Research Software Engineer

Newcastle University; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday package

Pension schemes

Health and wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Newcastle University is seeking a motivated software engineer to join the School of Computing for an EPSRC-funded project. The role focuses on building and deploying a decision-grade Digital Product Passport platform for buildings, integrating with Cardiff University’s digital-twin and energy-analytics work.

The post-holder will implement data structures, APIs, provenance and trust mechanisms, and secure deployment across partner systems.

Qualifications

• Strong practical software development experience.
• Experience with data-centric distributed software systems.
• Knowledge of data provenance, security and trusted-data mechanisms.
• Ability to implement APIs and integrate systems.

Responsibilities

• Implement and deploy the DPP prototype and supporting infrastructure.
• Develop data structures and semantic models for material/building information.
• Create APIs and data contracts for interoperability with digital-twin and analytics systems.
• Support secure deployment, testing, and validation of the demonstrator.
• Produce technical documentation and deployment guidance.

Skills

Software development

Data modelling

APIs

Distributed systems

Education

MSc in Computer Science

Tools

Semantic technologies

Knowledge graphs

Job description

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Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 27 September 2026

The Role

We are delighted to be seeking a motivated individual to join the School of Computing at Newcastle University. The postholder will work on an EPSRC-funded project, providing specialist software-development and systems-integration expertise to develop and deploy a decision-grade Digital Product Passport (DPP) platform for buildings.

The project will integrate Newcastle University’s Digital Product Passport infrastructure with Cardiff University’s digital-twin and energy-analytics work, using real project data and partner workflows to support better retrofit and net-zero decisions. The DPP platform will provide trusted and reusable information about building materials and components, including their provenance, condition and reuse potential, and make this information available to digital-twin and analytics systems.

You will implement, integrate, test and deploy the DPP platform and its supporting technical infrastructure. This will include developing data structures and semantic models, provenance and data-quality mechanisms, APIs and integration interfaces, and supporting secure deployment, testing and technical validation.

The successful applicant will possess excellent technical, communication and teamwork skills, with the ability to develop reliable software systems and solve complex systems-integration problems. They should be self-motivated, capable of managing their own technical activities, and able to work effectively with academic researchers, public-sector stakeholders and industry partners.

This post is available from 1 October 2026 on a full-time, fixed-term basis for 12 months. Some travel to partner sites and project meetings in Wales will be required.

• Implement and deploy the Digital Product Passport prototype and supporting technical infrastructure for the project
• Develop and maintain data structures and semantic models that support consistent interpretation of material and building information across organisations and systems
• Implement provenance, data-quality and trust mechanisms so that evidence can be traced, checked and relied upon across project handovers
• Develop and maintain APIs, data contracts and other integration interfaces so that the DPP can exchange information reliably with digital-twin and analytics systems
• Support secure deployment, configuration, testing, debugging and operation of the demonstrator, including cloud-based components where appropriate
• Populate and technically validate Digital Product Passports using real partner data, including project records, BIM and supply-chain information
• Work with academic, industrial and public-sector partners to translate agreed technical requirements into working software and integration solutions
• Support technical evaluation of data quality, interoperability, provenance robustness, integration performance and deployment readiness
• Produce clear technical documentation, reference architecture material, deployment guidance and reusable software and tooling to support replication and wider adoption
• Contribute to project demonstrations, technical workshops and delivery milestones as required

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Strong practical software-development experience, with the ability to design, implement, test and maintain reliable software systems
• Experience developing data-centric, distributed or integrated software systems
• Experience with data modelling, interoperability, metadata, semantic technologies, knowledge graphs or closely related approaches
• Experience implementing system interfaces such as APIs and working with structured data exchanged between different software systems
• Understanding of data provenance, data quality, security, auditability or trusted-data mechanisms
• Good programming skills in one or more relevant programming languages
• Attention to detail and ability to work at high levels of accuracy
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the initiative and creativity to resolve technical challenges effectively.
• Ability to present complex technical information effectively to a range of audiences
• Ability to work with colleagues and external partners and to translate technical requirements into implemented solutions.
• Experience with Digital Product Passports, digital twins, BIM, construction data, circular-economy systems or supply-chain data
• Experience with ontology-based or semantic-web technologies and machine-readable data standards
• Experience with auditable provenance technologies, including blockchain or distributed-ledger approaches
• Experience with secure cloud deployment, distributed systems or production-style research software infrastructure
• Experience integrating software with external analytics, decision-support or energy-performance systems

Attributes and Behaviour

• Commitment to working positively as a member of a multi-skilled project team
• Ability to negotiate and prioritise multiple, competing responsibilities and to work to deadlines
• A practical and solution-focused approach to software development and systems integration
• Commitment to producing reliable and maintainable software and technical documentation
• Ability to work constructively with academic, industry and public-sector partners
• Commitment to continued professional developmentSupport the University’s core values and demonstrate the ability to implement these within your role or department

Qualifications

• MSc in Computer Science, Software Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant professional experience

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.