{"id":1140797,"url":"https://alion.io/job/united-kingdom-atomic-energy-authority-computational-scientist-2","title":"Computational Scientist","company":{"id":6682,"name":"United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority","domain":"ukaea.uk","url":"https://alion.io/company/ukaea","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"is_intermediary":false,"ats_vendor":"SmartRecruiters","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":80,"open_postings":3,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":21,"computed_at":"2026-09-23T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Science & Research","role_family":"Science & Research","seniority":null,"employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Abingdon, United Kingdom"],"countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":43702,"max":null,"currency":"GBP","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":58061},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Fortran","optional":false},{"name":"JAX","optional":false},{"name":"Julia","optional":false},{"name":"Linux","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"Unix","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-23T10:57:50Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-23","last_verified_at":"2026-09-23T11:14:59Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":0,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":0},"description":"About the job\nJoin a team developing advanced computational tools that support world-leading fusion energy research. As a Computational Scientist, you will apply scientific computing and numerical methods to complex plasma modelling challenges, helping to accelerate the development of future fusion technologies.\nA substantial part of the role will focus on FreeGSNKE, UKAEA’s open-source tool for modelling tokamak plasma equilibria and evolution. You will help develop and maintain the code, improve its performance on modern computing systems, and apply it to research challenges including plasma scenario design for MAST Upgrade and STEP. You will also contribute to work connecting numerical simulation with reduced-order models, AI-assisted applications and the emerging capabilities of the SUNRISE supercomputer.\nWhat You’ll Be Doing\nApply computational and numerical methods to solve scientific research challenges.\nDevelop robust, maintainable software for modelling tokamak plasma behaviour.\nCollaborate with technical specialists to deliver modelling and simulation solutions.\nSelect and apply appropriate computational approaches to achieve agreed project outcomes.\nProduce technical reports, documentation and contributions to scientific publications.\nPresent research findings and technical outputs at internal workshops and forums.\nIdentify opportunities to apply specialist expertise to new research challenges.\nSupport and, where required, mentor students, graduates or apprentices on technical work.\nDevelop and maintain FreeGSNKE’s Python codebase, including new modelling capabilities and improvements to performance and scalability.\nContribute to JAX-based FreeGSNKE development, including GPU-enabled simulation workflows and their deployment on SUNRISE.\nApply FreeGSNKE to plasma scenario design, benchmarking and simulation-based studies for MAST Upgrade, STEP and other fusion programmes.\nApply and validate FreeGSNKE through comparison with experimental data, benchmarking and simulation-based studies, including plasma scenario design for MAST Upgrade and STEP.\nContribute to reduced-order modelling, surrogate development and AI-assisted applications using simulation outputs.\nSupport internal and external collaborators using FreeGSNKE and contribute to scientific publications and conference presentations.\nWhat You’ll Bring\nDegree in a scientific, engineering or technical discipline, plus a PhD or equivalent experience in an academic or industrial research environment.\nDemonstrable experience with at least one modern programming language relevant to scientific computing, such as C++, Fortran, Python or Julia.\nFamiliarity with modern software engineering practices, including testing, version control and code maintenance.\nExperience writing efficient, maintainable and comprehensible software independently.\nKnowledge of numerical methods used in the simulation of physical systems.\nExperience applying computational or scientific computing techniques to research or engineering problems.\nExperience working in a Unix or Linux environment.\nKnowledge of tokamak plasma physics, equilibrium modelling or scenario design would be advantageous.\nExperience with high-performance computing, GPUs, JAX, or statistical and machine-learning methods would be welcome.\nUKAEA is an onsite organisation, and this role requires regular onsite presence (usually between 3-5 days in any given week) in line with business needs. We actively support flexible working arrangements where this is compatible with the role.\nBenefits\nWe have a generous range of benefits (see the full list here) and highlights include:\nA salary of £43,702 (inclusive of a £3,300 specialist allowance) \nUp to 7% corporate performance bonus\nFinal salary defined benefits pension scheme with an equivalent of 21.5% employer pension contribution \n25 days annual leave plus 2.5 'privilege' days; 8 Bank Holidays\nAdditional 3 days of site closure over Christmas break \nFlexible working options plus family-friendly leave provisions \nOur commitment to ED&I\nUKAEA's mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce.\nPlease email  if you have any questions or require adjustments to help you participate fairly in our recruitment process, for example changes to the way we interview or share information. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment experience for all candidates.\nWe particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. All appointments are made on merit and further information can be found here.","description_format":"text","description_chars":4869,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"phd","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Annual leave","Flexible schedule"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Energy & Utilities","Science & Engineering","Nuclear Energy","Nuclear Engineering"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-23T11:14:59Z"}],"liveness":{"score":86,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.86,"p_room":1,"age_days":0,"expected_fill_days":21,"reasons":["conf:8","win:early"],"computed_at":"2026-09-23T20:11:49Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":58061,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/united-kingdom-atomic-energy-authority-computational-scientist-2","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/united-kingdom-atomic-energy-authority-computational-scientist-2.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-09-23T20:11:49Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers"}}