Why working for ICHEC could be the right decision for you

ICHEC offers a work environment where you can look forward to;

• Experience a positive and empowering culture - we nurture a can do attitude, encouraging all to contribute innovative thinking. Senior industry partners often describe our culture as entrepreneurial. Positivity is reinforced by the knowledge that the environment is safe, with more experienced colleagues able and willing to assist you in case of difficulty.  
• Gain real life experience - our commercial services (to industry and the public sector) are operational, “live” services. Whether you get involved in developing software for oil exploration, high-resolution wind forecasting to improve the operation of wind farms or image processing and data mining for medical diagnostics devices, the output of your work will be used “in the field”.
• Benefit from professional development - ICHEC has a policy of accelerating staff development through courses and accreditations. This can be either to meet the specific needs of a project, or as a general lifelong learning action. A typical example is project management with PMP/Agile or PRINCE 2. The main sources of development are through frequent interactions with colleagues and exposure to real-life engagements.
• Early access to emerging technology - our close industry relationship and R&D partnerships with leading ICT companies provides opportunities to get involved in the development and evaluation of new technology (hardware and software) prior to its commercialisation, on one occasion at “pre-alpha stage”. Examples include Intel KNL, DDN IME, Xilinx OpenCL and NVIDIA GPUs.  
• Experience genuine teamwork - as we have no silos and no groups beside the Infrastructure Group (systems administration), our functional model facilitates the dynamic creation of project teams assembling complex and diverse skill sets. This model greatly increases interaction between staff and favours teamwork above silos. For example a recent medical diagnostics collaboration necessitated the involvement of experts in image processing, workflow and performance optimisation, data mining and project management (all part-time).
• Enjoy minimal internal politics - due to our culture, internal structure and processes, internal politics is kept to a minimum. Despite having offices in two locations (Dublin and Galway), the organisation feels and performs as a single organisation, owing to its strong and positive corporate culture.
• Achieve high levels of job satisfaction - as one of my colleagues recently stated: “working for ICHEC is more than just a job”. This view is reflecting by most here. Beside all of the above, job satisfaction is also improved by attempting to define a work schedule that match individual’s interests. For example, opportunities exist to get involved in training & education (incl. postgraduate teaching with adjunct lectureship), commercial project management, software development, academic research or industry R&D collaborations, etc. While some enjoy the focus of restricted activities, others enjoy diversity and multiple concurrent activities. We strive to define individual work schedules aligned with those preferences (within operational constraints obviously).
• Explore Ireland - for foreign staff, our dual office location in the capital city of Dublin and the historic and cultural city of Galway offers the best environment whatever your personal circumstances.
• Experience multi-culturalism - ICHEC prides itself in offering a welcoming environment for all, irrespective of their culture. Thus we have welcomed staff from countries including Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, India, Ireland, Italy, France, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, Spain, Syria, Turkey, the UK and the USA.

Employee benefits

• Defined contribution pension scheme with generous employer contribution;
• Paid annual leave usually starting at 27 days per annum pro rata, plus Good Friday and nine Public Holidays;
• On-going well-being initiatives;
• Flexible Working Hours (FWH) Scheme;
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - Confidential counselling and advice, information and support service for you and your family for personal and work-related issues;
• Taxsaver Ticket scheme;
• Cycle to Work scheme;
• Education and Training Supports including Further Education Policy and Study Leave;
• Paid sick leave, enhanced paternity and maternity leave policies and worklife balance schemes;
• Group Discount Schemes including voluntary income continuance and life assurance;
• Discounted gym membership;
• Free Irish language classes and more.

As a general rule, we expect the following attributes from all ICHEC staff:

• A thirst for knowledge - strong ability and interest in continuous development
• Problem solving skills - good analytical skills and a natural problem solving attitude
• Team spirit - working effectively and selflessly within a group
• Enthusiasm and commitment - to preserve our pleasant working environment and high levels of job satisfaction.  

Specific positions may obviously require additional domain or technology specific skills and expertise.

We recommend that you start with a tour of our web site to develop a better feel for the breadth of activities carried out in ICHEC, from partnerships & collaborations to academic and commercial services. More general information on ICHEC can also be found here, including open positions. Do not hesitate to contact us to inquire about short-term and future opportunities, which are not publicised on the web site.

If you want to know more, why not arrange for a visit at our Dublin or Galway office, or come to talk to us at one of the many public events where we have a presence.

Tá súil againn le cloisteáil leat go luath (we hope to hear from you soon),

JC