Description Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Salary: £24,961 per annum Contract Type: Fixed-Term, 12 months Hours: Full-time, 37 hours Location: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus Didcot, OX11 0QX Closing Date: Sunday, 19th October 2025 Interview Date: Dec 2025 / Jan 2026 Start Date: September 2026 Scientific Computing is an international centre of excellence for advanced computing expertise and digital research infrastructure. The Data and Software Engineering Group (DSEG) designs, implements and supports a wide range of software enabling researchers to catalogue and discover their experimental data; gather analysis workflows; make links between data, publications and software and support the research software development lifecycle. It also maintains the infrastructure required for version control and continuous integration for Research Software. The technologies used in DSEG include: Java, Python, JavaScript (React framework), (RESTful) web services, JSON, virtualisation, automation techniques and tools such as GitHub Actions CI/CD as well as enterprise databases such as Oracle and MongoDB, application servers such as Payara, version control with GitHub and a wide range of Linux technologies. The placement will involve tasks contributing to one or more of the projects undertaken by the DSEG, which is a multi-disciplinary, diverse, and inclusive team. You will interact with software and DevOps engineers, data scientists, project managers, STFC scientists and end-users of our systems. Brief overview of the scheme STFC’s incredibly diverse range of placements allows you to work alongside world-leading engineers, scientists and technicians in highly collaborative environments. Whichever you choose, you’ll become a critical member of the team, in which you will be exposed to exciting projects and challenges from the start. You’ll be supported every step of the way by our dedicated Graduate Development Team, who will also ensure you benefit from a range of personal development opportunities. About the role and a summary of key duties & responsibilities The role will revolve around software development and related activities, with the support from members of the group and training as required. The role will include tasks such as: Gain familiarity with existing software solutions Engage with stakeholders to determine requirements Contribute to software development tasks applying standard processes (e.g. version control, unit and end-to-end testing, continuous integration, coding conventions) Contribute to systems deployment and operational tasks Contribute to system design and architecture discussions Investigate solutions for specific problems and/or features Contribute to installation and deployment tasks as needed. Person Specification The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I). Essential: Currently enrolled on an undergraduate degree course and returning to university/studies to complete your undergraduate degree following the placement (S) Are required or have requested to take an industrial placement year (S) Have the right to live and work in the UK for the duration of the placement (S) Able to commence employment in summer 2026 (S) Excellent written and oral communication skills (S&I) Demonstrate good team working capabilities (I) Willingness to learn new skills, both technical and non-technical (I) Open minded and flexible in relation to the type of work assigned to them (I) Excellent knowledge of at least one programming language such as Java, Python, JavaScript or similar (S&I) Good knowledge of software engineering methodologies for instance: software life cycle, testing and version control (S&I) Desirable: Good knowledge of relational and/or noSQL databases (S&I) Good knowledge of web development technologies or frameworks (e.g. React) (S&I) Employee Benefits: 30 days holiday (in addition to 10.5 bank holidays and privilege days). Flexible working hours. An excellent defined average salary pension scheme. Easily accessible public transport links/ free parking. Excellent learning and development opportunities. Cycle to work scheme. Link to more benefits: https://stfccareers.co.uk/rewards-and-benefits/ As this job does not fulfil the UK Government minimum criterion for obtaining sponsored migrant worker status we will be unable to apply for sponsorship for anyone not eligible to work in the UK. At interview, all shortlisted candidates are required to bring with them identification documents and original documents that prove they hold or can obtain the right to work in the UK. You can check your eligibility here: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y Application Guidance Please note that we can only accept a maximum of 2 applications per candidate. Part of our application process involves submitting your CV and a cover letter. Your cover letter should address your suitability for the opportunity based how you meet each essential criteria stated in this advert. Please note that we hold the right to close this vacancy early if a sufficient number of applications have been received. 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!