Senior Research Software Engineer

University of South Hampton; Southampton; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading university in the UK is seeking a Senior Research Software Engineer to enhance software quality and sustainability for PhD students and contribute to various development projects. This role involves collaborating with academic professionals and providing training to researchers in a dynamic environment. The ideal candidate will possess strong Python skills, familiarity with ML frameworks, and a passion for learning new technologies. The post is initially for 12 months with potential for extension based on funding.

Benefits

Generous holiday allowance

Flexible working approach

Supportive working environment

Qualifications

• Professional qualifications or experience in software engineering.
• Background in modern development practices.
• Openness to learning new technologies.

Responsibilities

• Share software engineering skills with PhD students.
• Devise and deliver software development training.
• Work on Research and Enterprise projects following the initial appointment.

Skills

Strong Python skills

Familiarity with PyTorch or TensorFlow

Excellent communication skills

Technical problem-solving

Education

PhD in a relevant field or equivalent experience

Job description

The Southhampton Research Software Group (SRSG) is seeking an experienced Senior Research Software Engineer (RSE) to join its established team based in the School of Electronics and Computer Science.

About the Southampton Research Software Group

RSEs in our group undertake software development as part of Research and Enterprise projects and in collaboration with academics across the University. We also provide software development skills training to researchers at all levels. Since the group's establishment in 2015, our RSEs have undertaken more than 200 development projects and trained in excess of 2000 researchers. The SRSG was one of the first Research Software Engineering groups in the UK and is the base of operations for the campaign that helped recognise research software engineering worldwide. We offer a range of exciting projects within the University of Southampton and a perfect opportunity to get involved with the wider RSE community. You will also work with the Software Sustainability Institute, which is co‑located with the SRSG and is the world‑leading authority on research software, helping the research community recognise the role of software in research and adopting practices that lead to reliable and reproducible research.

About the Role

This post offers the opportunity to share your software engineering skills and experience with PhD students from the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Machine Intelligence for Nano‑Electronic Devices and Systems (MINDS). The CDT is engaged in an ambitious programme to increase outreach and the impact of work from their PhD cohorts. The postholder will work with students to raise the quality, sustainability and applicability of the software they develop and will work with the SRSG training team to devise and deliver software development skills training to the cohort. The appointment is for 12 months in the first instance, with the expectation that the postholder will subsequently transition to working on other Research and Enterprise projects with SRSG, contingent upon funding.

About You

To be successful you should have professional qualifications, or experience within software engineering, or an equivalent PhD; a demonstrable background in modern development practices and excellent communication skills. You'll also need strong Python skills, familiarity with popular Machine Learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow – ideally in a High Performance Computing environment. In addition, a talent for technical problem solving is a must. You will come into contact with a wide range of technologies and be given many opportunities to build new skills. We don’t expect you to be immediately proficient in everything, but it is vital that you enjoy learning new technologies.

As a university we aim to where everyone can thrive and we are proactive in fostering a culture of inclusion, respect and equality of opportunity. We believe that we can only truly meet our objectives if we are reflective of society, so we are passionate about creating a working environment in which you are free to bring your whole self to work. With a generous holiday allowance as well as additional university closure days we are committed to supporting our staff and students and open to a flexible working approach.

Apply by 11:59 pm GMT on the closing date. For assistance contact Recruitment on [phone] or [e-mail] quoting the job number.