Research Engineer: Software Packaging with Guix for HPC (Bordeaux)

Research Engineer: Software Packaging with Guix for HPC (Bordeaux) Download job offer in PDF format Contract type : Fixed-term contract Renewable contract : Yes Level of qualifications required : Graduate degree or equivalent Other valued qualifications : Master's degree, Engineer's degree or PhD in computer science Fonction : Temporary scientific engineer Level of experience : Recently graduated About the research centre or Inria department The Inria center at the University of Bordeaux is one of the nine Inria centers in France and has about twenty research teams. The Inria centre is a major and recognized player in the field of digital sciences. It is at the heart of a rich R&D and innovation ecosystem: highly innovative SMEs, large industrial groups, competitiveness clusters, research and higher education players, laboratories of excellence, technological research institute... Context We are looking for candidates with a Master's degree, Engineer's degree, or PhD in computer science to join a team responsible for the packaging, deployment, and testing of software libraries for high-performance computing (HPC). This position is within the Development & Integration project of NumPEx, the French HPC research program; while the Development & Integration project spans three centers (Bordeaux, Grenoble, and Saclay), the engineer on this position will be hosted by the Software Engineering Department (SED) of the center of the university of Bordeaux (Talence - 33 - France). Duration: initial contract of 3 years with possible extension. Hiring dates are flexible with a possible start from October 2026 (subject to extensions due to administrative requiremets). We will process applications as they arise. This work is part of the NumPEx project (http://www.numpex.fr) endowed with more than 40 million euros over 6 years from 2023, to build a software stack for Exascale supercomputers related to the arrival in Europe of the first Exascale machines, with one recently announced for France. These machines will be among the most powerful in the world (https://top500.org/), used for traditional scientific applications and increasingly also for artificial intelligence. Our role in NumPEx is to design and implement an innovative packaging, deployment, and testing strategy. Commonly used solutions show their limits in front of the complexity of supercomputers and applications, as well as the need for reproducibility for open science. Our goal is to build a solution based on a new generation of software packagin tools: Guix, Spack. This position focuses on Guix. You can have a look at the team activity at https://numpex-pc5.gitlabpages.inria.fr/tutorials or https://hpc.guix.info. We also regularly contribute to the discussions on software production at the International INPEX worekshops (https://inpex.science/#workshops-events). Assignment You will contribute to the design and implementation of the packaging and continuous integration strategy. You will participate in the deployment and testing of the infrastructure. You will also participate to user support and to training activity around all these aspects. In close connection with the Guix and Guix-HPC communities, with supercomputer administration teams, and with scientific software developers, you will participate in: • the design of the packaging strategy of the NumPEx project; • packaging and maintaining foundational HPC packages, from Open MPI to HIP/ROCm and related tools; • the design of a package test and validation solution taking into account the specificities of supercomputers (high-performance networks for MPI, GPU architectures, and possibly non-x86 CPU architectures); • groundwork on Guix, such as: supporting non-root usage; ensuring adequate continous integration and automation tooling; • organizing and making training sessions for scientists and developers, and providing support for supercomputer system administrators. Skills Master's degree, Engineer's degree or PhD, beginner or confirmed (salary adjusted according to experience) in computer science. The essential expected skills are: • Good practice of Unix/Linux and system administration; • Good programming experience (C/C++, Python, or other languages); • Experience with build systems, version control systems, as well as testing and continuous integration (CMake, Git, GitLab, etc...); • English proficiency and a taste for team work; • Skills related to package management (be it with Guix, Nix, Spack, apt, rpm, or any other package management) and containers (Singularity/Apptainer, Docker,…) are a plus; • Prior experience with collaborative free and open source software development is also welcome, but not required. An initial training time will be provided to complement the candidate's skill set. You will integrate an academic research environment which will give you, throughout your contract, the opportunity to complete your training on cutting-edge technologies and to become a proficient free software contributor. 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 partial teleworking (90 days / year) and flexible organization of working hours (except for intership) • Social, cultural and sports events and activities • Access to vocational training • Social security coverage under conditions Remuneration Wage according to the profile : From 2,692 € gross / month (depending on experience and qualifications). Apply for this position Share • Facebook • Linkedin • Twitter • Email General Information • Town/city : Talence • Inria Center : Centre Inria de l'université de Bordeaux • Starting date : 2026-11-01 • Duration of contract : 3 years • Deadline to apply : 2026-08-31 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 To apply, please provide a CV and a cover letter. Please make sure to explain your motivation for this position, as well as information that allows us to better understand your skills—internships and reports, links to free and open source software contributions, academic and/or technical publications, and references. 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 : SED-BOR • Recruiter : Courtes Ludovic / Ludovic.Courtes@inria.fr 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.