Context And Mission
The Department of Earth Sciences of the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS), BSC-ES henceforth is one of the most active groups in air quality and atmospheric composition modeling, climate prediction, and climate services in Europe. The Department comprises about 200 people, including scientists and technical staff. It is structured into five distinct but interacting research groups: Atmospheric Composition, Climate Prediction, Earth System Services (ESS), Global Health Resilience, and Computational Earth Sciences.
We are seeking a highly motivated graduate, MSc or master's student in Physics, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, or a related field to conduct a research-oriented study at the intersection of Quantum Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Earth System Sciences.
The Earth Sciences Department develops advanced computational models for weather, climate, and air quality prediction, relying on large-scale numerical simulations and AI-driven approaches executed on high-performance computing (HPC) systems. While quantum computing has shown theoretical promise in accelerating certain classes of computational problems, its practical applicability to environmental modelling remains largely unexplored.
This work will focus primarily on a critical state-of-the-art review and feasibility assessment of quantum computing and/or quantum AI approaches for numerical simulations, surrogate modelling, and hybrid quantum-classical optimization in Earth system modelling. Where feasible, a small-scale proof-of-concept using quantum simulators may be explored, but the primary objective is analytical evaluation rather than full-scale development.
The outcome of this work will help determine realistic research directions for future quantum-enhanced environmental modelling initiatives.
Key Duties
* Conduct a comprehensive review of quantum computing and quantum machine learning methods relevant to differential equations, numerical simulations, and surrogate modelling.
* Analyse the theoretical complexity and potential advantages of quantum algorithms compared to classical HPC approaches in climate modelling contexts.
* Identify realistic use cases within weather, climate, or air quality models where quantum techniques could provide future benefits.
* If feasible, implement a small-scale proof-of-concept using quantum simulation frameworks variational quantum algorithms or quantum kernel methods).
* Evaluate practical constraints, including hardware limitations, noise, scalability, and data encoding challenges.
* Produce a structured feasibility report outlining opportunities, limitations, and recommended research directions.
Requirements
* Education
o Having a Degree or MSc, or enrolled in a Master’s program in Physics, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, or a related field.
* Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
o Strong foundation in linear algebra and numerical methods.
o Basic understanding of quantum computing principles.
o Programming skills in Python.
o An analytical mindset and interest in theoretical and conceptual research.
* Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
o Experience with quantum computing frameworks.
o Background in machine learning or scientific computing.
o Familiarity with climate or atmospheric modelling.
o Experience working in UNIX-based or HPC environments.
* Competences
o Strong critical thinking and ability to evaluate scientific literature.
o Ability to work independently on research-oriented tasks.
o Interest in interdisciplinary research.
o Clear scientific writing skills.
o Proficiency in written and spoken English.
Conditions
* The position will be located at BSC within the Earth Sciences Department
* We offer a full-time contract a good working environment, a highly stimulating environment with state-of-the-art infrastructure, flexible working hours, extensive training plan, restaurant tickets, private health insurance, support to the relocation procedures
* Duration: Open-ended contract due to technical and scientific activities linked to the project and budget duration
* Holidays: 22 days of holidays + 6 personal days + 24th and 31st of December per our collective agreement
* Salary: we offer a competitive salary commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate and according to the cost of living in Barcelona
* Starting date: 01/03/2026