Product Owner and User Experience (UX) Designer

80%-100%, Zurich, fixed-term

The Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) develops and operates cutting-edge, high-performance computing (HPC) systems as an essential service facility for science. The centre enables world-class research through its scientific user lab, which is available to domestic and international researchers in academia, industry, and the business sector. The centre is operated by ETH Zurich and has offices in Lugano (headquarters) and Zurich.

Project background

EBRAINS is an open research infrastructure, co-financed by the EU. EBRAINS gathers data, provides tools, and collaborates with computing facilities for brain-related research. CSCS is contributing to EBRAINS with the operation and further development of the Knowledge Graph (KG) environment, which supports scientists in centrally tracking the data, software, and models that contribute to their next discoveries.

The existing KG is machine- and human-readable, and it already contains deep knowledge about available resources. The existing KG is expected to continue to grow in size and functionality during the next years.

These efforts are going to be taken over at CSCS by a small team composed of a product owner, a senior software architect and engineer, and a Software Engineer who will have the possibility to work either in our offices in Lugano or Zurich. This open position is a limited position for 36 months.

Job description

As the product owner of the KG, you will manage the entire product development process, including its further development, maintenance, and operation, in close collaboration with a software architect and a software developer. These efforts will enable a seamless information exchange between the services developed in the scope of EBRAINS so that they can be tightly integrated to create a “one platform” experience. Extensions of the service will be driven by the requirements of the stakeholders and users.

Your responsibilities:

As the product owner, you are in charge of managing the entire product development process of the KG:

  • Shape and define the product vision and roadmap in collaboration with stakeholders and users;
  • Lead the User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design process of the product;
  • Oversee the product development, maintenance, and operation activities in conjunction with the team in charge of the KG;
  • Engage with scientific customers and participate in outreach and promotion activities.

Your profile

We are looking for a professional with more than five years of experience in the deployment and management of complex services running on cloud environments with good knowledge of modern software and platform design.

Expected qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s or higher degree in computer engineering, computer science, a relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience;
  • Experience in the role of a product owner in a scientific, international context with complex services running on cloud environments;
  • Experience in professional, agile software engineering processes, including CI/CD processes and ecosystem;
  • Three or more years of UX design experience, with the ability to work with clients to understand detailed requirements and design complete user experiences that meet client needs and visions.

Experience with the following is preferred, though there will be ample opportunities to learn and gain more experience with all of these skills on the job:

  • Experience in (scientific) metadata management and metadata modelling;
  • Developing Ansible configurations;
  • Developing services on top of Kubernetes.

We offer

  • ETH Zurich is a family-friendly employer with excellent and flexible working conditions.
  • You can look forward to an exciting working environment, cultural diversity and attractive offers and benefits.
  • We value the diversity of our team and, to further enhance the diversity of our workforce, we particularly encourage women to apply.

Working, teaching and research at ETH Zurich

We value diversity

In line with our values, ETH Zurich encourages an inclusive culture. We promote equality of opportunity, value diversity and nurture a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all our staff and students are respected. Visit our Equal Opportunities and Diversity website to find out how we ensure a fair and open environment that allows everyone to grow and flourish.

Curious? So are we.

Please include the following documents with your application:

  • Motivation letter
  • CV
  • Relevant certificates and diplomas

We look forward to receiving your online application, including a letter of motivation, CV, diplomas, and employment certificates. Please address your application to Ms Stephanie Frequente, CSCS Human Resources, via Trevano 131, 6900 Lugano.

Please note that we exclusively accept applications submitted through our online application portal. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.

Further information about CSCS can be found on our website, www.cscs.ch.

For recruitment services, the GTC of ETH Zurich apply.