Diamond Light Source is a new synchrotron and a leading scientific facility of its type in the world. Located on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in South Oxfordshire, we host facilities supporting cutting edge research in all fields of science.

Diamond’s users are academic researchers, in-house research scientists and industrial companies. The majority of users are from the UK academic community although researchers from Europe and countries worldwide also visit Diamond. Users apply for time to carry out research on one of the experimental stations, known as beamlines.

The Diamond User Office is the first point of contact for all users and maintains details of users and applications for beamtime via a set of web applications and an underlying Oracle database. You will lead a small development team and work closely with the User Office Manager.

We need a software specialist with experience of software project management who will be responsible for project management and implementation of technical developments for the in-house software including Oracle database. You should also have experience of managing others, including contract staff.

We are looking for an individual of graduate calibre in a scientific field together with a sound grasp of modern programming languages including Java, C++ and Python. You should also be capable of working as part of a multidisciplinary, multi-site team and willing to travel in the UK and overseas.

This will involve:

To ensure that the User Office database and suite of related web applications enable the effective administration of user applications for beamtime; turning business requirements into technical specifications, delivering timely system improvements and functionality. 

Project management and implementation of technical developments for the in-house software including Oracle database which supports the Diamond User Office.

• Collecting, understanding, and communicating the business requirements for specific projects,  translating these into functional specifications, technical specifications and detailed test plans;
• Analysing and documenting existing business processes; obtain sign-off from Science Directors on optimised processes and project implementation roadmap;
• Day to day management of change requests in relation to the project plans to ensure agreed deadlines are met;
• Providing regular reports showing progress against outstanding milestones, status, resource requirements, issues and risks;
• Producing and maintaining documentation describing system operation for User Office team;
• Writing of object oriented software, probably Java, to an advanced level during the full lifecycle development, delivery and implementation of Web based applications;
• Developing and maintaining expertise in software techniques, applying them to the development of new software applications and associated frameworks;
• Providing advice and support in database design and use, and data management and manipulation, including the use of data extract/ reporting tools;
• Managing the Project Development Team to deliver to the requirements.

• Experience of Web scripting languages, in particular Java Server Pages (JSP), but otherwise Active Server Pages (ASP) or PHP;
• Experience of modern programming languages such as Java, C, C++ and Python;
• Experience of World Wide Web server and browser technologies;
• Experience of database reporting tools such as JasperReports or Crystal Reports;
• Experience of people management (junior staff and contractors);
• Experience of software project management;
• Ability and initiative to get to the heart of the problem and take it effectively through to completion;
• Good interpersonal, communication  and presentational skills; including the ability to convey technical issues to non-technical audiences;
• Good technical writing skills;
• Self motivated, interested in keeping pace with software development and testing best practice;
• Ability to interact effectively with staff at all levels;
• Effective team worker;
• Good negotiation and influencing skills;
• Ability to write clear, concise and detailed technical specifications to meet user needs;
• Proven track record of delivering complex software projects from consultation to end use.  

• Relevant degree or equivalent qualification;
• Experience of UNIX-like and/or Microsoft operating systems and their administration;
• Administration of Oracle Databases;
• Available to travel occasionally in UK and overseas including overnight absences;
• Experience of implementing and deploying web applications using multitier technologies such as EJB2, EJB3 or Hibernate.