Experimental Control and Data Curation Group Leader

The European Spallation Source is one of the largest science and technology infrastructure projects being built today. The project includes the most powerful linear proton accelerator ever built, a five-tonne, helium-cooled tungsten target wheel, 15 state-of-the-art neutron instruments, a suite of laboratories, and a supercomputing data management and software development centre. In the context of its history and future as a scientific organisation, however, it is more than the sum of its parts. It is a brand-new Big Science organisation and we are building it from the ground up.

Come and build the future of Science with us!

About the role:

ESS is at an exciting turning point. It is in transition from being a construction site, to being an operating facility. To help us realise our goal of being the most powerful neutron source in the world, we are now seeking to appoint a Group Leader for our Experimental Control and Data Curation Group.

The Experiment Control and Data Curation (ECDC) group is a matrixed collection of experts from various software and controls regimes that operates within the Science Directorate's Neutron Scattering Systems (NSS) division - but which maintains strong connections with the Technical Directorate and our Integrated Control Systems Division.

As the Group Leader for ECDC, you will have the opportunity to be an active and driving contributor in the NSS management team - helping us to deliver the ESS project on schedule and within budget. You will lead a multidisciplinary team of software scientists and engineers, ensuring that staff are technically qualified and trained. This is a line management position containing responsibility for personnel according to Swedish labour legislation. As such, your duties will include performance management, competence development, capacity management, work environment, and salary setting of the team. You will also support project execution by contributing to estimating, planning, resource allocation, and execution for ECDC.

In addition to supporting the Head of Division in various divisional activities, your expertise will be called upon to provide leadership for experimental control, detector readout, event formation, and data streaming scientific functions for ESS. A key function of this role will be to liaise with technical and scientific teams to identify needs for experimental control. If you're a visionary leader with a passion for driving excellence in the support of scientific research, then we encourage you to apply for this position.

This is a full-time, permanent position based at the ESS Campus in Lund, Sweden but will involve frequent travel to our Data Management and Software Centre based in Lyngby, Denmark, as a part of the ECDC team is matrixed from that organisation. The start date is negotiable, but we are looking for someone who can start as soon as practically possible.

About you:

This Group Leader role at ESS comes with significant opportunities - but also no shortage of challenges. As such, we are seeking someone who is highly motivated by not just leadership and people management, but who also thrives in an environment where there can be multiple, competing problems to solve simultaneously.

Our ideal candidate has extensive experience in line management – defined as having led teams of over five individuals - and should have held prior, similar leadership positions within groups, units, or divisions. Your track record must include driving high performance teams in complex environments, particularly within big science or complex engineering facilities where you've also managed budgets and project.

This role requires a proven track record of delivering larger integrated software solutions in controls, data, software, data formats, and communication interfaces, preferably at a large scale science facility. It also requires familiarity with the associated hardware such as servers and computing infrastructure - but also technical devices, such as sample environment and detector technologies. However, significant prior work experience in a related field is also valued. As a leader, your style is characterised by your capacity to inspire, motivate, and empower others, as evidenced by your ability to define and develop clear strategies aligned with organisational needs. You can delegate work tasks fairly and appropriately, while actively listening, consulting, and communicating proactively with staff. Typical education will be a Masters or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.

We are building ESS from scratch, so we need a leader who is comfortable not only following procedures, but also creating and improving them. We attach great importance to personality and attitude, so we're looking for a collaborative and decisive individual: Someone who makes prompt, clear, evidence-based decisions, who can identify and organise the resources needed to accomplish tasks, who takes responsibility for actions, who can provide others with clear directions, who sets appropriate standards of behaviour and who excels as the point of contact for internal and external stakeholders. You must be used to working a scientific environment and be able to interact well with scientists, engineers, and technicians.

The working language of ESS is English but the ability to speak Swedish would be an advantage - although this is not a requirement.

How to apply:

If you see yourself in what we’re looking for, please provide your CV and motivation letter in English by clicking on “apply” and following the instructions. Please be aware that we can only accept direct applications made via the ESS website.

Certain roles at ESS require health and safety checks and/or security clearance procedures, which will be performed as part of the recruitment process.

The last day for receiving application is Friday the 19th of July 2024 - so submit your application as soon as soon as you can. Please quote the job reference number ESD-46710 in your application.

For more information regarding this position, or the ESS recruitment process, please contact Daniel Nordin Baker via daniel.nordin@ess.eu 

For trade union information, please contact Unionen representative Mikael Johansson on Mikael.Johansson@ess.eu or SACO/Swedish Association of Graduate Engineers representative Marc Kickulies at marc.kickulies@ess.eu 

We look forward to receiving your application soon!