[Neutron] ISIS Neutron and Muon Source: Job posting for Research Software Engineer/Scientists

[Toby Perring - STFC UKRI]

Research Software Engineer/Scientists
ISIS Neutron and Muon Source
Science and Technology Facilities Council
Salary: £31,931 to £44,166 per annum (dependent on skills and experience). A Specialist of Allowance of up to £4000 per annum is also available for this role.
Hours: Full time.
Contract Type: Open Ended.
Location: Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire. Hybrid Working also available.
Additional Details: Early applicants are encouraged as we will be interviewing on a rolling basis.
Apply on company website:https://careersportal.co.uk/UKRI-careers/jobs/research-software-engineer-scientist-1158?p_site_id=3049

Data analysis and scientific software are fundamental to the overall scientific process at ISIS. They enable our community to visualise, analyse, model and interpret the results of their experiments. With the ever-increasing data volumes produced by the latest instruments, the more complex experiments that our users perform, and the increasing sophistication of analysis that the latest modelling codes and hardware make feasible, there is a strong need to enhance and extend our current scientific software applications, and to develop new applications.
About the role
We have an exciting opportunity for multiple software developers/software scientists to join our team in the Research Software Engineering (RSE) Team within the ISIS Scientific Software Group (SSG). Together, we will be developing a number of software packages in partnership with ISIS scientists and users at the cutting-edge of neutronic data analysis. This group resides within the ISIS Computing Division. The projects include:

  *   PACE: Modelling and analysis of multi-dimensional data from atomic and magnetic motions
  *   SasView: modelling and analysis of small angle neutron scattering data
  *   Molecular dynamics interpretation of quasi-elastic and inelastic neutron scattering data
  *   SpinW and McPhase: Spin wave modelling in magnetic materials
  *   Neutron reflectometry data modelling and analysis
  *   RAMP: Monte Carlo ray tracing simulation of neutron instruments
Details about each of these projects, and the responsibilities and specific tasks vital to deliver required capabilities can be found here: https://www.isis.stfc.ac.uk/Pages/Scientific-Software-Projects.aspx
The goal is to develop long-term, sustainable products for our users to analyse their data, that enhance and extend the capabilities of existing applications or are new applications, and which will run on multi-threaded and/or distributed (cloud) computing.
You need to love code, have a strong mathematical mind and a background in a relevant science area would be helpful. The positions could suit, for example, research software engineers, computational scientists, experimental scientists with strong programming skills, or software engineers with a strong technical or scientific background. The roles offer a great opportunity to work in a high level research environment, with the chance to learn from and work together with scientists, researchers and software developers with a variety of backgrounds and skills.
This is an opportunity to join an established but growing development team and progress your career as there is significant scope to take ownership for areas of work. Our team and group prides itself in being diverse and welcoming to all. Therefore, we encourage applications from everyone regardless of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We also aim to provide accommodations to optimise work-life balance without sacrificing opportunities for progression.
Key Responsibilities
You will join us to work on one of the projects listed above. Together we will make use of agile tools and techniques to deliver on our software development goals. You will have the responsibility of engaging directly with ISIS scientists, and users, to harvest and implement solutions which fulfil their needs. This will include expressing scientific algorithms in code - in some cases in close partnership with one or more ISIS scientists -, parallel code development, and GUI development. Our teams adhere to automatic unit and systems testing and use continuous integration tools to manage the development and deployment of our solutions.
We also encourage the use of your knowledge to help developers on other projects or scientists who wish to contribute to your project. The wider group also has a large team of developers of data reduction software for ISIS. Within the group we have cultivated culture or collaboration which allows us to use our experience to assist other developers progress in their careers through knowledge sharing and mentoring. Our collaborations on projects often span several local and international facilities, e.g. the STFC Scientific Computing Department, who offer support on materials modelling codes, applied mathematics, and operate cloud and high performance computing services. You will be required to cultivate strong links with these partner institutions.
To be successful at the higher band, candidates should demonstrate significant experience from contributing to, and often being responsible for, the technical success of a project. Additional duties will also include analysing priorities, guiding the design of software solutions to satisfy scientific requirements, and owning the development of the project.
The role is UK based and starting employment will be conditional on your right to work, and sponsorship may be available if appropriate. Applications will be reviewed as received until the closing date. There may be the opportunity for occasional UK and overseas travel to meet international collaborators, and to present the work at workshops/conferences and give training.
About us:
ISIS is a world-leading centre for research in the physical and life sciences. Our suite of over 30 neutron and muon instruments provides unparalleled insights into the properties of materials on the atomic scale. We support a national and international community of more than 3000 scientists for research into subjects ranging from clean energy and the environment, pharmaceuticals and health care, through to nanotechnology and materials engineering, catalysis and polymers, and on to fundamental studies of materials.
Role Criteria
Essential:
You should have as a minimum:

  *   Degree or equivalent experience in computer science, software engineering, or strongly related STEM subject with significant software development experience. (S)
  *   Practical experience of object-oriented design and software architecture. (S&I)
  *   Experience of developing scientific software or software with similar challenges. (S&I)
  *   Experience of using tools for the management of software quality including version control, testing and issue tracking systems. (e.g. Github/Git, Jenkins/Github Actions, Ctest/gtest) (S&I)
  *   Experience of using C++, Matlab or Python for software development (S&I)
  *   Good verbal and written communications skills including the ability to explain technical concepts effectively (S&I)
  *   Good customer focus, agreeing requirements (I)
  *   Ability to work independently and within a dynamic, agile team environment (I)
  *   Ability to take initiative and proactive attitude to problem solving with a thorough and logical approach (I)
Essential for Band E:
The level of experience below is crucial to success at the higher grade:

  *   A strong track record of leading an agile software teams. (I)
  *   Experience of developing user-oriented scientific data analysis applications. (S&I)
  *   Ability to keep partners aligned with a project's aims, analysing priorities and managing small to medium projects to completion (I)
  *   Demonstrable technical experience from working on several relevant projects. (I)
  *   Advanced knowledge of software development and architectural design using C++, Python or modern Fortran. (I)
You should also have at least one of the followings:

  *   Experience of GUI development (e.g. Qt/pyqt)
  *   Experience of GPU programming for parallelisation (e.g. OpenCL, CUDA).
  *   Experience of parallel programming for shared memory (e.g. OpenMP) or distributed computing (e.g. MPI)
  *   Experience of mixed mode development (e.g. C++/Python, Matlab/Python)
Desirable:
To be considered for either band you will also have some of the following:

  *   Postgraduate qualification (preferably a PhD) in the physical sciences. (S)
  *   Experience of using scientific python libraries for analysis and data visualization (e.g. SciPy, Numpy, Matplotlib). (S&I)
  *   Experience of practising research in a physical science, ideally neutron or x-ray scattering. (I)
  *   Experience of writing unit/system tests. (I)
  *   Experience in requirements capture, analysis, and specification. (I)
  *   Experience in working with customers. (I)
  *   Experience working on large, distributed software projects. (I)
  *   Experience of developing software to target multiple platforms (Unix, Windows, MacOS). (S)
  *   Experience in the use of atomistic stochastic simulation methods (e.g. Monte Carlo Ray Tracing, DFT or MD). (S&I)
  *   Experience in project and/or people management (S&I)
  *   Understanding of AI/Machine Learning techniques (S&I)


About STFC

The Science and Technology Facilities Council is a world-leading multi-disciplinary science organisation where curiosity-driven, blue-skies thinking meets practical, application-led science and engineering. Our goal is to deliver economic, societal, scientific and international benefits to the UK and its people - and more broadly to the world.
One of Europe's largest research organisations, we're trusted to support, enable and undertake cutting-edge projects in an amazing diversity of fields. Through world-class facilities and people, we're driving ground-breaking advances in science, engineering, computing and technology. Our research seeks to understand the Universe from the largest astronomical scales to the tiniest constituents of matter, yet creates impact on a very tangible, human scale.
For more information about STFC please visit https://stfc.ukri.org/
You can also visit our careers site https://www.stfccareers.co.uk/

How to Apply

Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit your CV and a covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation to join STFC and the role you're applying for. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit your application without a covering letter may result in your application not being considered. You will only be assessed on the content of your CV and covering letter and not the 'experience' section of the application.


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