Reference: 50826AIIAIIR4 Job title: Research Area Leader– Artificial Intelligence (R4)

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 Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is a leading European center in High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Within its rapidly growing AI Institute, BSC-CNS is strengthening its leadership at the intersection of foundational AI, large-scale computing, and AI for science and industry. BSC-CNS is seeking an internationally recognized scientific leader to serve as Research Area Director in Artificial Intelligence, responsible for defining, growing, and leading one or more strategic AI research domains (e.g., GenAI and LLMs, multimodal AI, agentic systems, trustworthy AI, or AI for science and HPC). This role combines world-class scientific leadership with strategic, organizational, and programmatic responsibility, shaping the long-term direction of AI research at BSC and contributing directly to the Institute’s general positioning.

Key Duties

- Define and drive the long-term scientific vision (1–5 years) of major AI research areas aligned with the AI Institute and BSC strategy.
- Maintain a high-impact personal research agenda with international visibility through top-tier publications and scientific leadership.
- Promote excellence in responsible, reproducible, and trustworthy AI research practices
- Guide the evolution of research themes in response to emerging AI trends and European strategic priorities.
- Lead and coordinate multiple research groups and their group leaders, including senior researchers, postdoctoral fellows, PhD students, and engineers.
- Mentor research managers and senior scientists, supporting their career development and scientific independence.
- Build a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and inclusive research culture across teams.
- Oversee resource planning, hiring strategies, and prioritization of research efforts across the area




- Contribute directly to the medium- and long-term strategy of the AI Institute and BSC in AI and digital technologies.
- Identify opportunities for new research lines, institutional growth, and cross-area synergies (e.g., with HPC, Earth sciences, health, or engineering).
- Lead and shape large-scale national and European research programs (Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, EuroHPC, EIC, etc.).
- Act as Principal Investigator or scientific coordinator of strategic multi-partner projects.
- Drive the acquisition of competitive funding and ensure scientific and organizational success of funded programs
- Oversee complex research portfolios involving multiple partners, infrastructures, and disciplines.
- Build and sustain high-level collaborations with leading academic institutions, industry, and public bodies in Spain and internationally.
- Represent BSC and the AI Institute in international scientific networks, advisory boards, and strategic initiatives.
- Contribute to technology transfer, open science, and industrial collaboration activities.

Requirements

- Education
- PhD in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a closely related field.
- Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
- 15+ years of experience in advanced AI research and innovation in top-tier academic or industrial environments.
- Internationally recognized research profile with a strong record of high-impact publications in top tier AI conferences (e.g., Neurips, ICLR, ICML, KDD, CVPR, ECCV, ICCV, AAAI).
- Extensive experience (8+ years) leading large/multiple research teams and senior researchers.
- Proven ability to define and execute scientific strategy at group or institute scale.
- Relevant contributions and experience in the following AI areas: GenAI, LLMs,multimodal AI, trustworthy AI.
- Capacity for interdisciplinary research in AI for science, particularly in the following domains: AI for Computer Science (e.g., Chip Design), AI for Earth Sciences.
- Demonstrated experience in the acquisition of competitive funding especially of high caliber
- Strong track record as PI or coordinator in national and European research programs (5+ projects as PI, total of at least 15+ projects in teams supervised)
- Demonstrated experience managing large, interdisciplinary research programs.
- Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
- Experience in interdisciplinary AI applied to scientific or industrial domains.
- Familiarity with large-scale computing infrastructures and data-intensive research.
- Experience advising public agencies or contributing to AI policy and strategy.
- Strong mentoring track record and people leadership skills
- Knowledge of European research and innovation ecosystems.
- Competences
- Fluency in English and Spanish required.
- Knowledge of Catalan is an advantage.
- Additional European languages are a plus

Conditions

- The position will be located at BSC within the Directors Department
- We offer a full-time contract (35h/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: 01/12/2016

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 [email protected]. 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

📌 Research Area Leader– Artificial Intelligence (Barcelona)
🏢 Barcelona Supercomputing Center
📍 Barcelona