Research Data and Infrastructure Engineer

The University of Sunderland offers life‑changing opportunities for more than 27,500 students across our campuses in Sunderland, London and Hong Kong, as well as through global partnerships in 19 countries.

We’re an inclusive, ambitious and forward‑looking University in a vibrant city that’s constantly evolving. We’re also entering an exciting new phase with a refreshed vision and strategic ambitions shaped around the changing higher education landscape.

As we move through 2026, we’re celebrating being recognised as:

• A top 30 UK university (Guardian University Guide 2026)
• 1st in the North -East for student support services (Daily Mail University Guide 2026)
• 1st in the North -East for teaching quality (The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026)

Help build the future of AI-enabled healthcare.

The Northern Ophthalmic Research and Innovation (NORI) Institute is an ambitious partnership between the Universities of Sunderland, Durham, and Newcastle, South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, and a network of national and international partners. Our mission is to transform how health and disease are detected, understood, and managed through the integration of advanced analytics, multimodal health data, retinal imaging, artificial intelligence, and real‑world clinical innovation.

We are seeking an exceptional Research Data and Infrastructure Engineer to play a leading role in designing and delivering the secure research data infrastructure that underpins this vision. This is a rare opportunity to help shape a nationally significant research platform from the ground up, developing cloud‑native environments, scalable analytics pipelines, and secure data services that support cutting‑edge research and the deployment of data‑driven technologies into healthcare.

Working across university, NHS, civic, and industry partners, you will lead the development of secure cloud infrastructure, integrate complex healthcare and research datasets across multiple systems and Secure Data Environments, and enable researchers, clinicians, and innovators to work safely with large‑scale multimodal data. Your work will directly support the development of new diagnostic approaches, AI‑enabled technologies, and translational research programmes designed to improve patient outcomes and reduce health inequalities.

We are looking for a highly motivated engineer with expertise in cloud platforms, data engineering, infrastructure automation, and secure analytics environments. Whether your experience comes from healthcare, research, technology, or other data‑intensive sectors, you will be excited by the opportunity to solve complex technical challenges, work with multidisciplinary teams, and contribute to infrastructure that delivers real‑world impact at scale.

NORI's vision is supported by INSIGHT - the Eye and Oculomics Health Data Research Hub at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust ( INSIGHT is the world’s largest ophthalmic bio-resource, with over 30 million eye images linked to clinical data. The Hub's core mission is to reduce the burden of blindness by providing safe and trusted research access to large scale ophthalmic data. INSIGHT provides leadership across data research governance (including patient/public engagement) data curation, cloud‑based research infrastructure and artificial medical intelligence.

In 2025, INSIGHT at Moorfields was awarded major grant funding by the MRC to enhance and expand INSIGHT to other NHS Trusts and health datasets with the aim of transforming UK eye health research by connecting national data resources to accelerate discovery and contribute to improved clinical outcomes for the benefit of patients and wider society. The Research Data and Infrastructure Engineer role is co‑funded by this MRC grant award, and the role will support NORI leadership to integrate and onboard Sunderland Specialist Eye Hospital as a data collection centre with INSIGHT.

Is this you?

1. Technical Leadership in Secure Research Data Platforms

Extensive experience leading the design, implementation and operational management of secure, cloud‑based research data platforms and engineering solutions within complex production or research environments. The successful candidate will demonstrate a strong track record of architecting scalable data infrastructure, implementing modern software engineering and Infrastructure‑as‑Code practices, and delivering reliable, resilient and maintainable data platforms. They should be capable of providing technical leadership across the full engineering lifecycle, from architecture and implementation through to operational optimisation and continuous improvement.

What we’re looking for:

• Leadership of cloud‑native research or enterprise data platforms.
• Strong data engineering and software engineering capability.
• Evidence of technical ownership rather than simply contributing to projects.

2. Secure Health Data Engineering, Governance and Interoperability

Significant experience engineering and managing sensitive healthcare or research data within highly regulated environments, ensuring robust governance, interoperability, security and compliance. Candidates must demonstrate experience of working within secure research or NHS environments, balancing innovation with the requirements of information governance, privacy, cyber security and regulatory compliance. They should understand federated data architectures, secure data environments and the practical implementation of reproducible, auditable and trusted research infrastructure.

What we’re looking for:

• Experience with NHS, healthcare or similarly regulated data environments.
• Knowledge of Secure Data Environments, UK GDPR and information governance.
• Ability to integrate data securely across multiple systems and organisations.
• Demonstrable understanding of governance‑by‑design.

3. Translational Research Infrastructure and Partnership Working

Proven ability to translate complex research and clinical requirements into operational technical solutions while working effectively across multidisciplinary partnerships. This role extends beyond engineering. The successful candidate will be able to engage confidently with researchers, clinicians, digital teams and external partners, translating research objectives into scalable technical solutions that enable AI, advanced analytics and real‑world clinical innovation. They will demonstrate excellent communication skills, sound technical judgement and the ability to influence infrastructure strategy across organisational boundaries.

What we’re looking for:

• Experience working across academia, healthcare and technical teams.
• Ability to bridge research, engineering and operational delivery.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Evidence of delivering infrastructure that supports translational research and AI‑enabled innovation.

At the University of Sunderland, we’re more than a place of learning, we’re a welcoming community that values inclusivity, collaboration, and well‑being. We don’t just offer jobs, we offer careers that come with support, flexibility, and plenty of perks:

• Up to 49 days’ holiday - that’s 36 days’ annual leave, 5 festive closure days and 8 Bank Holidays!
• Award‑winning staff networks that celebrate who you are.
• Lifestyle benefits , with savings on shopping, tech, bikes, and even cars.
• Health and well‑being support , from private medical cover to gym discounts.
• Learning and development that helps you achieve your goals.

Our application questions assess you directly against the essential and desirable criteria for the role. We do not review CVs at this stage, so please provide detailed, evidence‑based answers to help us understand your suitability.

If you have questions about the role, please contact: Professor Matthew Campbell -

Head and Co‑Director of NORI, and Interim PVC for the Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing.

We may close this vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date if we receive a high volume of applications. If this sounds like the opportunity for you, don't wait – get your application in early!

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