Senior Research Software Engineer

Salary: £45,585 to £48,350 with progression to £54,395 per annum

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: 18 June 2024

The Role

Newcastle University is looking for a senior RSE to join the Research Software Engineering Team to support our growth via line management and input into our strategic direction. We are embarking on an exciting journey to bring together expertise in Research Software Engineering, High Performance Computing, IT Consultancy, Data Science, and software training with our colleagues in our IT service. Therefore, we are keen to hear from people who are forward thinking and can support people through periods of transformation or change.

The team works across the whole university and with a range of external partners including the Alan Turing Institute. We develop high-quality software in collaboration with scientists, engineers and scholars from all research domains. You will be responsible for delivering technical software engineering expertise across multiple projects as well as the management and leadership of other team members.

If you are looking to apply your skills into research, we would love to hear from you. The RSE Team's goal is to transform research at Newcastle through the application of software engineering best practice. Its work spans research, teaching and innovation through engagement with external organisations. As a team we work across the university and with every academic discipline. Whether this means scaling human cell analysis pipelines in the cloud, creating new digital editions to breathe new life into medieval manuscripts, generating near-real-time flood risk assessments, or working to develop decision support tools for organ transplantation – we do it all.

We bring specialist programming expertise, modern development practices and engineering rigour to academic software. We provide expert software engineering consulting services to world-leading research teams and collaborate with scientists and scholars to build software to meet the next generation of research challenges.

You will have a PhD in a computationally based field or equivalent experience, as well as proven experience of software development and leadership. We are especially interested in interviewing candidates with experience in any of the following areas:

• Team-based delivery of software projects

• Mentoring of other software engineers

• Project management in the context of software engineering

• Leadership of people, teams and process

Applications are welcome from both software development generalists and from researchers with inter-disciplinary technology focused skills which either complement or extend our existing team.

The post is available as an open-ended contract from the date of appointment and offer the opportunity for blended working. This role is typically 50% line management and 50% delivery of software engineering projects. However, we would welcome applicants interested in the role on a part-time basis and open to discussion on how the role would work in such cases.

To apply, please upload a CV and cover letter which outlines how you meet the requirements set out in the job description.

Please contact Mark Turner at to have a chat about this opportunity.

Key Accountabilities

• Responsible for leading the delivery of team projects, assisting collaborating researchers through the use of significant technical skills and project management
• Line management of RSEs and management of the RSE team workload including resource allocation and project forecasting
• To be the technical lead in research funding bids with the aim of selecting technically feasible projects with the potential to transform research
• To lead on the selection and use of software and data infrastructure, including technologies for version control, continuous integration, deployment and code review
• Collaborate with researchers to develop appropriate technical solutions to research problems
• Provide expert advice and assistance to clients and colleagues in problem-solving relating to team activities
• Present work and provide updates, including the effective communication of complex or technical information, at project meetings and events
• Develop and deliver training and support for technical staff and researchers to ensure effective use of relevant technologies
• Represent the team and disseminate information about its work at national and international events
• Measure RSE team performance, capturing the evidence of the impact of team activities and contribute to the dissemination of those outputs
• Contribute to learning and development of the team through the provision of documentation, training and advice in order to support the wider research community
• Undertake relevant training and development activities in order to develop an awareness of own professional development needs
• Maintain and develop knowledge to keep abreast of the latest/most relevant technologies
• Any other duties within the scope and general nature of the grade which may be required

The Person

Knowledge Skills and Experience

• Extensive experience or taught specialism in one or more areas of Software Engineering. Including, but not limited to; Cloud Computing, Visualization, Web Applications, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence

• Software development experience in a commercial or research environment

• Understanding of software development tools and methodologies, including programming languages, documentation, testing, version control, issue tracking, and continuous integration

• Track record of developing software that is used by others

• Ability to manage own work, including planning and execution

• Experience of working in wide variety of application domains

• Excellent communication skills including the ability to present complex or technical information and the ability to work with others to understand technical and user requirements

Desirable

• Understanding of a range of data manipulation methods and tools

• Experience of deployment and management of complex software solutions onto cloud infrastructure

• Cross-organisation collaboration on software development projects

Attributes and Behaviour

Delivering Services

• We are looking for individuals who are committed to getting the job done and can demonstrate enthusiasm in the delivery of excellent services. As a team we work continually towards achieving success through understanding and meeting (or exceeding) the expectations of project collaborators: the University, students, colleagues and other stakeholders.

• We need creative thinkers who can generate a range of viable options and decide on an appropriate course of action that best fit organisational and area goals.

Team Working

• The desired individual will operate in a number of different teams and groups across the organisation and be confident in adopting a range of team roles. They will look to build alliances and relationships inside and outside of the wider group.

Understanding Others

• We need someone who can understand individual or group motives and get to grips with the culture of a particular area, school or faculty. The individual will be able to quickly and effectively learn the methods and language used within other groups.

Planning and Organising

• The team member will work in a planned and structured way, using their own and others' time effectively. They will set their priorities in conjunction with the team and area objectives.

Qualifications

• A PhD in computer science, or equivalent software 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 silver 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.

Requisition ID: 27155

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