Software Engineer

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. 

Join UKAEA's Computing team and play a key role in developing and supporting the software systems that underpin world-leading fusion research. Working closely with scientists and engineers, you will design, build and maintain research data platforms and tools that enable users to store, access, analyse and visualise complex scientific data. This is an opportunity to work on technically challenging problems in a collaborative environment while contributing directly to the future of fusion energy.

As a Software Engineer, you'll take ownership of software systems in operational use, contribute to the full software development lifecycle, and help drive improvements in software engineering and data management practices across the organisation. You'll work alongside experienced engineers while having the autonomy to deliver projects, influence technical decisions and support the development of junior colleagues.

What You'll Be Doing

• Design, develop, maintain and support software systems that enable scientific and engineering research.
• Contribute to projects across the full software development lifecycle, either independently or as part of a wider team.
• Take ownership of operational software systems, including lifecycle planning, maintenance and continuous improvement.
• Diagnose technical issues and design effective solutions that balance technical requirements with user needs.
• Plan and deliver software projects, ensuring quality, prioritisation and timely execution.
• Collaborate with senior engineers on technical design decisions and software architecture.
• Work closely with scientists, engineers and end users to gather requirements and develop effective solutions.
• Conduct code reviews and promote high standards of software quality, reliability and maintainability.
• Mentor junior developers and support onboarding and knowledge sharing within the team.
• Contribute to the development and adoption of software engineering best practice across the organisation

Qualifications:

• Degree in a scientific, engineering or technical discipline.
• Experience developing software in at least one core programming language, ideally Python, C++, C or IDL.
• Strong understanding of software engineering principles, including object-oriented design, software architecture and modular development.
• Experience with modern software development practices, including version control, automated testing, code reviews and CI/CD pipelines.
• Knowledge of software operations and systems engineering, including areas such as containerisation, networking, authentication, server administration and security.
• Experience designing and delivering significant software components or features, including contributing to technical design decisions and system architecture.

Additional Information

A full list of our benefits can be found here and highlights include: 

• £43,702 base salary inclusive of 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, 2.5 privilege days and 8 Bank Holidays   
• 3 days of site closure over Christmas break  
• Flexible working options plus family-friendly leave provisions  

Onsite working is expected for 3 days each week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working. 

This role is based at Culham, Oxfordshire 

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.  

We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds, while ensuring all appointments are made on merit. Further information can be found here.