Team Leader, Software Transformation

Classification: Senior Manager 1 (Specialist)
Salary package: $125,186 - $131,167 per annum plus 17% superannuation
Term: Full time, Continuing (Contingent Funding), (until the end of June 2027)

About us

ACCESS – The Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator – is a collaborative venture between Government agencies and the Australian research community to support development, maintenance and access to climate and weather models and data.

Hosted at ANU, ACCESS-NRI (ACCESS National Research Infrastructure) is established as a multi-party collaborative venture responding to the current and future needs of Australia’s scientific, Government and stakeholder community.

At the heart of ACCESS-NRI is a community of Research Software Engineers with a range of skills including high performance computing, climate and Earth system model development, model evaluation, advanced visualisation, model optimisation, and code and data management.

ACCESS-NRI provides a supportive and enriching workplace for its staff through its strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and wellbeing initiatives. Women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other people that will increase the diversity of the ACCESS community are strongly encouraged to apply.

The role

We are seeking a Team Leader, Software Transformation, to lead a team of 2 Research Software Engineers to oversee the software transformation and development of new techniques for the ACCESS software and data. This is an exciting opportunity to actively contribute to creating solutions to the environmental challenges we currently face.

The Team Leader, Software Transformation will work collaboratively with the climate and Earth system modelling community to lead the adoption of new modelling techniques to ACCESS software and data, including migration to exascale computing, and use of new methodologies, such as Artificial Intelligence and machine learning . This position will also contribute to the leadership and strategic planning of the ACCESS-NRI, and will involve mentoring of team members. We encourage candidates with a scientific and/or strong programming background.

You will be leading a small team and working closely with other team leads, so it is essential that you are able to work with others, contribute to varied projects as needed, and be able to balance ongoing maintenance and support with scoping and delivery of new projects and other longer-term deliverables. The role has a mixture of internal and external stakeholder engagement and you must be willing and able to communicate effectively with a non-technical audience. 

If this sounds like you, and you are excited to support innovative research and play an active role in making a difference in the world, then please get in touch to find out more about the position.

Skills and Requirements

Demonstrated experience in working as part of a software development team, attention to detail, flexibility, and ability to prioritise tasks to accomplish both short- and long-term goals. Ability to lead a team and mentor staff as needed matters more than any specific software experience, as does an interest and demonstrated aptitude for picking up new ideas and skills and running with them. 

Core skills needed:

• Experience with Linux/Unix scripting, scientific programming languages (e.g., Python, Fortran, Julia) and command-line tools
• Ability to manage and automate workflows within high performance computing or cloud computing environments
• Experience developing, managing, and automating software in a data science or scientific project setting with modern version control systems (e.g., Git)
• Experience with code optimisation, GPU coding, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning Demonstrable skills in problem solving, critical thinking, and written and verbal communication
• Self-learner, good listener, accountable and passionate about helping others, as well as the ability to lead a collaborative team
• Detail-oriented with an ability to handle multiple issues, tasks and competing priorities concurrently
• Ability to remain up to date on new trends and technologies
• Commitment to a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace environment
• Passionate about working in an organisation that values and promotes diversity, equity, inclusion and wellbeing

Desirable skills and experience that you may use: 

• Knowledge of climate or earth modelling platforms and codes
• Experience working with large observational or model simulated datasets
• Experience with Singularity, Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, and/or other cloud technologies

For further information, please contact Kelsey Druken, Associate Director of Release Management at E: [email protected]

Application information
In order to apply for this role please make sure that you upload the following documents:

• A statement addressing the selection criteria.
• A current curriculum vitae (CV) which includes the names and contact details of at least three referees (preferably including a current or previous supervisor). If your CV does not include referees, you can complete these online when prompted in the application form.
• Other documents, if required.

Applications which do not address the selection criteria will not be considered for the position.
Please note: The successful applicant must have rights to live and work in this country and will be required to undergo a background check during the recruitment process. An offer of employment is conditional on satisfactory results.