Research Computing Engineer

Alan Turing Institute London United Kingdom Research Engineering Group
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Company Description

Named in honour of Alan Turing, the Institute is a place for inspiring, exciting work and we need passionate, sharp, and innovative people who want to use their skills to contribute to our mission to make great leaps in data science and AI research to change the world for the better.

Please find more information about us here

Position

The permanent research staff of the Institute’s Research Engineering Group (REG) work towards maximising impact in data science research projects by realising cutting edge research as professionally usable software tools, so they can be used to address real-world challenges. As part of this group, the Research Computing Team focuses on how our community can benefit from the latest and greatest technology and innovations in digital research infrastructure.

ROLE PURPOSE

Research Computing Engineers (RCEs) specialise in prototyping, building, supporting, and maintaining research infrastructure. Our primary focus is supporting researchers in taking the advantage of this infrastructure, including commercial cloud, high-performance computing (HPC) centres, and the internet of things, to facilitate cutting-edge research in data science. The support comes in different ways and could be anything from adapting research workflows on the target infrastructure and bridging the gap between researchers and technology, to anticipating the needs of computational resources and developing a computing strategy. We develop and work with state-of-the-art, HPC and cloud infrastructure to realise collaborators’ data science and artificial intelligence research at scale.

RCEs at the Turing run a lightweight compute allocation request process that allows hundreds of AI researchers and practitioners at the institute to exploit digital research infrastructure with a very short access time to the compute. With AI models continuing to grow in both size and complexity, we are also working on capturing the emerging needs, as well as the current blockers, of using national supercomputers for AI by our community. Finally, we contribute to group’s internal and Turing projects where we provide digital infrastructure expertise. We helped projects like CROP, London Air Quality and Data Safe Haven with prototyping and implementing cloud infrastructure, and experimented with specialised hardware and software (i.e. ASICs, Intel SGX, Cray’s graph engine).

What does a Research Computing Engineer do at the Turing? | The Alan Turing Institute

DUTIES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

  • Contribute to designing, developing, improving, maintaining and supporting existing digital research infrastructure at the Institute.
  • Contribute on research projects, form new collaborations and support colleagues in the use of digital research infrastructure.
  • Engage with a community of stakeholders, including senior researchers, programme leaders, and the wider business team at the Turing.
  • Present, disseminate and explain our work via presentations, reports and well-documented software packages.
  • Deliver teaching and training to colleagues and students.

Requirements

  • Industry or academic experience (for instance pursuing a PhD) in a field with significant use of both computer programming and advanced statistical or numerical methods.
  • Experience and interest in cloud and/or HPC technologies.
  • Experience in designing, developing, and maintaining research software.
  • Experience with DevOps practices and tools. For example: containerisation/virtualisation (e.g., Docker), infrastructure as code (e.g., Terraform), configuration management (e.g., Ansible), commercial cloud (e.g., Azure), git, shell, etc.
  • Fluency in one or more modern programming languages used in research in data science and artificial intelligence. (We particularly work in R, Python, and modern C++, but demonstrable use of other programming languages for research, together with a facility for learning new languages, is most welcome.)
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience in the authoring of technical reports or research papers, and giving presentations or leading classes.

Please see the job description for a full breakdown of the duties, responsibilities and person specification.

Other information

TERMS & CONDITIONS

This full-time post is offered on a permanent basis. The annual salary for this role is £40,000 - £46,000 (depending on skills and experience), with possibility of progression once in post up to £48,491. There will also be opportunities for promotions to senior positions, to which new members are considered eligible after at least one year in the team.

Our generous benefits package includes flexible working, 30 days’ holiday (excluding bank holidays), Cycle2Work, a great pension scheme, life insurance cover, private medical insurance along with a range of other benefits.

The Alan Turing Institute is based at the British Library, in the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter.

In line with current Government guidance, most of our organisation is currently working remotely. When Government guidance changes, we will trial a Hybrid Working Model for an initial six-month trial period. During this period, staff will be expected to work at our British Library office for a number of days per month, dependent on the requirements of the role. As a guide, we anticipate this will be between 2-4 days per month, but the hiring manager will be able to confirm this during the interview.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

If you are interested in this opportunity, please click the apply button below. You will need to register on the applicant portal and complete the application form including your CV (maximum 3 pages, no photos) and a cover letter (maximum 2 pages) as PDF documents, telling us:

  • Your past experience working with code and/or data
  • Why you would like to become part of the Research Computing Team
  • How your skillset would complement the activities of the group.

If you wish to share links to blog posts, public code repositories or research papers containing work that you have made significant contribution to, please add a link to those in your cover letter.

For questions about the role and the recruiting process check the Frequently Asked Questions or get in touch with us at [email protected]. If you would like to apply using a different format, please contact [email protected] where you can discuss this further.

If you are applying for more than one role at the Turing, please note that only one Cover Letter can be visible on your profile at one time. If you wish to apply for multiple roles and do not want to overwrite your existing Cover Letter, please apply for the role using the button below and forward your additional cover letter directly to [email protected] quoting the job title.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: 7 October 2022 at 23:59

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The Alan Turing Institute is committed to creating an environment where diversity is valued and everyone is treated fairly. In accordance with the Equality Act, we welcome applications from anyone who meets the specific criteria of the post regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Reasonable adjustments to the interview process can also be made for any candidates with a disability.

Please note all offers of employment are subject to continuous eligibility to work in the UK and satisfactory pre-employment security screening which includes a DBS Check.

Full details on the pre-employment screening process can be requested from [email protected].