit researchers interested in improving our understanding and mitigating the environmental impacts of scientific computing. You will lead projects improving how computing environmental impacts are currently estimated and reported and investigate the impact of growing scientific fields through targeted case studies (e.g. population-scale whole-genome sequencing, artificial intelligence). In particular, you will explore ways to better integrate life-cycle analyses in these estimations, expand environmental impacts beyond carbon footprints, and quantify the estimates’ uncertainty. More info and how to apply here.
Researcher in Green Computing
[advert] [further particulars]
This post will suit researchers interested in understanding computers energy usage to improve carbon footprint monitoring and reduce the environmental impacts of digital activities. You will lead projects modelling the energy usage of different computing equipment (personal computers, servers, High-Performance Computing infrastructure) for different scientific applications, including simulations, large-scale data analyses and AI. This will involve designing test protocols, building test benches and running simulations to improve on existing power usage models. More info and how to apply here.
Research in Sustainable Research practices (computational science)
[advert] [further particulars]
This post will suit researchers interested in understanding how computational scientists can be incentivised to conduct research more sustainably. You will contribute to the design, rollout and data analysis of an international multi-centre trial studying the effectiveness of carbon reporting tools in reducing the environmental impacts of research computing. This will involve designing and refining study methodology, ensuring proper ethics approval is obtained, coordinating with the different centres for data collection, and analysing and interpreting the resulting data. More info and how to apply here.
About the Green Algorithms Initiative
The Green Algorithms Initiative is a world-leading project in the field of green computing focusing on quantifying and reducing the environmental impacts of computational science. The tools and frameworks developed and maintained by the group are used internationally and include the popular Green Algorithms online calculator, server-specific monitoring tools and the GREENER Principles for Environmentally Sustainable Computational Science. The group has a strong commitment to making all tools available open access to the computing community. The Green Algorithms Initiative has received both nominations and awards for its contributions to environmentally sustainable research (e.g. HDR-UK Impact Award).
How to apply
To submit an application for this vacancy, please click on the ‘Apply online’ section of the advertisement published on the University’s Job Opportunities pages (links for each advert above!). This will route you to the University’s Web Recruitment System, where you will need to register an account (if you have not already) and log in before completing the online application form.
Please ensure that you outline how you match the criteria for the post and why you are applying for this role on the online application form.