Principal HPC Computational Engineer

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

Benefits offered by this job

Salary £71,815 incl. £7,700 allowance

Up to 7% corporate bonus

Final salary pension (21.5% employer)

25 days annual leave + holidays + site

Job summary

UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is seeking a senior leader to guide software development across fusion and related multiphysics applications at Culham. You will lead research, manage 4–10 person teams, and drive partnerships with industry and academia, shaping future technologies and funding opportunities.

The role requires a strong track record in numerical methods, parallel computing and CFD/nuclear physics, with a commitment to on-site collaboration and international leadership.

Qualifications

• Doctorate degree in computational, mathematical or physical sciences or leadership in a commercial/research environment
• International reputation in your field
• Experience with at least one compiled language (C++, Fortran, C, Rust) and advanced scripting (Julia, Python) in UNIX
• Experience with agile project and budget management in a leadership role
• Strong mathematical background including numerical analysis
• Experience with parallel programming (MPI, OpenMP, GPUs)
• Experience leading distributed teams
• Experience implementing testing strategies (verification/validation) and evaluating new algorithms
• Experience in CFD and/or nuclear/multiphysics fields (FV, FD, FE, MHD, Monte Carlo)
• Background in Uncertainty Quantification and data analytics

Responsibilities

• Lead research and development activities, driving novel numerical techniques and world-leading codes for fusion applications
• Lead and develop research teams of 4–10 across multiple projects
• Drive research funding and collaboration opportunities with industry and academia
• Collaborate and represent UKAEA nationally and internationally in expert groups
• Share expertise and research outputs through publications and cross-unit support

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 industryand research organisations to achieveground-breaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the gridby 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

General:

• Lead research and development activities, driving novel numerical techniques, advanced simulation and modelling approaches, and the development of world-leading codes for fusion applications and beyond.
• Lead and develop research teams, managing small to medium-sized teams of 4–10 people across multiple concurrent projects, while building expertise and capability around your research area.
• Drive research, funding and collaboration opportunities, establishing new partnerships with industry, academia and across UKAEA, and actively identifying opportunities for future research and funding.
• Collaborate and represent UKAEA nationally and internationally, contributing to expert and working groups and working with partners to develop and evolve codes for peta- and exa-scale computing systems.
• Share expertise and research outputs, contributing to peer-reviewed publications, supporting other UKAEA units where required, and planning and leading simulation and modelling activities across relevant UKAEA programmes.

What You’ll Bring

Experience:

• At least a doctorate degree in a computational, mathematical or physical science discipline or a leadership role in either a commercial or research environment in one of these fields
• An international reputation in your field gained in either a research or commercial environment
• Demonstrable experience of at least one compiled level language (e.g. C++, Fortran, C, Rust) and advanced scripting language (e,g, Julia, Python), preferably in a UNIX environment
• Experience of agile project and budget management in a team leadership role

Specific Experience:

• Solid foundation in mathematics, especially numerical analysis, demonstrated by either a publication record or contribution to a relevant software library
• Significant and demonstrable experience in parallel programming techniques (e.g. MPI, OpenMP and accelerator hardware such as GPUs)
• Experience leading a distributed team in both mentoring and managing roles
• 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.
• Significant experience in at least CFD and ideally more relevant nuclear and multiphysics fields (e.g. FV, FD, FE, MHD, Monte Carlo, and associated workflow)
• A good background in Uncertainty Quantification and actionable data.

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 Culham, 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
• 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.