Senior Research Software Engineer (ATLAS) in London

UCL is one of the world's top universities based in the heart of London. It is a modern, outward-looking institution. UCL's staff and former students have included 33 Nobel prizewinners. It is a truly international community: more than one-third of our student body – more than 50,000 strong – come from 150 countries and nearly one-third of staff are from outside the UK.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at University College London hosts a leading Particle Physics group engaged in forefront international experiments, including ATLAS at the Large Hadron Collider. The group plays a major role in the design, development, simulation, validation, and operation of software and trigger systems that enable precision data selection and analysis in high-rate experimental environments.

The successful candidate will join a multidisciplinary team of physicists, research software engineers, and trigger experts working on the ATLAS Global Trigger simulation framework. The role will focus on offline software development within the ATLAS software ecosystem, supporting the design, modelling, testing, and validation of Global Trigger algorithms and interfaces for the High-Luminosity LHC.

The postholder will design, develop, maintain, and validate offline software for the ATLAS Global Trigger simulation framework. This includes contributing to the implementation of trigger algorithms, software interfaces, configuration tools, validation workflows, and performance studies within the ATLAS software framework, athena. The role aims to ensure that the Global Trigger simulation software is robust, maintainable, well tested, and suitable for use by a large international collaboration. The postholder will provide research software engineering expertise, support physics-driven software development, and contribute to collaborative research outputs and technical documentation.

The role is 0.4FTE (14.6hrs per week) with funding guaranteed until 30/09/27 in the first instance.

We are looking for someone with a degree (or equivalent experience) in Physics, Computer Science, Engineering, or a closely related field. You must have demonstrable experience developing high-quality scientific or research software for complex collaborative projects. Strong research software engineering skills and the ability to design, implement and maintain efficient, scalable and well-structured software within a large code base is essential. A strong understanding of programming in C++ and/or Python is needed to carry out the role.

Experience of modern software development practices, including version control, code review, continuous integration, automated testing, validation, documentation, and reproducible workflows plus a familiarity with Linux-based environments and command-line tools is essential. The postholder will have good knowledge of the ATLAS software framework, athena, or clear evidence of the ability to work effectively in comparable large HEP software frameworks. You will also have the ability to develop, test and validate trigger simulation software, algorithms, software interfaces, configuration tools, validation workflows, and performance studies.

The ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to both specialist and non-specialist audiences alongside being able to work effectively both independently and as part of an international collaborative team is essential. Strong organisational skills and ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines is a necessary requirement. Strong problem-solving skills and ability to debug complex software and system-level issues is required.

Experience working on large-scale particle physics experiments, ATLAS trigger software, trigger simulation, or detector/trigger performance validation would be desirable. Also, familiarity with data acquisition, real-time systems, or hardware-aware trigger development would also be advantageous, but the primary focus of the role is offline software development for the ATLAS Global Trigger simulation framework.

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, UCL also offers competitive benefits, such as:

• 41 days annual leave (including 6 University closure days and 8 UK bank holidays)
• Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
• Immigration loan and relocation assistance
• On-campus nursery
• On-campus gym
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
• Discounted medical insurance

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We particularly encourage applications from candidates underrepresented in UCL’s workforce, including those from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds, disabled people, and – for Grade 9 and 10 roles – women.

Applicants should also familiarise themselves with UCL’s policies on: Prevention of Bullying, Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy and Personal Relationships Policy.