Senior Analyst Developer

Grade UE08 - £48,350 – £59,421 per annum

Information Services Group - Applications 

Full time - 35 hours per week

Contract - 29 months

Join our dynamic team at the University of Edinburgh and leverage your software development expertise to support ground breaking research on international peace agreements. This unique role not only challenges your technical skills but also directly contributes to global peace-building efforts. 

We are seeking an experienced software developer to help us build web applications and related tools to support this exciting research project. 

 About the role: 

You will join a team of software developers who work on a wide variety of projects used in many business areas across the University. This team is part of the within the University's . You will also work closely with colleagues in other teams like project managers, and system and database administrators. 

This role is offered as a fixed term contract, with an end date of 31st March 2027. Beyond this, the role may be extended subject to funding arrangements, but this is not guaranteed. 

 The team is based in a large office in central Edinburgh. We support hybrid working and you will have the option to work remotely for up to 4 days a week if you wish. If you are successful, you should live or plan to move within commuting distance of Edinburgh. 

The project: 

You will join our long-running collaboration with the , supporting the their Peace Agreement research project. 

This is a well-established and successful project for which the research team have already received accolades such as the

The primary output of our development work is the . This is a web application and database which allows users to search, view, and access detailed research on international peace agreements.

Technical aspects of the role will include: 

Take the lead on all Django backend and frontend tasks.  Explore use of natural language processing (NLP) to enable innovative research techniques.  Extend the design of the data architecture of the platform - make the core data available with APIs and file downloads to support satellite applications and related research activities. 

What we can offer you:

A competitive salary of £48,350 - £59,421 Per annum. A chance to make an important contribution to an acclaimed research project with goals of making research available to mediators and others involved in peace talks and conflict negotiation.  A laptop and licenses for top of class developer tools: JetBrains suite, GitKraken, Docker Desktop. Generous annual leave allowance of 40 days per year (inclusive of festive closure days) Per annum. Highly competitive defined-benefit pension scheme with a substantial employer contribution.  A range of flexible working options to help prioritise work/life balance.  A day of paid leave annually for your chosen volunteering activity. Access to excellent online learning and a Staff Scholarship fund. Varied , and more.

Use our to find out the total value of the pay and benefits for this role. 

What the job involves:

You will be the primary/lead developer on this project, responsible for day-to-day development and first point of contact with the research team. You will be building new functionality on an established and mature web application. 

You will be a member of a team of 15 developers who are working with similar platforms in different business areas. In addition to project work (80% of time), you will be expected to participate in team activities such as team meetings and discussions with the Development and PeaceRep research teams. As a senior developer, you have a leadership position in the team and will have the opportunity to mentor more junior developers, where appropriate. 

Activities required by the role include: 

Django and Python development on our core application, .  JavaScript development on smaller front-end apps (Vue.js).  Close working relationship with the research team, on tasks such as: Exploring requirements Discussing implementation details Planning releases Attending planning and training days System design, including data structures and application architecture.  Use of tools to support development and project methodology, such as: Jira (for requirement recording and prioritisation) Git (for version control) Bamboo (for automatic deployment)

View the . 

A bit about you:

Essential

Substantial professional experience building real applications in Python and Django (or similar web framework).  Confidence in using JavaScript web frameworks (ideally Vue.js).  Strong grasp of web fundamentals: CSS, JavaScript, HTTP, REST, etc.  Experienced in unit testing and test automation.  Familiarity with Linux and command line tooling. 

Desirable

Experience of software projects with formal methodology which include multiple roles and stakeholders.  Experience with containers, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms.  Ability to work with deployment pipelines and build automation.  Interest and/or experience in natural language processing (NLP), including use of vector databases.  Desire to work in an interdisciplinary environment and make a valuable contribution to an important research project within Higher Education.

Application procedure:

The University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. If you have the right skills for the job, we want to hear from you. We encourage applications from the right candidates regardless of age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief or race. 

On this occasion the University will not consider applicants requiring sponsorship for this role. International workers will therefore only be able to take up this role if they can demonstrate an alternative right to work in the UK.

Prior to any employment commencing candidates will be required to evidence