Software Engineer – Improve adaptive radiotherapy through distributed monte carlo simulations

Project information

To treat cancer, approximately 50% of cancer patients receive radiation therapy (RT) to manage their disease. RT uses ionizing radiation to kill tumor cells. Surrounding healthy tissue, however, is may also be damaged by radiation. To improve the accuracy of RT and thus minimize exposure to healthy tissue, image-guided adaptive radiotherapy aims to visualize the anatomy of the patient during each treatment day and personalize the treatment to the anatomy of the day accordingly. The image quality of in-room computed tomography scans (CT), however, is insufficient to enable a complete adaptive workflow.

In this project, we aim to implement techniques to emulate the acquisition process by incorporating the physics of X-ray interactions with human tissues. These Monte Carlo-based techniques will be based on state-of-the-art simulators and will be deployed in a distributed fashion on a large collection of mobile phones together with our partner Vodafone. Subsequently using the data generated by this cluster, we will train deep learning-based algorithms to reconstruct high-quality scans and thereby further personalized adaptive radiotherapy.

Job description

As a software engineer, you will develop the infrastructure to run the Monte Carlo code on a distributed computer network consisting of many mobile phones together with our partner Vodafone. You will optimize processing time, data compression, encryption and minimize data up and download requirements. You will work in a multi-disciplinary team of software engineers, physicists, AI experts and radiation oncologists.

Job requirements

We are looking for an excellent and motivated software developer with the following profile:

• You are a software developer with excellent programming skills;
• You have experience with C and C++;
• Academic degree in the field of e.g. computer science, physics, or mathematics;
• Knowledge of Monte-Carlo simulation using Geant4, distributed computing and ARM processors is a plus;
• You can work in a multidisciplinary team but are also able to work independently;
• You pay close attention to details and adhere to coding standards;
• You master the English language well spoken and written;

Your experience should be evident from your GitHub account.

Your career opportunities and terms of employment

With the innovation and growth our organization has planned for the coming years, your personal development and growth are also central. Of course, we are open to initiatives that support the development of both yourself and our department.

The employment will be for a period of 1 year initially. The gross salary will range between € 2.526,- and € 4.227,- per month for a fulltime position. The terms of employment will be in accordance with FWG 50 or FWG 55 of the CAO Ziekenhuizen (Collective Labor Agreement of Hospitals). In addition you will receive a fixed end-of-year bonus in December (8,33%) and in May you will receive 8,33% holiday pay. Amsterdam is a very livable city with many cultural amenities. The institute is located within a 20 minute tram or bicycle ride from the center of Amsterdam and within 20 minutes from Schiphol airport by car, bus or bicycle.

Interested?

Please reply before the 1st of March 2022. For further information please contact Jonas Teuwen (j.teuwen@nki.nl), junior group leader, or Jan-Jakob Sonke, Group leader (j.sonke@nki.nl).

Compensation

With the innovation and growth our organization has planned for the coming years, your personal development and growth are also central. Of course, we are open to initiatives that support the development of both yourself and our department.

The employment will be for a period of 1 year initially. The gross salary will range between € 2.526,- and € 4.227,- per month for a fulltime position. The terms of employment will be in accordance with FWG 50 or FWG 55 of the CAO Ziekenhuizen (Collective Labor Agreement of Hospitals). In addition you will receive a fixed end-of-year bonus in December (8,33%) and in May you will receive 8,33% holiday pay. For more information in regard to the secondary conditions please visit our website: https://www.nki.nl/careers-study/how-to-apply/

Amsterdam is a very livable city with many cultural amenities. The institute is located within a 20 minute tram or bicycle ride from the center of Amsterdam and within 20 minutes from Schiphol airport by car, bus or bicycle.

How to apply?

Please send your application in via our website, applications sent directly to e-mail will not be processed. Furthermore, we would like to receive 1 single PDF file with all documents listed below:

• A motivation letter that explains why you are interested in our vacancy and joining the team;
• Curriculum vitae;
• The names and contact addresses of at least two references.

An assessment may be part of the recruitment process.

Acquisition for this vacancy is not appreciated.