STRIDE – Principal HPC Computational Engineer

Fusion Energy Base; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 72,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary including specialist allowance

Performance bonus

Final salary pension scheme

Job summary

UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is seeking a Principal HPC Computational Engineer to lead the development of software for fusion and advanced simulation. The role involves steering research, managing cross-functional teams and shaping future technologies in high-performance computing.

You will collaborate with industry and academia, drive funding opportunities, and contribute to peer-reviewed outputs while guiding codes for large-scale computing systems.

Qualifications

• Doctorate in computational, mathematical or physical sciences.
• International reputation in your field (research or industry).
• Experience with at least one compiled language (C++, Fortran, C, Rust) and scripting (Python, Julia) in UNIX.
• Experience with agile project and budget management in a leadership role.

Responsibilities

• Lead R&D activities, developing numerical techniques and world-leading codes for fusion applications.
• Lead and develop research teams of 4–10 across projects, building capability.
• Drive opportunities for funding and collaboration with industry and academia.
• Collaborate and represent UKAEA internationally, evolving codes for peta- to exa-scale computing.
• Publish research outputs and plan simulation campaigns across UKAEA programmes.

Skills

C++

Fortran

C

Rust

Python

Julia

UNIX

Agile project management

Budget management

MPI

OpenMP

GPUs

Testing strategies

Education

Doctorate degree in computational/scientific field

Tools

MPI

OpenMP

GPUs

Julia

Python

Job description

STRIDE – Principal HPC Computational Engineer

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

• 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.

Benefits

• 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
• 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.

Programme

Computational Materials and Engineering

Discipline

Engineering

Site Location

UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire

Type of Employment

Full-time

Reference Number

REF4537D