ICT Technician Automation of Computational Chemistry Workflows

Are you an enthusiastic IT-minded scientist or technical professional who enjoys building robust automated workflows for computational research data The Computational Chemistry group in the Van t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences (HIMS) is looking for a part time system administrator/technician to support the FAIR4ChemNL project.

Join us!

FAIR4ChemNL is a national initiative that accelerates the adoption of FAIR (Findable Accessible Interoperable Reusable) data standards across chemistry bringing together leading groups in catalysis computational chemistry and digital infrastructure.

Within FAIR4ChemNL you will focus on implementing automated workflows for storing processing and sharing computational chemistry and spectroscopy data and on ensuring interoperability with experimental data generated in other work packages. You will play a key technical role in making these workflows reliable reusable and easy to adopt by researchers in our group and beyond.

This is what you are going to do

• Implement maintain and document automated workflows for computational chemistry and spectroscopy data in close alignment with data and metadata standards defined in FAIR4ChemNL.
• Set up and maintain the storage and organization of computational data (file systems databases repositories) in line with FAIR principles and institutional/national solutions (e.g. Yoda iRODS or comparable platforms) enabling longterm reusable archiving of research data.
• Develop and maintain scripts and tools (e.g. in Python shell) to:
  • capture essential input output and metadata from simulation codes
  • automate routine data processing steps
  • generate standardized data packages for sharing with project partners.
• Support the integration of computational and experimental data by working with colleagues in other FAIR4ChemNL work packages to harmonise data formats identifiers and metadata for spectroscopy and materials characterization.
• Provide handson technical support to PhD candidates postdocs and staff in the Ensing group for:
  • using and adapting the developed workflows
  • organizing and backing up simulation data
  • troubleshooting issues in data pipelines and computational environments.
• Contribute to internal documentation short howto guides and (where appropriate) public project deliverables on computational data workflows and good data management practices.

This is what we ask of you

You have/are:

• A completed Masters degree in computer science (computational) chemistry physics chemical engineering or a related field with a strong affinity for computational research and data management.
• Solid experience with Linux-based environments and commandline tools.
• Good scripting/programming skills (e.g. Python Bash); experience with version control (Git) is an advantage.
• Familiarity with computational chemistry or materials simulation workflows (e.g. quantum chemistry molecular dynamics or related tools) is a strong plus.
• Some experience or strong interest in research data management FAIR data and reproducible workflows (e.g. use of electronic lab notebooks data repositories or workflow engines).
• The ability to work systematically and document your work clearly with an eye for robustness and longterm maintainability.
• Excellent communication skills in oral and written English.

• A proactive serviceoriented attitude and strong timemanagement skills; you enjoy collaborating with researchers in an academic environment.

This is what we offer you

We offer a parttime appointment (0.25 FTE) at the Faculty of Science for the duration of the FAIR4ChemNL project initially for 12 months. An extension maybe possible based on available funding combined with adequate performance. Preferred starting date to be agreed upon together.

The gross monthly salary based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience ranges between 3708 - 5057 (scale 9). A favourable tax agreement the 30% ruling may apply to non-Dutch applicants. TheCollective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universitiesis applicable.

Besides the salary and a vibrant and challenging environment at Science Park we offer you multiple fringe benefits:

• 232 holiday hours per year (based on fulltime) and extra holidays between Christmas and 1 January;
• multiple courses to follow from our Teaching and Learning Centre;
• multiple courses on topics such as leadership for academic staff;
• multiple courses on topics such as time management handling stress and an online learning platform with 100 different courses;
• 7 weeks birth leave (partner leave) with 100% salary;
• partly paid parental leave;
• the possibility to set up a workplace at home;
• a pension at ABP for which UvA pays two third part of the contribution;
• the possibility to follow courses to learn Dutch;

Are you curious to read more about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits take a lookhere.

This is where you will work

TheVan t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences(HIMS) is one of eight institutes of the University of Amsterdam (UvA)Faculty of Science. HIMS performs internationally recognized chemistry and molecular research curiosity driven as well as application driven. This is done in close cooperation with the chemical flavor & food medical and high-tech industries. Research is organized into four themes:Analytical ChemistryComputational ChemistrySynthesis & CatalysisandMolecular Photonics.

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 8000 as well as 1800 members of staff working in education research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works be it elementary particles the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The Computational Chemistry Group is one of the research groups within the Van t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. Our research focuses on the development and application of advanced molecular simulation and multiscale modelling methodology to obtain novel and improved understanding of the behaviour of (bio)materials and of complex (bio)chemical and physical processes that are of technological and scientific importance.

If you recognise yourself in the profile and are interested in the position we look forward to receiving your motivation letter and CV. You can respond via the red button up to the 28th of February 2026.
Please include the following documents in your application (as PDF files):

• A motivation letter (max. 2 pages A4)
• Your CV including the months (not just years) when referring to your education and work experience including a list of publications
• Contact details of at least one academic reference

We will review applications on a rolling basis and continue recruiting until the position is filled.

A knowledge security check can be part of the selection procedure (for details: national knowledge security guidelines). If you receive an error message while applying from abroad please try again later or contact us for assistance.

For questions about the position please contact:

Prof. dr. Bernd Ensing Professor of AI for Chemistry and director of the AI4Science Laboratory Prof. dr. Bernd Ensing