Seeking a Research Scientists or Postdoctoral Researchers (K24069) Full-time

Research Scientist or Postdoctoral Researcher

The RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS), led by Center Director Satoshi Matsuoka, is an international hub for computational science that promotes “science of computing, by computing, and for computing.” R-CCS positions the technology in which RIKEN has strengths (R-CCS technology) and the software developed by RIKEN that contributes to science, technology, industry, and society (R-CCS software) as its “core competence in computational science driving science as a whole.” R-CCS aims to develop these technologies, disseminate them domestically and internationally, and produce results. In addition, R-CCS utilizes its expertise to operate the supercomputer “Fugaku”, developed as Japan's national project, in accordance with relevant ordinances.

The Supercomputing Performance Research Team conducts performance studies and modelling of AI and HPC applications/frameworks, software subsystems, and traditional architectures, such as processors, networks, memory, etc.; and the team investigates non-traditional hardware, such as optical processors, and quantum computing devices, to analyze their applicability to speed up supercomputing workloads. The team's mission is to improve the performance, efficiency, and usability of Fugaku and upcoming supercomputers by data-driven co-design.

The scientist will join a vibrant team and top-class HPC institute to collaborate with other computer science and domain science teams to conduct research on HPC performance, such as performance modeling, simulation, prediction, and monitoring, in order to enhance the community's understanding of cutting-edge and future supercomputers as well as applications running on these systems. We bring together experts and students from different domains of the HPC stack to perform cross-layer optimizations, to apply AI and ML methods to improve the systems efficiency, and we aid the design of future systems with our benchmarks, performance analysis, modelling and performance projections.

The scientist will apply her/his previous research to large-scale systems and problems. The scientist will be able to research novel methods to automatically apply performance tuning and/or portability approaches, and findings shall be disseminated via publications or software.

In addition to the above research and development, the scientist might take charge of various tasks in our research team and she/he could be involved in the R&D for the next generation of supercomputers for the RIKEN Center for Computational Science.

Any changes in duties during the contract period or at the time of contract renewal will be within the scope of the above job description.

Applicants must have a doctoral degree or expect to receive a doctoral degree before the date of appointment. In general, those who earned a doctorate within the past 5 years will be appointed as Postdoctoral Researcher, and those who earned a doctorate more than 5 years ago will be appointed as Research Scientist.

Applicants should have:

• Experience in performance analysis, tuning, or modelling of hard- or software system;
• Knowledge of high performance computing systems; scalable, parallel architectures; and Linux operating system;
• Knowledge of typical high-level programming languages and parallelization paradigms used in the HPC field, e.g., C, C++, Fortran, CUDA, OpenMP, and MPI;
• Knowledge of one or more common scripting languages such a Bash, Python, etc.;
• A high degree of self-motivation, a drive to learn new things, and a desire to solve complex “puzzles”; and
• Confidence in communicating in English, i.e., reading, writing and speaking.

RIKEN Center for Computational Science, Supercomputing Performance Research Team (Kobe Campus – South) 7-1-26, Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0047, JAPAN RIKEN has implemented a work-from-home system. Employees can work from home in accordance with the prescribed procedures. Employees may be transferred to other locations when necessary to perform duties, in accordance with relevant regulations.

In principle, the first two months of employment is considered a trial period. Salary will be an annual salary based on experience, ability, and performance, and will consist of a base salary and a variable salary. The variable salary will be determined each fiscal year based on experience, ability, and performance. The monthly base salary is 327,200 JPY for Postdoctoral Researcher and 458,500 JPY for Research Scientist as of April 1, 2025. The monthly base salary and variable salary are subject to change due to amendments to RIKEN regulations. Discretionary work, commuting and housing allowances will be provided. Social insurance will be applied. The approximate amount of annual salary at the time of employment: The monthly salary including discretionary work allowance at the time of employment will be more than 400,000 JPY for Postdoctoral Researcher and 515,575 JPY for Research Scientist. Mandatory membership in the RIKEN Mutual Benefit Society (RIKEN Kyosaikai). This position falls under the specialized duties discretionary work system; one working day will be calculated as 7 hours and 30 minutes. Days off include public holidays, New Year's holidays (Dec. 29 – Jan 3), and RIKEN Foundation Day. Paid leave includes annual paid leave (up to 20 days per year depending on the month of employment), special paid leave (childcare, family nursing care, etc.), and work-life balance holidays (up to 7 days per year depending on the month of employment). There are also additional leave systems such as maternity leave, childcare leave, and family nursing care leave. Smoking is entirely prohibited on site. These and other provisions are in accordance with RIKEN regulations.

Our team actively utilizes a telecommuting system. The post currently being offered may be carried out through telecommuting (full-remote work) within Japan for the entire specified work period, provided that the required procedures are completed and approval is obtained from RIKEN. For more information, please get in touch with the hiring at kobe-jobs@riken.jp.

The Kobe Campus has an on-site daycare. For details, please send an email to the General Administrative Section at kobe-kosei@riken.jp.

RIKEN is actively undertaking initiatives to promote gender equality and diversity, and moving forward with the establishment of a diverse and vibrant research environment. If multiple candidates are found to have the same aptitude following a fair assessment, active efforts will be made to recruit female candidates.

Also, eligible for an exemption from repayment for category 1 scholarship loans provided by the Japan Student Services Organization before fiscal year 2003, and eligible applying for the MEXT Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Kakenhi).

Please prepare the following documents in English. Only recommendation letters may be either in English or in Japanese.

• CV or CV
• List of research achievements
• Copies of up to five most important publications
• List of competitive funds acquired, awards received, and other achievements
• Description of previous research, future research plans, and career goals
• Recommendation letters from one or two persons who can evaluate your work
• Consent form for handling personal information based on GDPR

Combine the above documents except the recommendation letters into a single PDF file and upload them to the following link: Applications for R-CCS Supercomputing Performance Research Team

The file name of the PDF should contain the job ad number “K24069, R-CCS Supercomputing Performance Research Team” and the applicant's name. Please write the name of the position that you apply for in the “Add additional information” box. After you uploaded the PDF file, please let us (kobe-jobs@riken.jp) know the file name of the uploaded file. When you send us an email, please write your name, Job Ad number and the name of the position that you apply for. Recommendation letters must be directly submitted from the referees to the link mentioned above with the subject line “R-CCS Supercomputing Performance Research Team, [name of the position], [applicant's name] (Recommendation letter)”. Please specify the applicant's name, referee's name and contact information in the body of the email. If a confirmation email is not received within 7 days after submission, please contact: kobe-jobs@riken.jp.

Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.

Submitted documents are strictly protected under the RIKEN Privacy Policy and will be used only for the purpose of applicant screening at RIKEN. Personal information will not be disclosed, transferred or loaned to a third party under any circumstances without just cause.

Applications will be reviewed upon receipt, and interviews will be conducted for selected applicants (2 interviews for Research Scientist position and one interview for Postdoctoral Researcher position). No inquiries on the selection process and results will be answered.

At the earliest opportunity (subject to negotiation)

Application