Senior Research Software Engineer - Breakthrough Listen

Salary: £40,000 - 80,000 per year

Requirements:

• We seek candidates with a doctoral degree that includes significant software development, plus post-qualification research and software engineering experience; we will also consider candidates without a doctorate who have substantial software engineering experience in a research environment.
• Candidates must be able to collaborate effectively with researchers to design and implement reliable, maintainable software solutions to scientific questions.
• Candidates must be able to rapidly acquire skills in new programming languages, libraries, and technologies.
• Candidates should have substantial experience and proven efficiency across most of the following: Python and web frameworks, especially Django; REST API development; Linux and shell scripting; implementation, deployment, and management of large relational databases; containers and orchestration; AI-assisted software development; distributed systems such as Slurm or Kubernetes; and high-performance computing.

Responsibilities:

• We expect the successful candidate to work initially and exclusively on the Breakthrough Listen project, helping develop software and pipelines for large-scale research data and making that data accessible and usable to scientific communities and the public.
• After the initial two-year period, the successful candidate may work on a variety of research projects across Physics and the broader University of Oxford.
• The successful candidate will contribute to good software practices and may deliver workshops and training in software development best practices.
• Over time, the successful candidate will take responsibility for managing projects and supervising Research Software Engineers.

Technologies:

• AI
• API
• Django
• Embedded
• Kubernetes
• Linux
• MPLS
• Machine Learning
• Python
• REST
• Web

More:

We are the Oxford Research Software Engineering Group (OxRSE), working with research groups across the University of Oxford to create, improve, and maintain scientific and translational research software, and to provide consulting and training in software development and reproducible research. This post is embedded in the Department of Physics and is focused for at least its first two years on Breakthrough Listen, a comprehensive Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence project using leading radio telescopes and large-scale datasets. We offer opportunities to develop technical, research, project management, and consultancy skills, and to contribute to impactful projects at the frontier of astronomy, machine learning, and scientific computing. The role is based at the MPLS Doctoral Training Centre, 1–4 Keble Road. It is an open-ended, full-time position subject to external funding; flexible arrangements, including part-time work and job sharing, will be considered. Applications require a supporting statement using the provided form, a CV, and a sample of software engineering work. The application deadline is 12 noon on 23 October 2026.

last updated 39 week of 2026