The Nuclear Energy Agency - Research Software Engineer

Company Description

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation comprised of 38 member countries, that works to build better policies for better lives. Our mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, we work on establishing evidence-based international standards, and finding solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges. From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, we provide a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting.

The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is an intergovernmental agency which operates under the framework of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It facilitates co-operation among countries with advanced nuclear technology infrastructures to seek excellence in nuclear safety, technology, science, related environmental and economic matters and law. The mission of the NEA is to assist its 34 member countries in maintaining and further developing, through international cooperation, the scientific, technological and legal bases required for a safe, environmentally sound and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. It strives to provide authoritative assessments and to forge common understandings on key issues as input to government decisions on nuclear technology policies.

The Data Bank operates as an international centre of reference for its member countries with respect to basic nuclear tools, such as computer codes and nuclear data, used for the analysis and prediction of phenomena in the nuclear field. It provides a direct service to its users by acquiring, developing, improving and validating these tools and making them available as requested.

We are looking for a highly skilled Research Software Engineer to help the NEA Data Bank develop and deploy services to member countries by working with scientists, engineers and informaticians to establish Software Development and Operations (DevOps) solutions and integrate these into the services of the Data Bank. As a Research Software Engineer, you will develop both exploratory research code and robust, maintainable production-quality software intended for long-term use, deployment, and support. S/he will work under the supervision of the Head of the Data Bank.

Job Description

Main Responsibilities

Research and Analysis

• Work with informatics specialists, scientists and engineers to create software and DevOps solutions with integrated pipelines including, and in some cases developing, cutting-edge physics, engineering and data analysis software.
• Maintain and monitor the existing Data Bank digital services, interfaces, and associated infrastructure, applying modern best practices in all areas of your work, including the re-implementation of functionality from legacy Java codebases to other programming languages while ensuring consistency of business logic and system behaviour.
• Create new frameworks for the collection, storage and management of data for nuclear energy applications, including nuclear physics data, nuclear energy experimental benchmarks, and other data, as required.
• Report on the work of assigned groups to the Agency’s supervising committees and expert groups as well as at international conferences and specialists' meetings. Provide expert input to and co-operate with other relevant NEA Standing Technical Committees and their ancillary bodies, as the need arises.

Communication and Liaison

• Develop good working relationships and close contacts across the Agency and Data Bank to understand software and analysis needs across the business and act as a contact point for scientific software solutions.
• Work closely with code, data and benchmark developers that contribute to or are clients of the Data Bank to collect user needs and advise on software and DevOps solutions.
• Liaise and co-ordinate with other national and international organisations as appropriate. Report on and present the work of the NEA in this area to external audiences.

Other

• Carry out other related duties as assigned by the Head of the Data Bank.

Qualifications

Ideal Candidate Profile

Academic and Professional Background

• An advanced university degree in mathematics, computer science, science, engineering or an equivalent qualification. An advanced degree may be an advantage but is not required.
• A minimum of five years of experience in the field of software development or other nuclear science/engineering disciplines with significant software development dimension.
• Proven track record of delivering and maintaining production software
• Strong communication skills, demonstrated capability to work across technical fields.
• Knowledge of nuclear engineering, physics, reactor simulation, nuclear data processing or modelling of nuclear systems would be an advantage.

Tools & Technical Skills

• Strong expertise with one or multiple software languages used in scientific computing (C++, Fortran, Python etc.).
• Experience with Linux-based Operating Systems
• Familiarity with Azure cloud environments and containerisation (Docker/Kubernetes).
• Experience with Java would be an advantage.
• Experience with version control systems and associated platforms (git, GitLab, GitHub).
• Knowledge of SQL and/or NoSQL datastores would be an advantage.
• Knowledge of Invenio Research Data Management would be an advantage.

Additional Information

Core Competencies

• OECD staff are expected to demonstrate behaviours aligned to six core competencies which will be assessed as part of this hiring process: Vision and Strategy (Level 1); Enable People (Level 1); Ethics and Integrity (Level 2); Collaboration and Horizontality (Level 2); Achieve Results (Level 2); Innovate and Embrace Change (Level 2).
• To learn more about the definitions for each competency for levels 1-3, please refer to OECD Core Competencies.

Languages

• Fluency in one of the two OECD official languages (English and French) and knowledge of the other, with a commitment to reach a good working level.

Closing Date

• This vacancy should be filled as soon as possible, and applications should reach us no later than 12 July 2026 at 11:59 PM (Paris time).

Contract Duration

36 month fixed-term appointment.

What the OECD offers

• Monthly salary starts at 7 782.39 EUR, plus allowances based on eligibility, exempt of French income tax.
• Click here to consult the Staff Regulations applicable to officials of the OECD. Please note that from 1 July 2025, all Official appointments will be made under the OECD’s new contractual modalities.
• Click here to learn more about what we offer and why the OECD is a great place to work.
• Click here to browse our People Management Guidebook and learn more about all aspects relating to people at the OECD, our workplace environment and many other policies supporting staff in their daily life.
• Please note that the appointment may be made at one grade lower in the specified job family, based on the qualifications and professional experience of the selected applicant.
• This vacancy may be used to create a pool of candidates for comparable positions, both for open-ended and fixed-term functions.

Selection Process

For retained candidates, the selection process may include a video-recorded interview, job-based assessment and panel interviews.

The OECD is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes the applications of all qualified candidates who are nationals of NEA or OECD member countries, irrespective of their racial or ethnic origin, opinions or beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, health or disabilities.

The OECD promotes an optimal use of resources in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. Staff members are encouraged to actively contribute to this goal.