STRIDE – Deep Specialist HPC Computational Engineer

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 79,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary plus specialist allowance

7% corporate performance bonus

Final salary defined benefits pension

25 days annual leave

Flexible working options

Job summary

UK Atomic Energy Authority seeks a leader in Computational Materials and Engineering to steer software capabilities for fusion simulations and HPC applications. You will guide research directions, manage large teams, and represent UKAEA internationally.

You will drive development of advanced computing strategies, contribute to funding opportunities, and mentor teams across divisions to advance fusion research and enabling technologies.

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent with strong publication record or software library contributions.
• Experience with high-performance computing systems and at least one compiled language (C++, Fortran, C, Rust) or scripting (Julia, R, Swift).
• Experience leading a distributed team in mentoring or management roles.
• International reputation in computational engineering fields; strong mathematical foundation with numerical analysis.

Responsibilities

• Plan and lead technical contributions to modelling, simulation and uncertainty quantification for UKAEA programmes.
• Review and approve technical output from teams of 4–10 people.
• Oversee development of state-of-the-art software suites with quality standards.
• Design strategy for development and deployment on new computing architectures.
• Publish research and present at conferences, with multiple first-author papers per year.
• Collaborate with national/international partners on codes for exa-scale systems.
• Lead proposals and secure funding, establishing consortia where needed.
• Lead international projects and grow UKAEA research at the cutting edge.
• Research novel numerical methods applicable to fusion and beyond.
• Provide technical guidance and training across the organisation.

Skills

HPC experience

C/C++/Fortran

Distributed team leadership

Research publication track record

Algorithm development

Education

Doctorate in computational/mathematical/physical science

Tools

MPI/Parallel computing

Job description

Overview of Responsibilities

About us

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 ground-breaking 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.

Benefits

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 of 21.5% 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.

Salary

£71,815 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension

Programme

Computational Materials and Engineering

Discipline

Engineering

Type of Employment

Full-time

Reference Number

REF4624Q