Computational Scientist (FTA)

at  UK Atomic Energy Authority

Company Description
By 2050, the planet could be using twice as much electricity compared to today. Are you interested in contributing and helping to shape the future of the world’s energy? If so, read on.
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 for groundbreaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid, supported by tomorrow’s power stations. In pursuit of our mission UKAEA embraces core values of Innovative, Committed, Trusted, and Collaboration.

As an employee of UKAEA you will benefit from:

• Outstanding defined benefit pension scheme, details of which can be found at the end of this advert.
• Corporate bonus scheme up to 7% and a Relocation allowance (if eligible).
• Flexible working options including family friendly policies and the right to request flexible working from the start of your employment.
• Employee Assistance Programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders,
• Generous annual leave allowance starting with 25 days, plus 3 days Christmas closure and 2.5 privilege days, in addition to UK bank holidays
• Wide range of career development opportunities
• A vibrant culture committed to equality and being fully inclusive

The salary for this role is £40,609 (inclusive of a Market Premium Payment (MPP)), and onsite working is expected for 1-2 days a week.
Job Description
The role is aiming for a starting date of Sept/Oct 2025 & the role can be based at any of the following sites: Culham, Oxfordshire.
This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

• At least a doctoral degree in a computational, mathematical or physical science discipline (or equivalent experience in either a commercial or research environment).
• Advanced knowledge of the mathematical foundations of kinetic theory.
• Experience with numerical methods for the simulation of kinetic systems, particularly particle methods.
• Demonstrable experience of at least one compiled level language (e.g. C++, Fortran, C, Rust) or advanced scripting language (Julia, R, Python)
• Good experience of the UNIX operating system, particularly the command line interface.
• Knowledge of modern software engineering practices.
• Ability to work within a diverse team while also taking personal responsibility.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Knowledge of uncertainty quantification (UQ) approaches for augmenting simulations.
• Ability to travel around the UK and Europe for short periods (1-5 days)
• We encourage presenting your work across the Authority and at external events, including publication.
• Supporting users in adoption of your outputs.
• Participation in group events.
  Additional Information
  A full list of our benefits can be found here https://careers.ukaea.uk/life-at-ukaea/employee-benefits/
  We welcome applications from under-represented groups, particularly individuals from black and other ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities, and women. Our Executive team, supported by our ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’ (EDI) Partner and Inclusion Ambassadors, actively promotes EDI and takes steps to increase diversity within our organization. We reinforce best practices in recruitment and selection and evaluate approaches to remove barriers to success.

THE ROLE

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As Computational Scientist, you will play a pivotal role in solving kinetic equations with a specific emphasis on particle-based methods for implementation of collision operators. The candidate will need an excellent knowledge of the mathematics of kinetic theory as well as good software development skills and ideally a knowledge of uncertainty quantification approaches. The successful candidate will work on development of novel collision operator schemes, implementation of these schemes in UKAEA software and evaluation of their performance. This role is a 1-year Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) which will involve collaboration with specialists from the Oxford Mathematics Institute.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Development of mathematical tools for accurate solution of kinetic equations with a particular focus on tools for modelling collisions.
• Implementation of developed methodologies in code.
• Performance of detailed code analysis including evaluation of key performance metrics.
• Definition of test cases for any new code development.
• Development of uncertainty quantification schemes for robust prediction.
• Contribute to reporting results and outreach work within and outside the organisation.
• Collaborate with national and international partners in evolving codes to exploit peta- and exa-scale systems.
• Work with academic and commercial partners to evaluate and exploit novel computing architectures for use within the community.
  Qualifications