Full time PhD research position on reducing the energy consumption of HPC data centers through user engagement

Data centers consume an increasing amount of energy. Unconstrainted growth of data centers is no longer acceptable in light of their financial and environmental implications. Users of data centers are generally not aware of the energy consumed by their jobs, and no incentives are provided by data center operators to reduce this impact. In this project you will give end users of a scientific High Performance Computing (HPC) data center the information they need to make decisions about reducing their energy footprint. Through measurements, modeling, reporting and visualization, you will give policy and decision makers and stakeholders the information they need to offer proper incentives to those end users.

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Closing date: 9 januari 2026

€ €3.881

Full time PhD research position on reducing the energy consumption of HPC data centers through user engagement

What are you going to do?

Working on the project entails:

• Building the instrumentation for measuring the energy consumption of jobs in an HPC cluster using both modeling and measured data
• Building the visualization and reporting mechanisms that inform users about the energy consumption of their jobs
• Investigating the relation between energy consumed and jobs characteristics
• Investigating mechanisms for incentivizing users to reduce their energy consumption
• Engage with users of a large scale scientific instrument towards optimizing their job scheduling to maximize use of available renewable energy in the HPC cluster

Employed PhD candidates are expected to spend 10% of their working hours on teaching and/or supervising candidates.

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Closing date: 9 januari 2026

€ €3.881

Who are you?

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field

• Experience in observability, ideally for energy or performance monitoring

• Familiarity with cluster/HPC/HTC environments and/or performance engineering would be counted as positive

• Technical requirements: Linux, comfortable with C/C++, MPI and/or (open)MP is preferred, some familiarity with observability stacks and/or performance profiling and visualization is welcome

• Good communication skills, and excellent grasp of written and spoken English are required

What can you expect from us?

• In accordance with the collective labor agreement for Dutch universities, we offer a salary of at least € 3.059 up to a maximum of € Promovendus) gross per month for a full-time employment contract.
• 232 vacation hours per year, based on a 38-hour workweek (1.0 FTE). You can also work more or fewer hours in exchange for more or fewer free hours. For example, with a 40-hour workweek, you save 96 extra free hours, and with a 36-hour workweek, you lose 96 hours.
• End-of-year bonus of 8.3% and 8% holiday allowance.
• Extensive opportunities for personal and professional development.
• The successful candidate will first be offered a temporary position of one year with the option of renewal for another three years. Prolongation of the contract is contingent on sufficient progress in the first year to indicate that a successful completion of the PhD thesis within the next three years is to be expected. A PhD training programme is part of the agreement and the successful candidate will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Science and Engineering.

Where will you be working?

At the University of Groningen (RUG), researchers across all branches of science and technology work on scientific challenges and societal issues. Lecturers train their students for meaningful careers in science or beyond. Interdisciplinary research and education, knowledge sharing, and collaboration with companies, government institutions, and societal organizations are highly valued at this top 100 university. RUG aims to be an open academic community with an inclusive and safe working environment that invites you to contribute your value.

The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) provides teaching and research across a wide range of disciplines, from physics and biology to artificial intelligence, mechanical engineering, and pharmacy. In close collaboration with partners from industry, healthcare, and society, we contribute to the urgent challenges of our time, such as energy, sustainability, digitization, and medical technology. Our community is open and informal, with more than 7,000 students, 1,000 PhD students, and 1,400 staff members from all over the world. If you would like to learn more about the Faculty of Science and Engineering, visit

ASTRON is the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, ASTRON is part of the institutes organisation of NWO. Our mission is to make discoveries in radio astronomy happen. We do this by developing new and innovative technologies, operating world-class radio astronomy facilities, and pursuing fundamental astronomical research.

This research project is embedded within the RECUS project at the University of Groningen, in collaboration with the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON). In this project we bring together data center operations staff, HPC administrators, Computer Science researchers, end users from the wider Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Groningen, radioastronomy end users working with a large scale radio telescope at ASTRON, with the goal of reducing the environmental impact of individual jobs submitted to HPC clusters hosted at the University of Groningen.

Application procedure

Step 1:

Your application

After submitting your application, you will receive a confirmation by email.

Step 2:

Selection

The selection committee assesses your application and you will receive a response at the latest two weeks after the closing date.

Step 3:

First interview

We would like to get to know each other better in a first interview, which can take place either online or on location.

Step 4:

Second interview and possible assessment or guest lecture

We may schedule a second interview with you. Depending on the position, this interview can be complemented with an assessment or guest lecture.

Step 5:

Terms of employment meeting

After a positive interview, we will discuss the terms of employment together. When everything is completed, we are happy to welcome you at the University of Groningen

Interested?

Does this vacancy appeal to you? If so, click on the button below and apply straightaway.

Please add the following documents to your application:

letter of motivation, cv, papers (if any), short research statement (1 page max)

Do you have any questions or need more information?

Questions about the content of the job?

Vasilios Andrikopoulos

Associate Professor

Questions about your application process?

Femke Postma

Human Resources Adviser

Information about applying

When scheduling meetings, we will take your schedule into account as much as possible.

The University of Groningen considers social safety important. We strive to be a university where staff and students feel respected and at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identity. For more information, see also our page about our diversity policy.

Acquisition is not appreciated.

Onze selectieprocedure volgt de richtlijnen van de NVP Sollicitatiecode

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