Research Software Engineer
Research Software Engineer
- Posted 05 May 2026
- Salary Grade 7, £41,064 - £46,049 per annum
- LocationGlasgow
- Job Type Technical And Specialist
- Reference198873
- Expiry 26 May 2026 23:45
Job description
Job Purpose
To contribute to the project “KEPsoft-UK: Developing New and Improved Algorithms for the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme” funded by Kidney Research UK.
The job involves collaborating on the development of software for kidney exchange, which provides an additional option for patients who require a kidney transplant, and who have a willing but medically incompatible donor. Patients in this position may swap their donors to receive a compatible kidney, and a kidney exchange programme constructs an optimal set of exchanges based on a pool of patient-donor pairs. The project will involve extending the existing KEPsoft platform, which has been developed using Python, Flask and other technologies.
It is intended that the implemented software will be used for the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme run by NHS Blood and Transplant. It is vital that the software is designed with the requirements of the intended users at the forefront, considering feedback from the project’s Patient Advisory Group, and subjected to rigorous testing and validation in order to increase confidence in its correctness.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
1. Lead the design, implementation and maintenance of high-quality software in accordance with the project deliverables, while conforming with University policies and more general best practice (e.g., as advocated by the Software Sustainability Institute).
2. Develop and execute a software strategy for the project, including identifying and prioritising development activities, determining suitable management of resources, and ensuring impact through open software avenues.
3. Lead in the development, maintenance, and innovation of software using industry-standard languages and frameworks such as Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, web application frameworks and others.
4. Translate complex requirements to suitable software solutions, reporting progress to relevant stakeholders as appropriate.
5. Develop and maintain comprehensive documentation of software designs, deployment, and standard operating procedures, ensuring the management, licensing, version control and deployment in suitable repositories of software outputs.
6. Collaborate with directors of KEPsoft Collaborative CIC, and colleagues at NHS Blood and Transplant.
7. Provide leadership for the adoption of sector best-practices for the development of new software including through the training and mentoring of staff.
8. Manage testing and quality assurance activities to ensure the reliability, security, and functionality of developed software, documenting test cases and results as needed. Specifically, work in accordance with the KEPsoft Collaborative Quality Management System and ensure that Technical File documentation is being compiled to demonstrate compliance in relation to regulations for software as a medical device.
9. Produce briefings, presentations and documents as required to keep the project’s Patient Advisory Group and other key stakeholders informed of progress.
10. Develop and maintain a website for the project.
11. Keep up to date with new developments in research software engineering as part of continuous professional development to enhance the support for both the project and wider college RSE efforts. This includes through engagement and membership within international groups, e.g. the Society of RSE.
12. Undertake any other reasonable duties as required by the line manager and the Head of School.
Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience
Knowledge/Qualifications
Essential:
A1 Ability to demonstrate the competencies required to undertake the duties associated with this level of post having acquired the necessary knowledge and skills in a similar role. Or, Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 9, (Ordinary Degree, Scottish Vocational Qualification level 4), or equivalent (including professional accreditation with relevant formal training), and experience of personal development in a similar or related role(s).
A2 Expert knowledge of the challenges and issues associated with building high quality software or performing software based computational research within Computer Science, Mathematics, Operational Research or a related discipline.
A3 Knowledge of a range of programming languages and technologies such as Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and web technologies, platforms and tools.
A4 Knowledge of development tools: code repositories (such as GitHub) and IDEs (such as VS Code, PyCharm, RStudio).
A5 Knowledge of database technologies, such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, SQL.
A6 Proven expert knowledge of developing software applications.
A7 Comprehensive knowledge of modern data management and processing techniques including collaborative development of data management plans.
A8 Detailed knowledge of software engineering workflows, e.g., version control, continuous integration, containerisation etc.
A9 Knowledge of software licensing and effective promotion of software to generate impact.
Desirable:
B1 First degree (2:1 or above, or equivalent) in Computer Science, Mathematics, Operational Research or a related discipline.
B2 Knowledge of developing and implementing Web Services.
B3 Understanding of Trusted Research Environments.
B4 A knowledge of statistical analysis techniques for interpreting experimental results.
B5 In-depth knowledge of integer programming and related operational research techniques.
B6 A knowledge of Quality Management Systems and related regulatory requirements for software as a medical device, including ISO13485 and/or ISO9001.
Skills
Essential:
C1 Extensive software engineering skills gained over a substantial period, working at higher levels of complexity within research intensive environments.
C2 Proven technical problem-solving skills and attention to detail, with an expert ability to analyse complex requirements and design effective software solutions.
C3 Proficient in maintaining and manipulating datasets.
C4 Ability to deal with a large variety of end users with a range of technical knowledge including the ability to understand, conceptualise and interpret technical requirements to design and develop software solutions.
C5 Ability to learn and adapt to changing technologies, policies/procedures and cyber threats.
C6 Excellent analytical skills with confidence to challenge and continually improve, diving into the detail as necessary to understand issues (people, process, and technology).
C7 Proven project management skills to lead technical service to meet and develop long term strategic objectives, whilst delivering a day-to-day service.
C8 Highly effective communication and interpersonal skills, demonstrating creative and innovative thinking and influencing senior members of an organisation. Ability to communicate complex data/concepts clearly and concisely adapting to audience needs.
C9 Ability to effectively teach and mentor both experts and non-experts in areas of software engineering best practice.
C10 Provide accurate estimations of costs, including time, budget and resource, for significant software efforts to aid in long term project planning.
Desirable:
D1 Software deployment such as via containers, cloud setups, and high-performance computing as appropriate.
Experience
Essential:
E1 Proven experience delivering sizeable software projects in a software engineering environment.
E2 Significant experience in developing and deploying fully functional applications using current programming languages while adhering to best practices and industry standards.
E3 Substantial experience of DevOps including platforms such as GitHub or GitLab to manage projects, and continuous integration processes.
E4 Significant experience of testing and validation of software.
E5 Experience leading and managing software projects.
Desirable:
F1 Prior experience of working in a university or Higher Education environment or a suitable software development setting.
F2 Experience of software project management systems such as Trello.
F3 Extensive experience of working with large datasets.
F4 Demonstrable experience working with one or more of Flask, Bootstrap, or SQLAlchemy.
F5 Experience of using software packages for statistical computing such as R.
F6 Experience of scientific writing.
Terms and Conditions
Salary will be Grade 7, £41,064 - £46,049 per annum.
This post is full time (35 hours p/w) and has funding for to 30 September 2027, in the first instance.
Closing date: 26 May 2026
The University of Glasgow has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK. If you require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK, you will be required to meet the eligibility requirements of the visa route to be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship.
Please note that this post may be eligible to be sponsored under the Skilled Worker visa route if tradeable points can be used under the Skilled Worker visa rules. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.
As a valued member of our team, you can expect:
1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.
2 An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension - pensions handbook https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/, benefits and discount packages.
3 A flexible approach to working.
4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.
We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.
We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.
We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.