Postdoctoral Researcher: Climate and infectious disease dynamics (R2)

Job Reference
722_25_ES_GHR_R2
Position
Postdoctoral Researcher: Climate and infectious disease dynamics (R2)
Closing Date
Thursday, 11 December, 2025
Reference: 722_25_ES_GHR_R2
Job title: Postdoctoral Researcher: Climate and infectious disease dynamics (R2)

About BSC

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is the leading supercomputing center in Spain. It houses MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, was a founding and hosting member of the former European HPC infrastructure PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), and is now hosting entity for EuroHPC JU, the Joint Undertaking that leads large-scale investments and HPC provision in Europe. The mission of BSC is to research, develop and manage information technologies in order to facilitate scientific progress. BSC combines HPC service provision and R&D into both computer and computational science (life, earth and engineering sciences) under one roof, and currently has over 1000 staff from 60 countries.

Look at the BSC experience:
BSC-CNS YouTube Channel
Let's stay connected with BSC Folks!

We are particularly interested for this role in the strengths and lived experiences of women and underrepresented groups to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights in science and IT research. In instances of equal merit, the incorporation of the under-represented sex will be favoured.

We promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, fostering an environment where each and every one of us is appreciated for who we are, regardless of our differences.

If you consider that you do not meet all the requirements, we encourage you to continue applying for the job offer. We value diversity of experiences and skills, and you could bring unique perspectives to our team.

Context And Mission

The Global Health Resilience (GHR) group led by ICREA Research Professor Rachel Lowe at the BSC-CNS is seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral scientist to conduct cutting-edge methodological research on tracking past, present and future health risks posed by climate change, environmental degradation, human movement and other global change processes.

The mission of the GHR group is to apply a transdisciplinary approach to co-designing policy-relevant methodological solutions, to enhance surveillance, preparedness and response to climate-sensitive disease outbreaks and health outcomes. The group conducts cutting-edge methodological research on disentangling the impacts of global environmental change on infectious disease risk and co-developing impact-based forecasting models at sub-seasonal to decadal timescales in collaboration with public health, disaster risk management, and humanitarian agencies. The GHR group works closely with the Earth System Services (ESS) group, whose mission is to research the impact of weather, atmospheric chemistry and climate upon socio-economic sectors, including renewable energy, agriculture, water management, forest fires, urban development and health and demonstrate the ongoing value of earth system services to society and the economy.

The selected candidate will co-develop innovative modelling approaches using statistical, machine learning and mathematical modelling approaches, informed by a combination of open-source and decision-maker provided data. These innovative modelling frameworks will feed into decision-support tools (e.g., GHR tools and EpiOutlook) at multiple spatial scales and different forecasting horizons for a diverse set of users. The candidate will interact with international partners of projects funded by the Wellcome Trust and Horizon Europe, covering topics including designing mathematical models, early warning and response systems and health impact attribution studies. The candidates will benefit from interdisciplinary training opportunities tailored to their experience and interests. The research will be positioned within the context of WMO’s Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), whose aim is to provide actionable climate information to key sectors of society. This position presents an opportunity to work alongside a wide range of leading international climate and health scientists delivering cutting-edge climate services for the health sector to inform policy makers in Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, and worldwide.

Successful candidates will benefit from expert training and BSC-CNS staff benefits: international multidisciplinary scientific environment and advanced applied research training. We encourage applications from highly motivated candidates with demonstrated experience in impact modelling for public health and an interest in applied research in the context of climate and environmental change.

Key Duties

Co-create decision support systems to enhance public health resilience to climate change
Harmonise multi-source, multi-scale climate, land-type, demographic, socio-economic, human movement and health datasets
Formulate statistical, machine learning and mathematical models to understand the impact of environmental change and socio-economic factors on infectious disease risk and health outcomes
Develop indicators to track the impact of climate change on infectious disease risks and health outcomes
Disseminate research outputs in peer-reviewed scientific papers and international conferences
Interact with scientists in the group, department, center and other institutions in Barcelona to enhance synergies
Apply for competitive grants and projects
Engage with local communities, stakeholders and policy makers
Develop training materials and deliver training workshops to researchers, data managers and stakeholders
Coordinate core activities of the global health resilience group
Support administrative duties of the group, including arranging meetings, taking minutes, writing deliverable and mission reports, maintaining Wiki/webpages, etc.
Co-supervise Masters students
Contribute to policy reports and policy briefs

Requirements

Education
BSc and MSc in Epidemiology, Biology, Ecology, Meteorology, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Physics, Mathematics, Statistics (or equivalent)
Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
PhD in infectious disease epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, statistical, ecological or environmental modelling or related field
Experience in data management and statistical analyses
Proficiency in scientific programming in a suitable language (e.g., R, Python) and experience with git
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, demonstrated in scientific publications and well documented repositories
Ability to work in a collaborative professional environment within a transdisciplinary and international team
Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
Fluency in English is essential. Proficiency in Spanish and other languages would be advantageous
Experience with data from the field of climate and environmental sciences
Experience in the processing and evaluation of satellite/drone images and geodata (e.g., GIS)
Experience working with public health stakeholders and international agencies
Knowledge on some of the following topics: Bayesian statistics, machine learning, spatial epidemiology, infectious disease transmission modelling, human movement modelling, statistical downscaling, multi-model combination techniques, and bias adjustments techniques
Experience using data visualization packages, mapping tools and dashboard creation (e.g., Shiny, etc.)
Competences
Ability to work in a team and in a multi-cultural environment
Problem-solving, pro-active, result-oriented work attitude
Excellent communication skills
Ability to show initiative, prioritize tasks and meet deadlines
Ability to learn and adapt to multiple programming languages easily
Demonstrates kindness, empathy, and respectful communication in team interactions, fostering collaboration and a positive work environment

Conditions

The position will be located at BSC within the Earth Sciences Department
We offer a full-time contract (37.5h/week), 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: As soon as possible

Applications procedure and process

All applications must be submitted via the BSC website and contain:

A full CV in English, including contact details.
A cover/motivation letter with a statement of interest in English, clearly specifying for which specific area and topics the applicant wishes to be considered. Additionally, two references for further contacts must be included. Applications without this document will not be considered.

Development of the recruitment process

The selection will be carried out through a competitive examination system ("Concurso-Oposición"). The recruitment process consists of two phases:

Curriculum Analysis: Evaluation of previous experience and/or scientific history, degree, training, and other professional information relevant to the position. - 40 points
Interview phase: The highest-rated candidates at the curriculum level will be invited to the interview phase, conducted by the corresponding department and Human Resources. In this phase, technical competencies, knowledge, skills, and professional experience related to the position, as well as the required personal competencies, will be evaluated. - 60 points. A minimum of 30 points out of 60 must be obtained to be eligible for the position.

The recruitment panel will be composed of at least three people, ensuring at least 25% representation of women.

In accordance with OTM-R principles, a gender-balanced recruitment panel is formed for each vacancy at the beginning of the process. After reviewing the content of the applications, the panel will begin the interviews, with at least one technical and one administrative interview. At a minimum, a personality questionnaire as well as a technical exercise will be conducted during the process.

The panel will make a final decision, and all individuals who participated in the interview phase will receive feedback with details on the acceptance or rejection of their profile.

At BSC, we seek continuous improvement in our recruitment processes. For any suggestions or comments/complaints about our recruitment processes, please contact recruitment [at] bsc [dot] es.

For more information, please follow this link.

Deadline

The vacancy will remain open until a suitable candidate has been hired. Applications will be regularly reviewed and potential candidates will be contacted.

OTM-R principles for selection processes

BSC-CNS is committed to the principles of the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers of the European Commission and the Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment principles (OTM-R). This is applied for any potential candidate in all our processes, for example by creating gender-balanced recruitment panels and recognizing career breaks etc.
BSC-CNS is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by applicable state or local law.
For more information follow this link