Job Description

About Us

Diamond Light Source is the UK's national synchrotron; a huge scientific facility designed to produce very intense beams of X-rays, infrared, and ultraviolet light. Our scientists use the light to study a vast range of subject matter, from new medicines and treatments for disease to innovative engineering and cutting-edge technology.


World class science requires world class computing infrastructure. Our Scientific Computing team provides computing network and storage systems that keep Diamond and its scientists at the forefront of scientific research

About the Role

We now have an excellent opportunity for a Senior Network Engineer within Diamond's Scientific Computing team to support and develop the scientific and controls networks used for cutting edge science. High bandwidth ethernet forms the basis of all the critical networks within Diamond alongside more specialist low latency fabrics. These enable rapid and high-volume data collection, and analysis from state-of-the-art detector systems with challenging connectivity demands.


The Scientific Computing group is responsible for the scientific and control infrastructure used for the collection, analysis, and storage of experimental data. The technical demands are varied and challenging with data streaming from detector systems at high rates and volumes, and users requiring very fast feedback of their results. There is also an increasing demand to move large volumes of data across Janet, a high bandwidth WAN which interconnects academic and research institutes across the UK.


This role will provide expertise and leadership for the development of the scientific and controls networks for Diamond II to provide the strongest foundation for next generation scientific research.


You will work alongside other specialists in computing and storage and contribute the development and maintenance of all of the Scientific Computing infrastructure as a whole.

About You

You will hold a degree level qualification in a computing or science subject or demonstrate equivalent experience.


You will need to demonstrate experience of:

Network administration of medium to large sized networks Experience of different network systems, e.g. Cisco, Extreme, Avaya, Nvidia Experience and knowledge of 1/10/25/40/100Gb ethernet Understanding the requirements of HPC Common network protocols such as PXE, DHCP, DNS, CIFS and NFS Knowledge of low latency network technology such as Infiniband would be useful Experience of configuration management systems such as Ansible or Puppet would be useful

Lack of experience in any of the above will not rule you out of consideration as long as you can demonstrate the ability to assimilate complex technology.


You will also demonstrate good interpersonal, communication and presentational skills in order to interact with staff and facility users at all levels.

Benefits

Diamond offers an exceptional benefits package to support staff in achieving a positive work/life balance. This includes 26 days annual leave plus Christmas closure, public holidays, 2 annual volunteering days and flexible working hours. We also offer an excellent defined benefit pension scheme. Staff also have access to a range of amenities on site including a nursery, cafes, a restaurant and sports and leisure facilities. A relocation allowance may also be available where applicable.

To Apply

Please use the online application process to apply and tell us why you believe you are suitable for this role.

The closing date for applications is 25th May 2025, however, we encourage early applications as some candidates may be interviewed before this date.