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Vacancy: Front-End and Services Developer, UK Data Archive

The UK Data Service, based at the University of Essex, has received multi-million pound funding to design, implement and deliver a Smart Meter Research Portal for enabling next generation research into household energy consumption. This project will have a national profile and will be delivered on a big data platform using innovative and leading edge technologies like ElasticSearch and React and will enable researchers to uncover deep insights into both energy and social sciences data.

You will join a small, friendly team who believe in being unafraid to challenge received wisdom. If you would like to work on next-generation technology in an environment that encourages innovation and independent thinking, please apply.

Duties of the Role

We are looking for a bright and enthusiastic front-end developer who has a passion for delivering modern, responsive web interfaces.

The Front-End and Services Developer builds and optimises the front-end infrastructure based on UX/UI designs set by the repository architect in response to researcher requirements. The post holder will also work closely with other developers in the team to acquire the necessary skills to manipulate data from ElasticSearch and Hadoop clusters at the back-end in a microservices environment, taking an active role in how the application functions as well as in how it looks.

This post holder will be responsible for:

  • Ensuring the technical feasibility of UI/UX designs for the Smart Meter Research Portal (SMRP)
  • Building reusable code and libraries for future use
  • Rapid prototyping of new features and amending them in response to user feedback
  • Developing and suggesting new user-facing features
  • Optimizing web applications for maximum speed and scalability

Qualifications and Skills required

Applicants must hold an undergraduate degree or equivalent, in a computer-related or data-related discipline.

Although you must have worked with JavaScript, aptitude is more important than experience as we also expect you to train in leading-edge microservices and big data technologies, so that you can mature into a full-stack developer.

In addition, experience of coding against databases, either relational or ORM, and of handling XML and/or JSON data structures are both essential.

Good interpersonal written and verbal communication skills, exceptional attention to details, and the ability to manage a diverse workload and competing priorities are all attributes that we are seeking from the successful candidate.

We particularly welcome applications from those from an ethnic minority as they are under-represented in the UK Data Archive.

The post involves access to Government systems, information or data and will be subject to a staff vetting process including a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Closing: 28 September 2018

Location: Colchester

Salary: £30,395 – £33,199 per annum

Employment type: Fixed-term, full-time (until 31/05/2022 due to funding)

Further detail: Front-End and Services Developer job pack

Applications