Deep Specialist HPC Computational Engineer

UK Atomic Energy Authority; South Yorkshire; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 79,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary £71,815 (incl. £7,700 allowance

Bonus 7%

Pension 21.5% employer contrib.

25 days annual leave

Site closure 3 days at Christmas

Flexible working

Job summary

UK Atomic Energy Authority in the CME Unit leads software development for high-performance computing and advanced simulations in fusion research. You will lead development and maintenance of software for nuclear and multiphysics applications, manage projects and funds, and shape future tech directions while building expertise across the Authority.

We seek an experienced leader with a doctoral degree, strong publication record, and proven ability to guide distributed teams.

Qualifications

• Doctorate or equivalent in computational, mathematical or physical sciences with strong publication record or software contributions.
• Experience using HPC systems and at least one compiled language (C++, Fortran, C, Rust) or scripting language (Julia, R, Swift Parallel Scripting).
• Experience leading distributed teams in mentoring or management roles.
• International reputation in computational engineering; strong math foundation and publications or software contributions.
• Experience in testing strategies (verification and validation) and evaluating new algorithms for fusion codes.
• Proven ability to review and approve contributions to large-scale software projects or journals.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical contributions to modelling, simulation and uncertainty quantification workstreams.
• Review technical output from teams of 4–10 people and provide approvals.
• Oversee development of state‑of‑the‑art software suites and ensure quality standards.
• Design strategy for development, deployment and evaluation on new computing architectures.
• Publish high-impact outputs; present at conferences and author journal papers.
• Collaborate internationally to evolve codes for petascale/exascale systems.
• Lead proposals and new research programs with external funding; manage consortia.
• Lead international projects and build collaborations to advance research.
• Perform research into novel numerical methods applicable to fusion codes.
• Advise other divisions; support skills development and training.

Skills

Leadership experience

Distributed team management

Publication track record

Numerical analysis

High-performance computing

Software leadership

Education

PhD or equivalent

Tools

C++

Fortran

C

Rust

Julia

R

Job description

Fusion, the process that powers the sun and stars, is one of the most promising options for generating the cleaner, carbon-free energy that our world badly needs. UKAEA leads the way in realizing fusion energy, partnering with industry and research organisations to achieve groundbreaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid by developing the power stations of tomorrow and the skilled workforce to deliver them.

About the job

The Computational Materials and Engineering (CME) Unit within UKAEA’s Computing Division delivers research, development and technical support across high-performance computing, engineering and scientific computing, AI, machine learning and advanced simulation technologies for the fusion programme. In this role, you will lead the development and maintenance of software capabilities supporting computational nuclear and multiphysics applications, while driving research, collaboration, funding and adoption of emerging technologies. You will provide technical and strategic leadership, manage projects and resources, represent UKAEA nationally and internationally, and help shape future research directions while developing expertise and collaborations across the Authority.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Plan and lead technical contributions to workstreams in modelling, simulation and uncertainty quantification activities for UKAEA programmes
• Review and provide approvals for the technical output of teams of 4-10 people
• Oversee development of state-of-the-art software suites, ensuring adherence to established quality standards
• Design technical strategy for development for, deployment on, and evaluation of new and emerging computing architectures
• Produce consistently high levels of high-impact output. Present research at conferences including regular oral or invited conference presentations, high quantity and quality of publications, generally two to three first author journal papers per year
• Collaborate with national and international partners on developing and evolving codes to exploit peta- and exa-scale systems
• Actively seek new research and funding opportunities, leading proposals. When successful implement new programmes supported by funds outside UKAEA, leading consortia
• Lead international projects, develop new collaborations, and maintain and grow our research at the international cutting edge
• Perform your own research into novel numerical methods and algorithms with applicability within fusion and beyond
• Act as a source of advice to other divisions and programmes. Support wider skills development, providing training across the organisation relating to specialism

What You’ll Bring

• At least a doctorate degree (or equivalent qualification) in a computational, mathematical or physical science discipline with a strong publication track record or contribution to relevant software library (or equivalent experience in either a commercial or research environment)
• Significant demonstrable experience using high-performance computing systems and of at least one compiled level language (e.g. C++, Fortran, C, Rust) or advanced scripting language (Julia, R, Swift Parallel Scripting), as evidenced through contributions to software packages
• Experience in working in and leading a distributed team in both mentoring and managing roles, either as a project or technical manager
• Significant demonstrable experience and international reputation in one or more relevant computational engineering fields. Solid foundation in mathematics, especially numerical analysis, demonstrated by extensive publication records or contributions to relevant software libraries
• Experience of the development and implementation of testing strategies (verification and validation) and an ability to assess new algorithms which could be applicable to fusion based codes
• Demonstrable significant experience in performing technical review and approval of contributions to large-scale software projects or journals

UKAEA is an onsite organisation, and this role requires regular onsite presence (usually between 3-5 days in any given week) in line with business needs. We actively support flexible working arrangements where this is compatible with the role.

The role is currently advertised at Rotherham, but other UKAEA locations may also be considered.

We have a generous range of benefits (see the full list here) and highlights include:

• A salary of £71,815 (inclusive of a £7,700 specialist allowance)
• Up to 7% corporate performance bonus
• Final salary defined benefits pension scheme with an equivalent of21.5% employer pension contribution
• 25 days annual leave plus 2.5 'privilege' days; 8 Bank Holidays
• Additional 3 days of site closure over Christmas break
• Flexible working options plus family-friendly leave provisions

Our commitment to ED&I

UKAEA's mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce.

Please email [e-mail] if you have any questions or require adjustments to help you participate fairly in our recruitment process, for example changes to the way we interview or share information. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment experience for all candidates.

We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. All appointments are made on merit and further information can be found here.