Senior Scientific Software Engineer

Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 119,000 - 134,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible Work Arrangements

Health & Wellbeing Programs

Free onsite carpark

Job summary

ANSTO in Clayton, Victoria, is seeking a Senior Scientific Software Engineer to design, develop, and support platforms enabling beamline scientists and researchers to operate instruments, collect data, and deliver reliable services.

The role spans data processing, visualization, automation, and cloud-native infrastructure, requiring strong software engineering practices, collaboration across disciplines, and a passion for solving complex scientific computing challenges.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience designing and developing complex software systems.
• Strong experience with modern software engineering practices and development workflows.
• Experience with Python, Rust, TypeScript, or similar programming languages.
• Experience working with Linux-based systems and distributed applications.
• Experience building and supporting production software environments.
• Demonstrated ability to automate operational processes and improve system reliability.
• Experience with container technologies and modern deployment approaches.
• Strong problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Gather requirements, plan, design, implement, test, maintain and support new software applications and software platforms that support the scientific needs for the beamlines at the Australian Synchrotron.
• Build and maintain containerised application environments and cloud-native infrastructure supporting scientific software workloads.
• Develop automation, deployment, and operational tooling that enables reliable delivery of software systems across the facility.
• Collaborate with scientists, engineers, and software developers to understand requirements and translate them into effective technical solutions.
• Implement monitoring, logging, alerting, and observability capabilities that improve system reliability and operational insight.
• Lead technical investigations and evaluate emerging technologies relevant to scientific computing and software engineering.
• Promote software engineering best practices including testing, automation, code review, documentation, and continuous improvement.
• Mentor colleagues and contribute to a collaborative and inclusive technical culture.
• Shape the future of Scientific Computing platforms and infrastructure by evaluating emerging technologies, industry trends, and engineering practices, and translating these into practical improvements that enhance scientific capability and operational excellence.

Skills

Python

Rust

TypeScript

Linux

Distributed systems

Containers

CI/CD

Observability

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Tools

Kubernetes

Terraform

CI/CD tooling

Job description

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• Ongoing Position | Full Time | $119k - $134k + 15.4% super
• Clayton, Victoria | Flexible Work Arrangements | Health & Wellbeing Programs | Free onsite carpark
• Join one of Australia's premier research facilities and help enable world-leading scientific discovery
• Work at the intersection of software engineering, scientific instrumentation, data, cloud-native platforms, and large-scale research infrastructure

In order to solve great challenges, we need great minds and great teams. At ANSTO, we understand that diverse teams produce better outcomesand we value the merit that a diverse perspective can bring to our team. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, primary carers, those with a disability, and women in STEM. ANSTO is a charter member of the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) initiative and is proudly taking action to create a gender-inclusive workforce.

About the Opportunity

As a member of the Scientific Computing group within the Controls and Computing Department, you will play a key role in delivering the software platforms and infrastructure that underpin scientific operations across the Australian Synchrotron.

The Senior Scientific Software Engineer designs, develops, and supports the platforms, tools, and services that enable beamline scientists, software engineers, and researchers to operate sophisticated scientific instruments, collect and process experimental data, and deliver reliable services to users.

Working closely with multidisciplinary teams spanning science, engineering, controls and IT, you will help build scalable and maintainable software ecosystems that support everything from experiment control and automation through to data processing, visualisation, and operational observability.

This role is ideal for an experienced software engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, improving developer experience, modernising software delivery practices, and enabling scientific outcomes through robust and well-engineered platforms.

Your Duties and Responsibilities

• Gather requirements, plan, design, implement, test, maintain and support new software applications and software platforms that support the scientific needs for the beamlines at the Australian Synchrotron.
• Build and maintain containerised application environments and cloud-native infrastructure supporting scientific software workloads.
• Develop automation, deployment, and operational tooling that enables reliable delivery of software systems across the facility.
• Collaborate with scientists, engineers, and software developers to understand requirements and translate them into effective technical solutions.
• Implement monitoring, logging, alerting, and observability capabilities that improve system reliability and operational insight.
• Lead technical investigations and evaluate emerging technologies relevant to scientific computing and software engineering.
• Promote software engineering best practices including testing, automation, code review, documentation, and continuous improvement.
• Mentor colleagues and contribute to a collaborative and inclusive technical culture.
• Shape the future of Scientific Computing platforms and infrastructure by evaluating emerging technologies, industry trends, and engineering practices, and translating these into practical improvements that enhance scientific capability and operational excellence.

About You

You are an experienced software engineer who enjoys working across a broad technical landscape and collaborating with people from diverse disciplines.

You bring strong technical expertise together with a pragmatic, supportive, and inclusive approach to teamwork. You are motivated by solving meaningful problems and enabling others to do their best work.

We recognise that excellent candidates may not meet every listed requirement. If this role excites you, we encourage you to apply.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Extensive experience designing and developing complex software systems.
• Strong experience with modern software engineering practices and development workflows.
• Experience with Python, Rust, TypeScript, or similar programming languages.
• Experience working with Linux-based systems and distributed applications.
• Experience building and supporting production software environments.
• Demonstrated ability to automate operational processes and improve system reliability.
• Experience with container technologies and modern deployment approaches.
• Strong problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary teams.

Desirable Skills and Experience

• Experience with Kubernetes and container orchestration platforms.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code tools and automation frameworks.
• Experience with CI/CD systems and software delivery pipelines.
• Experience with observability platforms, monitoring, and operational analytics.
• Experience developing software for scientific, research, engineering, or data-intensive environments.
• Experience supporting high-performance computing, data platforms, or large-scale storage systems.

About Us

ANSTO leverages great science to deliver big outcomes. We partner with scientists and engineers and apply new technologies to provide real-world benefits. Our work improves human health, saves lives, builds our industries and protects the environment. ANSTO is the home of Australia's most significant landmark and national infrastructure for research. Thousands of scientists from industry and academia benefit from gaining access to state-of-the‑art instruments every year.

Working with us you will enjoy

ANSTO offers training and development, performance-based salary increases and an extensive range of leave provisions to help employees balance work and personal commitments.

• 18 days personal/carers leave for each year of service
• 3 days paid leave between Christmas and New Year

Generous parental leave provisions:

• 18 weeks Parental leave for primary caregiver
• 14 weeks Parental leave for secondary caregiver (with incremental increase to a maximum of 18 weeks effective 01/03/2027)
• Cultural, Naidoc and First Nations ceremonial leave

All applicants must be Australian citizens.