Software Developer

Location: Silwood Park Campus

Job Summary:

We are seeking a highly motivated Software Developer to join us.

We are creating a Virtual Ecosystem (https://virtual-ecosystem.readthedocs.io/en/latest/). A holistic ecosystem model replicating all physical and biotic components of the ecosystem and their interactions, with a view to understanding system-level emergent properties. The Virtual Ecosystem will link all of the biotic and abiotic system components through nutrient cycling, stoichiometric and metabolic processes. It will track the birth, growth and death of cohorts of plant, animal and soil microbial functional groups, and the movement of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, water and energy through the ecosystem. At its heart, the Virtual Ecosystem will be an individual-based simulation of plants, animals, microbes and their interactions with the abiotic environment, and which rests upon the key individual-based processes of metabolism, respiration, reproduction and mortality. The Virtual Ecosystem will be used to gain insight into the processes that govern three key, emergent properties of rainforests: their stability, resilience and sustainability. 

Duties and responsibilities:

• Your primary role will be to develop code for the Virtual Ecosystem. This will involve working with the project team to identify priority areas for code development, liaising with the project team and using initiative to identify solutions to coding challenges, and implementing best practice for code development, review and documentation.

• You may be asked to contribute to one or more of a wide variety of components of the Virtual Ecosystem. These include the four science modules: plant, animal, soil microbial or abiotic processes; a core module that configures, populates with data, and logs the science modules; or a management module that replicates human impacts.

• All team members will be expected to help develop the skills and competencies of their peers through the sharing of tasks and knowledge.

Essential requirements:

We require team members who provide complementary technical skills and disciplinary knowledge, so applicants from any ecological background and with any relevant skillset are encouraged to apply. No individual team member is expected to have all of the knowledge and skills outlined, and we specifically encourage applicants to clearly identify the subset of skills that they could bring to the team.

This position is suitable for people who are planning for a career in computational ecology. Candidates interested in understanding the ecological processes that govern ecosystems, or have an interest in optimising the management of natural ecosystems, are particularly encouraged to apply. Programming experience in Python is necessary for all applicants. Experience with either process-based or numeric simulation modelling is desirable.

Further Information:

This is a full time, fixed term position for one year. You will be based at Silwood Park Campus. We encourage applications from candidates that would like full-time or part-time positions on this project, and will explore job-sharing arrangements should that be appropriate.

Applicants will need to complete an online application, including a CV and cover letter. Cover letters should make clear which module(s) of the virtual rainforest you would be most comfortable contributing to, and what subset of the skills required for the whole team that you would bring.

Should you require any further details on the role please contact: Prof. Rob Ewers – r.ewers@imperial.ac.uk. Informal enquiries are welcomed.

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