Senior Software Engineer (Interoperability)

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

Overview

Are you a skilled software engineer who loves solving complex integration challenges and building seamless system architectures? We have an exciting opportunity for you to join us as a Senior Software Engineer and lead the development of our core interoperability infrastructure.

You will join the AMRC at the University of Sheffield, as part of a growing interoperability team currently funded by a UKRI Future Leadership Fellow. We are tackling critical system interoperability barriers preventing organisations from leveraging leading-edge technology, such as digital twins and AI, by unifying the current siloed infrastructures. While the wider project focuses on accelerating industrial interoperability approaches, this role is dedicated entirely to the core software infrastructure that underpins it.

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will lead the development of robust, cross-cutting software architectures that allow disparate systems, datasets, and platforms to communicate seamlessly. With 2-3 years of software engineering experience, you will collaborate with industry partners, and end-user stakeholders to build the integration layers, APIs, and data pipelines necessary to deliver structured, reusable data outputs.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Design, develop, and implement software pipelines, APIs and middleware to ensure seamless communication between disparate systems, databases, and research tools.

• Build and manage data pipelines and orchestration layers (e.g. containerisation and microservices) that govern how information moves between systems, ensuring reliability and data integrity.

• Architect pragmatic solutions to connect and extract data from legacy manufacturing systems, enabling their transformation into a modern digital ecosystem.

• Evaluate existing infrastructure and recommend architectural improvements, protocols, and communication standards (e.g., REST, MQTT, GraphQL, SPARQL).

• Write clean, maintainable, and scalable software solutions to support integration projects, transitioning proof-of-concept scripts into robust backend services, including management of open-source repositories.

• Champion modern software engineering practices within the team, including version control, automated testing, and CI/CD pipelines.

• Produce detailed and accurate technical documentation, including system architecture diagrams, API specifications, and data flow maps.

• Work closely with project engineers, researchers, and shop floor staff to understand their workflows and translate their connectivity needs into technical requirements.

• Lead technical project meetings and maintain strong communication channels with collaborators and partners.

• Make ethical and sustainable technical decisions, embedding the organisation's sustainability strategy into your working activities wherever possible.

• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post

Person Specification

• Criterion: Bachelor's or master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related area, coupled with 2-3 years of practical software engineering experience.
  Essential or desirable: Essential
  Stage(s) assessed at: Interview / Application

• Criterion: Proficiency in one or more languages used in data integration and backend development (e.g., Python, Java, or equivalent), with a portfolio of relevant work developed collaboratively with source control (e.g. Git).
  Essential or desirable: Essential
  Stage(s) assessed at: Interview / Application

• Criterion: Proven track record in designing and implementing interoperable software systems, APIs (e.g., REST, GraphQL, OpenAPI), message brokers, and robust data integration pipelines utilising standard data exchange formats (e.g. JSON, XML).
  Essential or desirable: Essential
  Stage(s) assessed at: Interview / Application

• Criterion: Advanced familiarity with reproducible software development, including rigorous testing (unit/integration), comprehensive documentation, CI/CD, and version control.
  Essential or desirable: Essential
  Stage(s) assessed at: Interview / Application

• Criterion: Solid practical skills in software architecture, system design, and database management.
  Essential or desirable: Essential
  Stage(s) assessed at: Interview / Application

• Criterion: Experience with containerisation and orchestration (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) for deploying and managing interoperable microservices, including proficiency in terminal scripting environments (e.g. Linux, Bash) and maintaining software in live production environments.
  Essential or desirable: Essential
  Stage(s) assessed at: Interview / Application

• Criterion: Understanding of security best practices for API and data pipeline design, including authentication, authorisation, and input validation.
  Essential or desirable: Essential
  Stage(s) assessed at: Interview / Application

• Criterion: Ability to work in an interdisciplinary environment and collaborate with researchers to translate their requirements into scalable, interoperable software solutions.
  Essential or desirable: Essential
  Stage(s) assessed at: Interview / Application

• Criterion: Effective communication skills, both written and verbal, including the ability to write high-quality technical/API documentation and system architecture reports.
  Essential or desirable: Essential
  Stage(s) assessed at: Interview / Application

• Criterion: Ability to work effectively as part of an agile team (e.g. scrum, kanban) with a demonstrated capacity to operate independently, alongside excellent time, project management, and collaborative skills.
  Essential or desirable: Essential
  Stage(s) assessed at: Interview / Application

• Criterion: Experience working within manufacturing, engineering, or IoT sectors, or familiarity with industrial communication protocols (MQTT, OPC-UA).
  Essential or desirable: Desirable
  Stage(s) assessed at: Interview / Application

• Criterion: Familiarity with semantic web technologies (RDF, SPARQL), linked data principles, or large language model (LLM) APIs and agentic frameworks for automated data integration.
  Essential or desirable: Desirable
  Stage(s) assessed at: Interview / Application

Further Information

• Grade: 7

• Salary: £38,784 - £47,289 per annum.

• Work arrangement: Full-time

• Duration: Fixed Term until 31st October 2029

• Line manager: Senior Technical Fellow in Interoperability

• Direct reports: None - with opportunity for supporting placements and graduate staff.

• Right to work in the UK: If you do not currently hold the right to work in the UK, you can find more information here to help determine your visa eligibility. Additional guidance is also available on the UK Visa & Immigration website.

• For informal enquiries about this job contact Jonathan Eyre, Senior Technical Fellow in Interoperability on

We are committed to exploring flexible working opportunities which benefit the individual and University.

Next steps in the recruitment process

The selection process will consist of an in-person interview at Factory 2050, Sheffield consisting of: a short presentation from applicants, a series of questions from a panel, followed by a tour around the facility. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage within two weeks of the closing date. Contact Jonathan Eyre if you require any reasonable adjustments.

Our vision and strategic plan

We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: sheffield.ac.uk/vision (opens in new window).

What we offer

• A minimum of 41 days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.

• Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.

• Generous pension scheme.

• A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.

• A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women's and Parent's networks).

• Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.

• A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes; integrated with our Academic Career Pathways / Professional Services Shared Skills Framework.

• A range of generous family-friendly policies

• paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies

• access to menopause support in the workplace

• paid time off and support for fertility treatment

• and more

More details can be found on our benefits page: sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/benefits (opens in a new window).

We are a Disability Confident Leader (opens in a new window). If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.

Criminal record

Possession of a criminal record is not an automatic bar to employment at the University of Sheffield. We recognise the value of steady employment in the rehabilitation process and examine each case in its own right. More information can be found on our Information for candidates page.

Baseline personnel security standard

This role requires the postholder to undertake a Government baseline personnel security standard (BPSS) check as a condition of employment.

We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision ( ) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.

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