About BSC
The Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is the leading supercomputing centre in Spain. It houses MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, and is a founding and hosting member of former European HPC infrastructure PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe) and the current host of EuroHPC JU. The mission of BSC is to research, develop and manage information technologies to facilitate scientific progress. BSC combines HPC service provision and R&D in computer and computational sciences (life, earth and engineering sciences) under one roof.
Context and Mission
The Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is a leading European centre in High‑Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Within its rapidly growing AI Institute, BSC‑CNS is strengthening its leadership at the intersection of foundational AI, large‑scale computing, and AI for science and industry. BSC‑CNS is seeking an internationally recognised scientific leader to serve as Research Area Director in Artificial Intelligence, responsible for defining, growing and leading one or more strategic AI research domains (e.g., GenAI and LLMs, multimodal AI, agentic systems, trustworthy AI, or AI for science and HPC).
Key Duties
* Scientific Leadership and Vision – Define and drive the long‑term scientific vision (1–5 years) of major AI research areas aligned with the AI Institute and BSC strategy. Maintain a high‑impact personal research agenda with international visibility through top‑tier publications and scientific leadership. Promote excellence in responsible, reproducible, and trustworthy AI research practices. Guide the evolution of research themes in response to emerging AI trends and European strategic priorities.
* Organisational and Team Leadership – Lead and coordinate multiple research groups and their group leaders, including senior researchers, post‑doctoral fellows, PhD students and engineers. Mentor research managers and senior scientists, supporting their career development and scientific independence. Build a collaborative, interdisciplinary and inclusive research culture across teams. Oversee resource planning, hiring strategies and prioritisation of research efforts across the area.
* Strategic Development – Contribute directly to the medium‑ and long‑term strategy of the AI Institute and BSC in AI and digital technologies. Identify opportunities for new research lines, institutional growth and cross‑area synergies (e.g., with HPC, Earth sciences, health or engineering). Position the research area at the forefront of European and global AI agendas.
* Program, Project and Funding Leadership – Lead and shape large‑scale national and European research programmes (Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, EuroHPC, EIC, etc.). Act as Principal Investigator or scientific coordinator of strategic multi‑partner projects. Drive the acquisition of competitive funding and ensure scientific and organisational success of funded programmes. Oversee complex research portfolios involving multiple partners, infrastructures and disciplines.
* Collaboration and External Representation – Build and sustain high‑level collaborations with leading academic institutions, industry and public bodies in Spain and internationally. Represent BSC and the AI Institute in international scientific networks, advisory boards and strategic initiatives. Contribute to technology transfer, open science and industrial collaboration activities.
Requirements
* Education – PhD in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Machine Learning or a closely related field.
* Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience – 15+ years of experience in advanced AI research and innovation in top‑tier academic or industrial environments. Internationally recognised research profile with a strong record of high‑impact publications in top‑tier AI conferences (Neurips, ICLR, ICML, KDD, CVPR, ECCV, ICCV, AAAI). Extensive experience (8+ years) leading large/multiple research teams and senior researchers. Proven ability to define and execute scientific strategy at group or institute scale. Deep expertise in one or more major AI areas (GenAI, LLMs, multimodal AI, reinforcement learning, trustworthy AI or AI for science). Demonstrated experience in the acquisition of competitive funding especially of high calibre. Strong track record as PI or coordinator in national and European research programmes (8+ projects as PI, total of at least 15+ projects in teams supervised). Demonstrated experience managing large, interdisciplinary research programmes. Fluency in English and Spanish required. Knowledge of Catalan is an advantage; additional European languages are a plus.
* Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience – Experience in interdisciplinary AI applied to scientific or industrial domains. Familiarity with large‑scale computing infrastructures and data‑intensive research. Experience advising public agencies or contributing to AI policy and strategy. Knowledge of European research and innovation ecosystems.
* Competences – Strong mentoring track record and people leadership skills. Visionary leadership in AI research, with the ability to identify and drive future trends. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to work effectively with diverse international teams and stakeholders. Commitment to fostering a collaborative and innovative research environment.
Conditions
The position will be located at BSC within the AI Institute. It is a full‑time contract (37.5 h/week), open‑ended due to the technical and scientific activities linked to the project and budget duration. We offer a highly stimulating working environment with state‑of‑the‑art infrastructure, flexible working hours, an extensive training plan, restaurant tickets, private health insurance and support for relocation procedures. Holidays: 22 days of holidays + 6 personal days + 24th and 31st of December per our collective agreement. Salary will be competitive and commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate.
Applications Procedure
A full CV in English including contact details, a cover/motivation letter in English specifying the area and topics of interest, and two references for further contacts must be submitted. Applications missing any of these documents will not be considered.
Recruitment Process
Two‑phase competitive examination system (Concurso‑Oposición).
* Curriculum Analysis – Evaluation of previous experience, scientific history, degree, training and other relevant information (40 points).
* Interview Phase – Highest‑rated candidates will be interviewed by the department and Human Resources. Technical competencies, knowledge and professional experience relevant to the position, and personal competencies will be evaluated (60 points). A minimum of 30 points out of 60 is required to be eligible. The panel will comprise at least three people, ensuring at least 25% representation of women. The panel will conduct at least one technical and one administrative interview, a personality questionnaire and a technical exercise. Final decision will be communicated to all interviewees with detailed feedback.
BSC‑CNS is committed to the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers of the European Commission and the Open, Transparent and Merit‑based Recruitment principles (OTM‑R). BSC‑CNS is an equal‑opportunity employer and is dedicated to diversity and inclusion, complying with all applicable anti‑discrimination laws.
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