Group Leader Research Software Engineering

About our team | Mō te tīma

The University of Otago, New Zealand’s oldest university, is seeking a Group Leader Research Software Engineering to join the eResearch Support team in the Digital Division.

You will provide leadership to a team of specialist Research Software Engineers and scientific programmers who deliver advanced, high impact software solutions that underpin the University’s research mission. Working within a collaborative, values driven environment, you will help shape and grow Otago’s research software capability, supporting world class research across a wide range of disciplines.

The team plays a critical role in ensuring that research software and solutions are robust, secure, sustainable, and aligned with modern best practice and institutional strategy.

The role | Te mahi

As Group Leader Research Software Engineering, you will provide both strategic and hands on technical leadership to a multidisciplinary team delivering complex research focused software solutions. The role spans software engineering, scientific computing, data science, and numerical modelling, and requires close engagement with academic researchers, research infrastructure providers, and Digital Division colleagues.

You will lead the design, development, and optimisation of research software systems, while also setting direction, standards, and ways of working that promote high quality, sustainable, and reproducible research software. Leadership and expertise in research data management (RDM) to ensure that research software and computational workflows support high quality, sustainable, and compliant research data practices across the University is a significant focus.

You will be key to translating research challenges into effective computational solutions and ensuring the team adopts modern tools, methods, and secure development practices.

This position combines people leadership, technical authority, and stakeholder engagement, and plays a central role in the University’s digital research ecosystem.

Key tasks of the role include:

• Providing strategic, technical, and people leadership to a team of Research Software Engineers and scientific programmers, including performance management, capability development, and workforce planning.
• Leading and overseeing the design, development, and delivery of complex research software applications, models, and computational workflows.
• Working closely with academic researchers to translate research requirements into robust, scalable, and sustainable software solutions.
• Establishing and promoting best practice in software design, development methodologies, version control, testing, documentation, and security.
• Acting as a senior technical authority and providing specialist advice across research software engineering, scientific modelling, numerical analysis, and data science.
• Guiding the adoption of modern tools, frameworks, and platforms, including high performance and large scale computing environments.
• Managing technical risk, resolving complex problems, and driving continuous improvement in software quality and delivery.
• Providing leadership and specialist advice on research data management practices, ensuring that research software, workflows, and computational platforms support secure, sustainable, and compliant handling of research data across the research lifecycle
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with internal stakeholders, research partners, and external collaborators, including national eResearch and HPC providers.

Your skills and experience | Kā pūkeka me kā wheako

You will be a credible technical leader with a strong background in research focused software development and a passion for enabling high quality research through software. You will be comfortable operating at both a strategic and hands on level, able to guide complex technical work while supporting and developing others.

You will bring a collaborative, consultative approach and be able to communicate effectively with researchers, technical specialists, and senior stakeholders.

Successful candidates will also have:

• A postgraduate qualification (Master’s or PhD) in a relevant discipline with a significant computational component, or equivalent experience.
• Significant experience in software development within research, academic, or scientific computing environments.
• Proven leadership experience managing and developing technical teams.
• Strong expertise in modern programming languages commonly used in research software (e.g. Python, R, C/C++, Fortran, Julia).
• Experience applying scientific computing, numerical methods, data science, or computational modelling techniques to real world research problems.
• A strong understanding of software engineering principles, development methodologies, and version control systems.
• Experience working with high performance or large scale computing environments and research infrastructure.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills and the ability to provide authoritative specialist advice.

Experience with reproducible research practices, FAIR and CARE data principles, open source software, and secure research software environments will be highly regarded.

Further details | Pūroko

This is a permanent, full-time (37.5 hours week) position, based in Ōtepoti, Dunedin.

The salary range for this position is $116,406 to $126,703. Top of range $134,425.

The University of Otago is a workplace that values and utilises diverse and inclusive thinking, people and behaviours. This means that the contributions of staff with diverse backgrounds, experiences, skills and perspectives are valued and respected.

For further information, or to discuss the role in confidence – please contact Darren Hart via the contact details below.

Application | Tono

To submit your application (including CV and cover letter) please click the apply button.

Applications quoting reference number 2600641 will close on Sunday, 10 May 2026.

Additional Information

Contact: Darren Hart Tel: 64 3 479 8421

Position details: Job Description

Further Information: Department Website

Location: About Dunedin