About Us
Diamond Light Source serves as the UK’s national synchrotron science facility. By accelerating electrons to speeds nearing that of light, Diamond creates intense beams of light spanning infra-red to X-rays. These beams are essential for cutting-edge academic and industrial research across diverse scientific fields, including structural biology, physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, earth sciences, and environmental sciences.
Software plays a pivotal role in enabling the world-leading science conducted at Diamond. Our software systems support various aspects of operations, ranging from low-level control of the synchrotron and beamline hardware to experiment planning, execution, monitoring, data archiving and processing, visualization, remote experiment management, and application for beamtime. Our team of dedicated software engineers collaborates closely with scientists to deliver innovative and reliable software solutions, ensuring that Diamond remains at the forefront of scientific advancements.
About the Role
We are seeking a Software Developer to join the Scientific Information Management Systems (SIMS) group at Diamond. The SIMS team oversees and enhances the scientific user administration systems critical to Diamond’s operations.
One of the key systems, the User Administration System (UAS), acts as Diamond’s “front door,” facilitating collaboration between scientists worldwide. The UAS is instrumental in handling thousands of applications from international researchers, enabling complex workflows, and managing the allocation of Diamond’s scientific resources by staff. Operating as a central feature in an ecosystem of services supporting visiting scientists, the UAS is integral to Diamond’s success. However, as the system nears the end of its lifecycle, we are embarking on the exciting journey of developing its replacement.
Key responsibilities for this role include:
- Designing and developing new microservices and websites to address evolving operational needs.
- Contributing to Diamond’s scientific software architecture.
- Developing integrations with third-party systems used both nationally and internationally by the scientific community.
- Providing support to the User Office, collaborating closely with science group leaders and senior beamline staff. Tasks include diagnosing and resolving issues and ensuring the delivery of high-quality services and outputs.
- Assisting SIMS with software development, testing, maintenance, and support of user administration systems in collaboration with other groups such as Scientific Computing.
- Working with both internal and external stakeholders to enhance core software systems, focusing on robustness, adaptability, and developer usability.
- Leveraging professional and technical expertise to identify opportunities for technical or process improvements across supported beamlines.
About You
To be considered for this role, you should possess a degree in engineering, computer science, or have equivalent experience.
Essential skills and experience:
- Solid experience with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, particularly in developing and enhancing web applications using modern JavaScript frameworks like React and NextJS.
- A portfolio or GitHub showcasing demonstrable experience in building web applications and dashboards, particularly for SaaS products, B2B solutions, internal web-applications, Business CMS platforms, or data-intensive applications.
- Strong technical proficiency in software engineering principles, including source control, code review, and continuous integration.
- Familiarity with SCRUM methodologies and agile processes.
Preferred (but not required) skills:
- Knowledge of Service-oriented and Microservices architecture.
- Experience with design tools such as Figma and Sketch.
- Understanding of JavaScript testing frameworks such as Jest, Vitest, Cypress, and Jasmine.
- Experience with CI/CD practices.
- Working knowledge of GraphQL, OpenAPI specifications, JSON Schema, and SQL/NoSQL databases.
- Familiarity with MonoRepo project structures like TurboRepo.
- Development experience with Python frameworks such as FastAPI.
Benefits
Diamond Light Source offers an excellent benefits package to help staff maintain a healthy work-life balance. Benefits include:
- 26 days of annual holiday, plus public holidays and Christmas closure.
- Two volunteering days per year.
- Flexible working hours.
- A generous defined benefit pension scheme.
- On-site amenities, including a nursery, cafes, a restaurant, sports facilities, and leisure spaces.
- A relocation package may be available (as applicable).
This role provides a hybrid working arrangement, requiring at least three days per week on-site.
How to Apply
Interested candidates are encouraged to apply online and explain why they are suited for this position.
The application deadline is 9th November 2025, but early applications are advisable, as interviews may be conducted prior to the closing date