Job description
About us
The UCL Centre for Advanced Research Computing (ARC) is UCL’s new institute for infrastructure and innovation in digital research - the supercomputers, datasets, software and people that make computational science and digital scholarship possible. We are an innovative hybrid: a professional services department that delivers reliable and secure infrastructure and services to UCL research groups, and a laboratory for research and innovation in the application of advanced computational and data intensive research methods, working in partnership with academics from all fields. We are a home for the research technology professionals - research software engineers, HPC systems engineers, dev-ops specialists, data engineers, data scientists and data stewards - who support and collaborate in the delivery of UCL research, providing outstanding career development opportunities for these new kinds of research professionals.
About the role
Would you like to generate, manage, explore, infer, validate, analyse, and visualise complex data?
Research Data Scientists (also known as Data Scientist, Machine Learning Specialist, Computational Statistician, Data Wrangler, Bioinformatician, Data Analyst):
Conduct collaborative research to extract knowledge and insight from datasets using a variety of mathematical, statistical and computational approaches.
Develop software and scripts to implement these analyses in robust and reproducible ways.
Work with research infrastructure developers to deploy these to production.
You will, in all subject areas, provide data science expertise and services to world-leading research teams, training researchers in best practices, and working with scientists and scholars to build workflows, analyses and software to meet new research challenges. With such a varied job we don’t expect our candidates to know it all from the start. It is an excellent opportunity to develop new skills, spending time to study both the research areas we support and the specialist technologies applied.
In addition, ARC aims to help you develop your own research ideas in data science and connected areas. You will be able to set up research initiatives, bid for funding, exchange/collaborate within ARC themes across a range of novel digital research.
At senior levels you will take on a leadership role within the department, either technically or managerially, helping to guide the vision for this strategically important area for UCL. You may lead the technical design for complex projects or new services, spearhead the development of new courses, manage data science projects, and/or mentor and supervise other group members.
Salary range for the Research Data Scientist positions is as follows:
- Assistant Research Data Scientist: £31,131 to £39,333 (including London Allowance) depending on experience
- Research Data Scientist: £38,308 to £50,047 (including London Allowance) depending on experience
- Senior Research Data Scientist: £47,414 to £60,592 (including London Allowance) depending on experience
- Principal Research Data Scientist: £60,592 to £77,787 (including London Allowance) depending on experience
About you
The successful applicant will have experience of analysing, researching, and solving complex computational data analysis problems. You will be able to communicate well with researchers, and present complex or technical information to a range of stakeholders. A relevant degree or equivalent professional experience is required according to seniority.
We are looking for candidates who have addressed complex data science problems in at least one field, but more importantly, who can build an understanding of new scientific questions, and see how to translate research needs to technology requirements. We are deeply committed to data science best practices and their application in research contexts. You should share our enthusiasm for reproducible, reliable computational research, and be able to help to spread that to our research community.
As part of this recruitment, we are also seeking candidates who meet the following specialist profile. Please indicate within your application if you would like to be considered for this role:
A "Head of Profession" for Research Data Scientists – a Grade 9 Principal Data Scientist who will line manage our senior staff within this profession and be responsible for best practice, community leadership and mentorship for all those within the job family, both within ARC and beyond (for those departments and faculties that join the wider UCL Research Technology Professional scheme).
Job description and person specification for each of the Research Data Scientist positions can be accessed at the bottom of this page. Please supply a cover letter setting out how you meet the selection criteria.
This role meets the eligibility requirements for a skilled worker certificate of sponsorship or a global talent visa under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL welcomes applications from international applicants who require a visa.
We will consider applications to work on a part-time, flexible and job share basis wherever possible.This role is eligible for hybrid working with a minimum of 20% on site.
In the event we get a high number of applications, we may close the advert early before the published closing date. As a minimum we will keep all adverts open for 2 weeks.
This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Professional Services Staff. Please visit UCL's HR page for more information.
What we offer
Further information about working in ARC can be found on our website www.ucl.ac.uk/arc
If you have any queries regarding the vacancy or application process, please contact Mr. Chris Langridge, via e-mail ([email protected]).
The UCL Ways of Working supports colleagues to be successful and happy at UCL through sharing expectations around how we work – please visit www.ucl.ac.uk/ways-of-working to find out more.
As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:
A yearly promotion scheme across grades. The scheme aims to make it easier for high-performing staff demonstrating the appropriate skills and behaviours of performing at a higher grade to be recognised and to accelerate their internal career progression.
41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase schem
Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.
We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce.
These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.
Our department is working towards an Athena SWAN award. We are committed to advancing gender equality within our department.