Junior Distributed Storage Engineer

About the role

CERN is looking for a Junior Distributed Storage Engineer to join its IT Storage and Data Management Group, within the EOS Storage Development and Operations team. The team delivers large-scale, reliable, high-performance storage services for the Large Hadron Collider, managing more than 1 Exabyte of disk storage and serving around 10 Exabytes of data annually to researchers and computing facilities worldwide. The role is fully onsite in Geneva, with a 24-month contract (extendable to 36 months) starting on 1 January 2027.

Key responsibilities

• Operate and maintain EOS large-scale distributed storage services supporting CERN's scientific programmes.
• Integrate, troubleshoot and optimise distributed storage systems at exabyte scale across software, hardware and network layers.
• Contribute to the development, testing, deployment and automation of EOS platform capabilities and operational tools.
• Liaise with users, developers, service managers and external collaborators to support the evolution of CERN storage services.

Required profile

• National of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• Maximum of two years of professional experience since graduation in Software Engineering (or a related field).
• Highest qualification is a Bachelor's or Master's degree; applicants without a university degree or with a PhD are not eligible.
• No previous CERN fellow or graduate contract.
• Spoken and written English, with a commitment to learn French.

Required skills

• Good knowledge of Linux, networking and storage technologies.
• Understanding of replication, fault tolerance, caching, scheduling and data consistency.
• Software development with modern languages such as C++ and Python, Git and CI/CD.
• Linux administration, troubleshooting and performance optimisation.
• Automation, configuration and operational tooling.

What we offer

• A monthly net stipend of 5,266 or 5,793 Swiss Francs depending on degree.
• 30 days of paid leave per year plus 2 weeks annual closure.
• Health insurance coverage for yourself, your spouse and children, and membership of the CERN Pension Fund.
• Family, child and infant monthly allowances and a relocation package depending on circumstances.
• Possibility to extend the contract up to 36 months, and on-the-job and formal training including language classes.