Software Engineer MGMT

The Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) is seeking a Software Engineer. This position is funded by the ‘Severo Ochoa’ Centres of Excellence programme, reference CEXS, funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/.

ICIQ is committed to performing excellent research at the frontier of knowledge in the broad area of chemistry (Catalysis, Artificial Photosynthesis, Activation of Small Molecules, Photovoltaics, Functional Molecular Assemblies and Chemical Biology, from either theoretical or experimental perspectives). The institute also aims at training the future generation of scientists by offering high-quality educational programmes to master, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers (Full details on http://(Usted puede enviar una solicitud o contactar con nosotros por email usando el Buzón de Solicitud online de abajo)).

Our mission is to lead, from the vantage point of molecular science, cross-strategies for solving major social and economic challenges, such as climate change and sustainable supply of energetic and raw materials, thereby contributing to the establishment of a knowledge-based economy and improving citizens’ quality of life in our influence area.

We are seeking a hands‑on Software Engineer to join ICIQ’s Digitalisation team. You will be helping design and build ICIQ’s Data Management System (DMS) to collect, organise and preserve all research and administrative data, enhancing data use, enabling FAIR/Open Science practices and smooth day‑to‑day work. You will work alongside the project team designing and building technical solutions (scripts, integrations, data pipelines, and custom tools) that enable FAIR/Open Science and a fully digital research environment.

The role suits a developer who enjoys collaborating with scientists and support units (IT, Purchasing, Safety) to translate needs into requirements and deliver robust, maintainable software.

• Design, develop, and maintain scripts and lightweight apps for data curation, transformation, validation, and ETL/ELT.
• Create small services and scripts to move and validate data; connect instruments, repositories and internal systems via APIs.
• Implement and maintain APIs and interoperability between research, purchasing, safety, and data platforms; keep APIs versioned and well‑documented.
• Support instrument data capture and pipelines (file watchers, parsers, adapters) into data management system; improve data quality with validation rules.
• Automate processes among systems and users.

• Help shape simple data models and metadata, keep a common vocabulary, and apply basic validation so data stays consistent and reusable.
• Design and run the database layer: model and manage relational databases (SQL) and metadata; define schemas and naming, set up indexes/partitions for performance, handle schema changes/migrations, and write efficient queries.
• Plan the data architecture: pick the right storage for each need (relational for transactions; document/graph/time‑series where it helps), define canonical IDs and data life cycles (ingest → curate → publish/archive).
• Ensure FAIR/metadata alignment and repository uploads; contribute to controlled vocabularies/ontologies where needed.

• Keep code in version control: CI/CD practices (Git, unit/integration tests, code reviews, reusable templates).
• Add basic tests: use containers when helpful for repeatable deployments; monitor logs, back up data, and follow security/access rules with IT.

• Capture needs in clear requirements, keep documentation and diagrams up to date, and prepare reports/dashboards on progress and data quality.
• Help the project team with project definition and documentation by drafting scopes and acceptance criteria, organising meeting notes and decision logs, and keeping templates/versioning tidy.

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, Software Engineering or related.
• Solid programming skills. Knowledge of Python and/or Java; familiarity with SQL and web APIs (REST).
• Experience structuring requirements and writing clear technical documentation (e.g. Unified Modelling Language (UML)).
• Interest in scientific data environments and working with researchers.
• Proficiency with…