Software Team Lead

Salary: £50,702 + A Specialist of Allowance of up to £3000 per annum is also available for this role.
Band F
Hours: Full time or Part time (25 hours per week min)
Benefits: 30 days holiday + 8 bank holidays + 2.5 privilege days + exceptional defined average salary pension + excellent work life balance
Contract Type: Open Ended.
Location: STFC - Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot OX11 0QX
Closing date for applications: Wednesday 28th March 2023

Come and do the kind of computing that got you into technology in the first place. Work with cutting-edge tech and world-leading scientists and engineers. And harness the power of some of the country's most advances supercomputers to tackle work that improves daily life in the UK and far beyond.

Put simply, come and discover the impact you can make when you're equipped, encouraged and inspired to perform to your very best.

We have a new opportunity for a passionate Software Team Lead within our Data and Software Engineering Group (https://www.scd.stfc.ac.uk/Pages/Software-Engineering-Group.aspx) (https://www.scd.stfc.ac.uk/Pages/Software-Engineering-Group.aspx) in the Scientific Computing Department (http://www.stfc.ac.uk/SCD (http://www.stfc.ac.uk/SCD), offering an excellent opportunity for career development and an exceptional benefits package.

You will join our multi-disciplinary, diverse and inclusive team developing and delivering software solutions, and in particular data management solutions for the large-scale scientific facilities that we support: the Diamond Light Source, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, and Central Laser Facility, all based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, UK. Most of our software components rely on Java and python for the back-end (see e.g. the ICAT project, https://icatproject.org/ (https://icatproject.org/), and React/Typescript/Redux in the front-end (see e.g. DataGateway, github.com/ral-facilities/datagateway).

You will work alongside service and project managers, DevOps and software engineers to maintain, improve and further develop the data management software solutions and their deployment strategies, engaging with scientists and engineers within the scientific facilities to ensure that the services provided meet their needs and continue to evolve to meet their future needs. You will lead a team of engineers to drive improvements.

About the role:

• Lead the technical team (e.g. DevOp and software engineers) that delivers our software solutions for data management, holding regular 1:1s meetings with the engineers and motivating them to do their best work;
• Support the progression between software development and services in production, applying standard methodologies for deployment and improving our deployment strategies, including continuous deployment using containers and orchestration);
• Address software upgrades and security concerns of the services supported by the group;
• Support the work of scientific facilities by analysing and implementing their requirements;
• Lead in the software implementation and deployment tasks, providing guidance ensuring professional standards;
• Work with collaborators from diverse scientific backgrounds at partner institutions, and researchers in different groups within STFC, to design, implement and support the research data cycle from creation to publication.

To be successful you will need:

• Experience of working within an agile software development process;
• Experience of leading a dynamic, agile team;
• Good customer focus, eliciting new requirements, improving the service provided, solving problems, and running projects to completion;
• Ability to provide strategic direction for developing and deploying the software components that are part of our research data management solutions for the facilities;
• Experience in technical leadership of software development projects.

Employee Benefits:

We are offering a permanent position with a whole host of benefits including:

• 30 days holiday (in addition to 10.5 bank holidays and privilege days);
• Flexible working hours;
• An excellent defined average salary pension scheme;
• Employee shopping/travel discounts;
• Excellent learning and development opportunities.

We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. We are invested in creating an environment that is welcoming and supportive of all, to help us achieve the highest possible standards in our work and organisation together. In this regard, we encourage applications from under-represented groups.

We ask some of the biggest questions in the universe, to answer some of the biggest challenges in the world. Together, our scientists, technologists, engineers and business-support team explore the unknown across every field you could think of. And they turn what they find into work that changes the world around us.

What could you achieve with the world-leading facilities and experts of one of Europe's largest research organisations by your side? Join us and discover what's possible.