Quantum Software Engineer

Job Title: Quantum Software Engineer
Salary: £31,931 - £34,709 OR £39,748 - £44,166 gross per annum dependent on experience*
Positions: 3 x Open Ended Roles
Location: Daresbury Laboratory- Warrington OR Rutherford Appleton Laboratory- Didcot
Hours: Full Time (We understand the importance of work-life balance, and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants)

*This role is eligible for up to £2000 Responsibility and Retention Allowance gross per annum

About the Hartree Centre
At the Hartree Centre, we want to see UK businesses outperforming their global competitors. We want to grow the economy, create skilled jobs and train people to excel in them. Most of all, we want to keep the UK at the forefront of industrial innovation. We're making all this happen and more by enabling UK industry to fully embrace and integrate the latest digital and cognitive technologies.

We provide collaborative research, innovation and development services that accelerate the application of high performance computing (HPC), data analytics and artificial intelligence technologies.  By working with us, businesses and research partners can gain a competitive advantage that enables them to produce better outcomes, products and services more quickly and cheaply than through conventional R&D.

We have a technically exciting computing environment, encompassing a wide range of hardware and software technologies.

Reasons our staff enjoy working for us:

• We’re based at Sci-Tech Daresbury - a lively and dynamic campus bringing together SMEs and leading industry-academic collaborations located in a picturesque semi-rural location with easy access to canal-side and woodland walking.
• We are less than two miles from the M56 motorway with public transport links and access to Warrington and Runcorn national rail stations. Advice on all aspects of travel to site including car sharing is available at: https://www.sci-techdaresbury.com/the-campus/travel-hub/.
• 30 days annual leave plus 10.5 public and privilege days.
• Options for flexible or hybrid working patterns are available.
• Defined benefit pension scheme (employer contribution – currently up to 26%).
• There are different active sport and social groups across campus with access to an on-site gym for staff.
• Personal development is key. You will work with your line manager to develop your own Learning and Development plan each year.
• We value collaborative working across STFC and with our external collaborators such as IBM Research, The University of Liverpool’s Virtual Engineering Centre, Atos, NVIDIA, Unilever and many more.
• Diversity and inclusion are important to us. UKRI has a corporate policy on Equality and Diversity which is supported by a Diversity Forum and implementation group.
• For more information on the rest of our employee benefits, take a look at: http://www.stfccareers.co.uk/why-join/rewards-and-benefits/.

About the Role
Come and do the kind of engineering that made you want to be an engineer. Stretch your technical skills while building human understanding. Promote sustainability and create new materials. And, alongside world-leading scientists and technologists, shape projects that improve lives, and 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 are seeking up to 3 Computational Scientists to join the STFC Hartree Centre to sit at the interface of our collaboration with IBM Quantum to accelerate development of quantum computing solutions to industrially motivated challenges. We are looking for individuals with a diverse range of skills to work at the forefront of a rapidly developing field of technology. The successful candidates will be provided with extensive training covering quantum application development and algorithms and a mathematical, scientific or engineering background is advantageous.

Our computational scientists work in a highly dynamic environment of academic and industrial work and often balance multiple projects simultaneously.

You will be required to work on projects whilst proactively looking for and securing future opportunities for work in alignment with the Hartree Centre strategy. The post as advertised is for a three-year fixed term role in the first instance, but a successful post holder will work to secure future funding in partnership with the technical leads in the Hartree Centre.

Your responsibilities will include;

• Working with the Head of the High-Performance Software Engineering group and Emerging Computational Paradigms team leader, to ensure the delivery of code development activities from scoping through to completion in the field of quantum computing
• Collaborate with colleagues at IBM Research to further the field of quantum computing
• Author peer reviewed papers, technical reports, and proposals focused on next generation algorithms and quantum applications
• Provide technical expertise, guidance and input to our other programmes with particular focus on providing knowledge and understanding relating to application and development of quantum computing methods
• Lead and manage project deliverables using the appropriate technical resources and computing capabilities available
• Liaise with collaborators and project partners to understand and agree technical project requirements and to manage assigned deliverables,
• Be a key point of contact and subject-matter expert (SME) for technical queries relating to specific domain areas to assist internal and external programme team members in the correct application of project processes, standards and methods 
• Conducting project research and technology development to maintain and increase Hartree Centre’s leadership in our core application areas
• Participate in developing training material and course delivery for industrial customers

Contacts and Communication 
You will pro-actively manage highly complex and technical projects and will need to balance competing customer (internal and external) requirements with the availability of staff and computing resources to enable successfully delivery in a timely and effective manner.  As such, you will need to be able to assimilate technical information and convert this into activities and outcomes and to identify and respond quickly to changing priorities and issues that arise.  

You will engage with internal STFC employees, IBM Research and other key external stakeholders providing support to the Hartree Centre. The post-holder will build and manage relationships with relevant stakeholders inside and external to the centre.  Your technical and programme management expertise combined with technical understanding of the use of high-performance computing will translate ideas into action. Your communication and coordination skills will bring the best out of cross-sector teams, and your ability to deliver tangible, successful outcomes will ensure that the centre delivers on its commitments.
 
Person Specification
(Please note the below criteria will be assessed at Shortlisting or Interview stage as indicated)

Essential

• Degree in a mathematical, scientific, or computer science discipline or equivalent relevant experience (S)
• Programming experience, preferably in one or more of C, Fortran, C++, CUDA and Python, although other programming languages are acceptable, too (S&I)
• Understanding of Quantum Computing foundation including quantum mechanics, linear algebra, quantum circuits (S&I)
• Experience with quantum computing such as using quantum computing simulators, quantum annealers, gate-based quantum computers (S&I) (Required to qualify for E)
• Experience with quantum computing frameworks and simulators, preferably IBM Qiskit, ATOS QLM, QuEST (S&I) (Required to qualify for E)
• Experience in model development, algorithm development, and/or performance optimisation (I)

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.

About The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) 

As one of Europe’s largest research organisations, we ask the biggest questions in the universe to find answers that change the world around us. We seek understanding. We’re proud of the impact we make. And we’re committed to helping build a globally competitive, knowledge-based UK economy. Being part of all this means contributing to work that pushes boundaries and creates possibilities. You’ll work with, and learn from, true experts. Whatever your role, you’ll be free to question, and encouraged to share ideas. And, in a positive and supportive culture, you’ll discover just what a difference you can make when you’re equipped and inspired to excel.

We’re a place where curious minds thrive. Not bound by profit, we explore ideas that others don’t, ask questions that others won’t, and discover answers that others are not equipped to find. And, alongside Mars landings and black holes, we also explore diverse, international projects in everything from science and engineering to computing and technology. Whether it’s at the cutting edge or behind the scenes, our work is intellectually challenging. It’s very often ground-breaking.  And it’s endlessly, irresistibly fascinating.

About UK Research Innovation (UKRI) 

UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. 

Supporting some of the world’s most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.