Data Platforms Software Engineer

Aurora Energy Research; Oxford; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private Medical Insurance

Parental Support

Employee Assistance Programme

Local Oxford Discounts

Cycle‑to‑work Scheme

Flu Jabs

Job summary

Aurora Energy Research in Oxford is seeking a Software Engineer to join their Data Platforms team. You will develop and maintain cloud-based software to manage energy data efficiently, contributing to critical projects aiming for net-zero. The role demands strong backend development skills, particularly in Python, and promises significant impact in a fast-paced environment.

Interested candidates should have solid experience in building backend systems and a genuine interest in transforming energy markets. This hybrid position comes with excellent benefits including private medical insurance and a cycle-to-work scheme.

Qualifications

• 3+ years developing impactful, mission‑critical backend systems.
• Ability to work in fast‑paced, high‑ownership environments.
• Hands‑on experience with large distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Build high‑uptime platforms that serve 100TB‑1PB data fast and reliably.
• Build tools and platforms that empower engineers, modellers, and analysts across Aurora.
• Be a founding member of the Data Platforms team, shaping its culture and practices.

Skills

Backend system development

Python

Testing and automation

AI coding tools

Large distributed systems

Cloud platforms (AWS)

Lakehouse architectures

Terraform

Job description

Department: Tech - AI and Data Engineering

Location: Oxford, UK

Description

Aurora helps governments, investors, and utilities make billion‑dollar decisions on the journey to net‑zero. Based in Oxford, you will work in a dynamic and growing engineering organisation that builds cloud‑based software to track and model power grids around the world.

Aurora's models produce some of the most data‑intensive outputs in the energy industry – half hourly, generator‑level simulations across 30‑year horizons. As a founding Software Engineer on the Data Platforms team, you will build and own the infrastructure that makes that data fast, reliable, and useful. You will work in a small, fast‑paced team that releases changes multiple times a day. The successful applicant will be an excellent problem solver, a strong team player, and a proven ability to take big projects from conception to production.

We're open to a range of candidates – the role and compensation will reflect your experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Build high‑uptime platforms that serve 100TB‑1PB data fast and reliably
• Build tools and platforms that empower engineers, modellers, and analysts across Aurora
• Be a founding member of the Data Platforms team – shaping its culture, practices, and technical direction from the ground up

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Required attributes:

• 3+ years developing impactful, mission‑critical backend systems
• The ability to work in fast‑paced, high‑ownership environments
• Excellence in one or more language (we mostly use Python)
• Strong discipline in testing and automation
• Experienced, judicious user of AI coding tools
• An exceptional team player – low‑ego, high‑initiative
• Genuine interest in the transformation of energy markets and infrastructure
• Hands‑on experience with large distributed systems
• Previous experience building data platform – including scheduling, streaming, storage, compute
• Python, Lakehouse architectures, Terraform, AWS

What we offer

Some of the benefits we include are:

• Private Medical Insurance
• Parental Support
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
• Local Oxford Discounts
• Cycle‑to‑work Scheme
• Flu Jabs

At AER, we are committed to offering flexibility in the way we work. Most of our roles are hybrid with a mix of in‑office/home working and potentially adjustable working hours. Let’s discuss what works for you and AER during the interview process.

The Company is committed to the principle that no employee or job applicant shall receive unfavourable treatment on grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy, and maternity.