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

Research and Innovation IT has become crucially important across the full spectrum of research activity at the University of Sheffield.  In addition to traditional compute-intensive HPC research, research groups require access to high performance data storage for data-intensive processing, visualization for data analysis, GPUs, access to cloud services and research infrastructure skills.  There is also a growing need for support for managing and analysing sensitive data in areas such as health, and for services to support AI/ML across all areas of the University.

Managing a small team, the role of the Research Platforms Engineering Lead is responsible for the development and implementation of the necessary technical solutions to meet these requirements, and to ensure the team provides a high quality operational service. This includes supporting high value-procurements, designing cloud and on-premise workflows and the operational running of our HPC systems.

Reporting to the Head of Product for Research and Innovation IT, you will also contribute to the strategic planning of University Research IT services and lead on associated implementation work.  This is a leadership role which includes provision of expert technical advice to other teams within the broader University.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Manage the Research Platform Engineering team, a small team of highly skilled technical specialists.
• Lead the technical design and continued development of scalable and cost-effective research IT platforms, which can meet the diverse needs and requirements of research groups at the University of Sheffield. This includes:
• Compute platforms capable of running a wide spectrum of research applications (both commercial and in-house), which can scale in capacity and capability
• Access to high performance storage for I/O intensive compute tasks
• Store research data safety and securely, directly accessible to HPC and research platforms and easily accessible to researchers
• Development of cloud services to provide scalable, secure or novel Research IT platforms
• Lead the technical implementation of Research and Innovation IT platform strategy, developing new platforms to support the diverse research IT requirements of the University
• Provide technical guidance to the Infrastructure teams, ensuring that we provide the appropriate infrastructure to support the Research IT strategy and roadmap
• Work with the Research Computing Support team technical support and advice for research groups with research computing requirements.  Assist research groups in migrating their activities from legacy clusters onto appropriate solutions, using local/regional/national or cloud solutions as appropriate.
• Management and configuration of scheduling software and implementation of policies to allocate resources between users, providing the capability for research groups to purchase dedicated access to resources
• Develop innovative solutions to provide easy access to the facility, which lower the barrier for uptake for users with little experience with high-performance computing. 
• Work with members of the Infrastructure team and provide the technical leadership to ensure that we provide the appropriate resources necessary to support the research activities at the University, and integrate our research platform provision with core infrastructure
• Ensure that research computing platforms are operated  and supported appropriately, including day-to-day tasks and longer-term strategic planning of resources and staff.
• Work with colleagues to inform the strategy and direction of the R&I product area.
• Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post

Person Specification

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

Further Information

Next steps in the recruitment process

It is anticipated that the selection process will take place in March/April 2026. This will consist of an interview with a technical test and a stakeholder panel discussion. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage and provide an interview date a week in advance. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact it-services-recruitment@sheffield.ac.uk

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.
• A range of generous family-friendly policies
  • paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies
  • support for those going through the menopause
  • 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 Employer. 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

A basic DBS check may be needed for this role. More details on the checks can be found on the Government website: gov.uk/criminal-record-checks-apply-role (opens in a new window).

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:- sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/candidates (opens in a new window).

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 (www.sheffield.ac.uk/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.