PhD Position F/M Mesh partitioning for high performance solvers on Exascale computing systems

PhD Position F/M Mesh partitioning for high performance solvers on Exascale computing systems Download job offer in PDF format Contract type : Fixed-term contract Level of qualifications required : Graduate degree or equivalent Fonction : PhD Position Level of experience : Recently graduated About the research centre or Inria department The Inria research centre in Lyon is the 9th Inria research centre, formally created in January 2022. It brings together approximately 410 people in 20 research teams and research support services. Its staff are distributed in Villeurbanne, Lyon Gerland, and Saint-Etienne. The Lyon centre is active in the fields of software, distributed and high-performance computing, embedded systems, quantum computing and privacy in the digital world, but also in digital health and computational biology. Context This PhD will be part of the Horizon Europe HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2026-COE-LH-01-03 FEniCS Lighthouse project, which is fully funded and will start in January 2027. The other international partners of the project are Simula Research Laboratory, Norway; University of Cambridge Cambridge, United Kingdom; University College London, United Kingdom; University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Koç University, Türkiye; Sabancı University, Türkiye. The PhD will work closely with the researchers in this project. Assignment Real-world applications of finite element mesh (FEM) simulations require parallel computing.In such a setting, computational meshes must be partitioned among multiple computers as a first step. One important goal of mesh partitioning is to keep the resulting inter-process communication overhead low while achieving load balance. Failing to do so will lead to parallel FEM simulations which do not scale. The current state-of-the-art and mainstream approaches treat mesh partitioning as a graph or hypergraph partitioning problem, which is then tackled with well-known libraries. The common goal of these libraries is to minimize the total volume of inter-process communication. However, this does not accurately reflect the inter-process communication cost in the current systems. This mismatch is exacerbated specifically on today’s strongly hierarchical HPC topologies, which have highly variable inter-process communication cost. The current mesh partitioner needs major improvements to incorporate the proper objectives in its underlying optimization procedures, and thus achieve scalable finite element computations on current and future supercomputers. This PhD will work to develop a novel approach to mesh/graph/hypergraph partitioning by adopting an optimization objective that truly reflects the actual communication overhead. Main activities The PhD will design, analyze, and implement algorithms for mesh partitioning and collaborate with the project partners to make use of it in the open source FEniCS framework https://fenicsproject.org. Skills Technical Skills: • Programming: Proficiency in C++, Python; experience with parallel programming models (MPI, OpenMP, or GPU acceleration) is a plus. • Graph/Hypergraph Partitioning: Knowledge of libraries like METIS, ParMETIS, SCOTCH, KaHIP, or Zoltan, and is a plus. • FEM Frameworks: Familiarity with FEniCS or deal.II is a plus. • Experience with supercomputing environments. Collaboration skills: Ability to work in a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary team (academia + research labs). Communication skills: Clear technical writing and presentation skills (for papers, reports, and open-source documentation). Benefits package • Subsidized meals • Partial reimbursement of public transport costs • Leave: 7 weeks of annual leave + 10 extra days off due to RTT (statutory reduction in working hours) + possibility of exceptional leave (sick children, moving home, etc.) • Possibility of teleworking (90 days / year) and flexible organization of working hours • Social, cultural and sports events and activities • Access to vocational training • Social security coverage Remuneration 1st, 2nd and 3rd year: 2300 euros gross salary /month Apply for this position Share • Facebook • Linkedin • Twitter • Email General Information • Theme/Domain : Distributed and High Performance Computing Scientific computing (BAP E) • Town/city : Villeurbanne • Inria Center : Centre Inria de Lyon • Starting date : 2027-02-01 • Duration of contract : 3 years • Deadline to apply : 2026-11-19 Warning : you must enter your e-mail address in order to save your application to Inria. Applications must be submitted online on the Inria website. Processing of applications sent from other channels is not guaranteed. Instruction to apply Applications must be submitted online via the Inria website. Processing of applications submitted via other channels is not guaranteed. Defence Security : This position is likely to be situated in a restricted area (ZRR), as defined in Decree No. 2011-1425 relating to the protection of national scientific and technical potential (PPST).Authorisation to enter an area is granted by the director of the unit, following a favourable Ministerial decision, as defined in the decree of 3 July 2012 relating to the PPST. An unfavourable Ministerial decision in respect of a position situated in a ZRR would result in the cancellation of the appointment. Recruitment Policy : As part of its diversity policy, all Inria positions are accessible to people with disabilities. Contacts • Inria Team : ROMA • PhD Supervisor : Uçar Bora / bora.ucar@inria.fr The keys to success Understanding of the finite element methods (FEM) for solving partial differential equations (PDEs). Ability to develop and analyze novel algorithms for meshes/graphs/hypergraphs. Familiarity with modern high-performance computing (HPC) architectures (distributed memory, shared memory, GPUs). Willingness to engage with international partners and integrate solutions into the open-source frameworks. About Inria Inria, the French national institute for research in digital science and technology, supports the French government in national research and innovation strategies in the digital field, acting as Digital Programs Agency. Inria leads over 300 research and innovation projects with its 3,500 scientists, engineers, and support staff, in partnership with universities and the digital ecosystem (businesses, entrepreneurs, and public stakeholders). Together, we explore strategic fields such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum computing, cloud technologies, digital transformation in healthcare, digital twins, and digital technologies for defence. We develop practical solutions such as software, tech startups, partnerships with national companies, and cutting-edge training programmes. Our goal is to drive scientific, technological, and industrial excellence to ensure France’s digital sovereignty.