We are now seeking a Senior Research Software Engineer to join our team to manage, develop and be responsible for the reactor design code BLUEPRINT.
Do you want to help shape the future of the world's energy? Nuclear fusion, the process that powers the Sun, can play a big part in our carbon-free energy future. The Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) is part of the UK Atomic Energy Authority and is one of the worlds leading fusion research laboratories.
BLUEPRINT is an integrated inter-disciplinary design tool for future fusion reactors, written in Python 3.6. It incorporates several modules, some of which rely on other codes, to carry out a range of typical conceptual fusion reactor design activities. It is designed to significantly reduce the definition time of a design point, to enable detailed assessments of future fusion reactor power plant performance to be carried out rapidly, facilitating the exploration of the future fusion reactor design space. A number of different engineering and physics design optimisation and analysis activities are carried out in the code; from 2-D shape design and 3-D CAD to plasma magneto-hydrodynamic equilibrium design, magnetic coil design, fuel cycle modelling and more.
Key accountabilities will include:
- Develop and improve/extend BLUEPRINT as part of the technology programme.
- Diagnose issues and design solutions, considering the full technical and human context; influencing stakeholders to ensure the correct decisions are made.
- Work with scientists and engineers at UKAEA and externally to understand requirements, outline potential areas for future development and implement new physics and engineering in BLUEPRINT.
- Help develop the users/developers ability to run/contribute to BLUEPRINT by shaping processes, developing services and mentoring colleagues to set high standards in quality, culture and practices.
- Engage with the research and RSE community to communicate the work and learn from others.
- Provide software development and research computing advice and help to scientists and engineers, including strategic aspects such as project scoping, technology choices, make vs buy decisions, sustainability planning, IP and licencing.
At UKAEA, we strive to make everyone feel welcome and fully supported. Our Ambassadors are actively promoting and advancing diversity and inclusion in the Organisation to help make our Organisation an employer of choice. UKAEA has a graded career structure and our mentoring scheme will enable you to reach your true potential.
The UKAEA hosts and manages the JET nuclear fusion energy experiment on behalf of the EU and is also home to the UK's MAST-U fusion energy experiment. UKAEA also works with industry and other third parties to develop new technologies currently in Remote Handling and Materials research. Following recent UK funding, two new centres of excellence in tritium fuel handling and component testing and validation are being built. The culture at UKAEA promotes research, innovation and leading-edge technological excellence, whilst investing in people.
Knowledge, skills and experience
Essential
- Degree in a scientific, engineering, software engineering or technical subject + PhD or experience working in an academic or industrial research/software environment.
- Significant experience of developing well-designed, robust software in at least two languages used in scientific or engineering applications (particularly Python, C++, Fortran)
- Experience of applying and promoting good development practices (collaborative development, version control, automated testing, documentation)
- Working knowledge of developing and deploying software on Linux platforms
- Experience of leading a project and managing software lifecycle activities for software used by others
- Appetite and ability to research and learn about new technologies and domains and judge how to apply and share this knowledge
Desirable
- Any of the research or technology disciplines related to UKAEAs activities
- Computational modelling and numerical simulation
- Experience of working on existing codebases and legacy languages
- "Dev-ops" skills for configuring and managing the deployment of software systems and developer tools in production (e.g. managing VMs, containers, packaging and build systems, web hosting environments, repository and CI systems, data storage and management systems, system monitoring).
- Using scientific computing platforms such as compute clusters, HPC or cloud systems.
