Technical Programme Manager – HPC/AI

Science and Technology Facilities Council

Salary: £49,708 to £57,231 per annum (dependant on experience and inclusive of role-based allowance)

About the Hartree Centre

At the Hartree Centre, we want to see UK businesses outperforming their global competitors. We want to grow the economy, create skilled jobs and train people to excel. Most of all, we want to keep the UK at the forefront of industrial innovation. We're making all this happen by enabling industry to fully embrace and integrate the latest digital, high performance computing (HPC), big data and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. 

We provide collaborative research, innovation and development services that accelerate the adoption of digital technologies, offering industry and academic partners a competitive advantage that helps produce better outcomes, products and services more quickly and cheaply than through conventional research and development. We also have a technically exciting computing environment, encompassing a wide range of hardware and software. 

The Centre has a number of key collaborations with industry including a major collaborative research agreement with IBM Research. We also work with universities, research organisations in the public and private sector, technology providers and a range of partners from large multinationals such as Unilever through to local Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to deliver economic impact and value across the UK.

This impact is delivered through:

• Collaborative research and development activities
• Software development and optimisations
• Training and skills development
• Platform as a Service (Paas).

Our staff are instrumental to our success and new starters will be members of a valued, multi-disciplinary team. Some reasons our staff enjoy working for us: 

• We’re based at Sci-Tech Daresbury - a lively and dynamic campus bringing together SMEs and leading industry-academic collaborations located in a picturesque semi-rural location with easy access to canal-side and woodland walking
• We are less than two miles from the M56 motorway with public transport links and access to Warrington and Runcorn national rail stations. Advice on all aspects of travel to site including car sharing is available at: https://www.sci-techdaresbury.com/the-campus/travel-hub/ 
• We value collaborative working across STFC and with our external collaborators such as IBM Research, The University of Liverpool’s Virtual Engineering Centre, Atos, NVIDIA, Unilever and many more
• Personal development is important to us. You will work with your line manager to develop your own Learning and Development plan each year 
• 30 days annual leave plus 10.5 public and privilege days
• Flexible working hours scheme
• Defined benefit pension scheme 
• There are a number of active sport and social groups across campus with access to an on-site gym for staff

For more information on the rest of our employee benefits, take a look at: http://www.stfccareers.co.uk/why-join/rewards-and-benefits/ 

About the role

At the Hartree Centre we continue to invest in world-class people and facilities to create world-leading capabilities, and we are currently seeking a Technical Programme Manager to work with our partners, project management team and technical experts to deliver successful programmes, with a particular emphasis on the delivery of work relating to high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI).

Our programmes are both commercial and grant funded. As a senior member of the Programme Management Office, the Technical Programme Manager will support the Associate Director, Operations in leading and managing high profile programmes on behalf of the Centre. The Technical Programme Manager will work alongside other programme managers, Project Managers, partners, customers and internal scientific teams to ensure high quality, on-time and within budget delivery of the projects allocated to them, and ensure the satisfaction of our customers, partners, and the Centre alike. 

You will demonstrate the capability and potential to build upon a strong foundation of programme delivery expertise, existing technological knowledge relating to HPC and AI, and their external reputation developed through robust stakeholder relationships. 

You will have a good technical understanding of the opportunities and challenges relating to the adoption of technologies such as AI, machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), and be able to work collectively with staff across STFC and our partners to translate these into meaningful programme deliverables and outcomes.

The responsibilities of this role are:

• Own the delivery of key technology programmes from scoping through to completion
• Provide technical expertise, guidance and input to our programmes with particular focus on providing knowledge and understanding relating to high performance computing and AI
• Lead and manage programme deliverables on behalf of the Hartree Centre, ensuring multiple projects are successfully delivered to multiple customers using the appropriate technical resources and computing capabilities available
• Liaise with collaborators and project partners to understand and agree technical project requirements, manage key deliverables, agree roles and responsibilities and ensure both internal and external stakeholder commitment is gained and maintained throughout the programme
• Maintain an overview of the programme at all times, managing budgets, timelines and resources, whilst working with our partners to ensure all agreed deliverables and outcomes are achieved to time, budget and quality
• Use the appropriate STFC and UKRI tools to produce relevant reports, manage programme and project plans and monitor and control project finances
• Lead and manage other internal teams through relevant wider STFC processes (for example the Bid Register), including the preparation of internal and external programme documentation 
• Work closely with PMO colleagues, technical leads and collaborators in the setup, operation and maintenance of individual projects under the programme workstreams, including validating technical requirements, leading project initiation activities, creating programme and project schedules, updating resource allocations, developing, curating and populating project reports and closely managing risk and issue logs to ensure successful delivery 
• Be a key point of contact and subject-matter expert (SME) for technical queries relating to AI and to assist internal and external programme team members in the correct application of project processes, standards and methods 
• Act as the key point of contact and Hartree representative for allocated technical programmes, fostering the relationship with clients and partners to ensure a high quality professional service is delivered at all times.

Contacts and Communication

The critical feature of this role is to provide technical guidance relating to HPC and AI to the delivery of our programmes and to manage the communications between all stakeholders (customers, partners and STFC staff) to ensure the best possible customer experience. 

You will pro-actively manage highly complex and technical programmes and will need to balance competing customer requirements with the availability of staff and supercomputing resources to enable successfully delivery in a timely and effective manner. As such, you will need to be able to assimilate technical information and convert this into activities and outcomes and to identify and respond quickly to changing priorities and issues that arise. You will need to be able to lead and manage external partners, allocated project staff and key stakeholders to keep to the agreed programme timetable and deliverables, and to swiftly identify the most appropriate resolution when issues do arise. 

You will engage with internal STFC employees, IBM Research and other supplier staff providing support to the Hartree Centre. You will build and manage relationships with all relevant customers of the Centre and specifically engage with the customers’ representatives throughout the programme lifecycle.

This is an exciting opportunity to work in an intellectually stimulating, fast-paced, high profile environment that is focused on the vital role that key technologies such as AI play in driving the UK economy and society forward. 

Your programme management expertise combined with technical understanding of HPC and AI will translate ideas into action. Your communication and coordination skills will bring the best out of matrix, cross-sector teams, and your ability to deliver tangible, successful outcomes will ensure that the Centre delivers on its commitments.

Person Specification

The following criteria will be assessed at Shortlisting (S), at Interview (I) or both (S&I)

Essential: 

• Substantial experience of leading successful technical programmes and projects ensuring repeatable programme delivery to agreed specifications, cost, time and quality standards (S)
• Able to articulate, understand and lead technical conversations relating to HPC/AI, working collaboratively with a variety of stakeholders to translate and articulate complex technical concepts with clarity, enthusiasm, and impact (S&I)
• Demonstrates a proactive attitude to problem solving, managing risks and resolving issues that arise, showing high levels of personal drive, determination and resilience (I)
• Demonstrates ability in influencing and motivating colleagues and collaborators from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines towards achievement of agreed technical and programme deliverables. (I)

Desirable: 

• Holds relevant honours degree and/or is professionally qualified, preferably to masters level in either a technology related or programme management discipline (S)
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to set strong direction and convey a persuasive vision to both internal and external stakeholders (S)
• Understanding of the complexities of running programmes within multi-level matrix organisations, demonstrating an ability to influence and motivate colleagues and collaborators from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines (I)
• Good commercial awareness with proven experience of managing customer expectations to ensure successful outcomes. (I)

Any Other Relevant Information

• Whilst not extensive, successful candidates must be able to travel within the UK and abroad where required
• The centre uses a range of project management and administrative tools, therefore a good understanding of project management tools and office applications will be of benefit
• An awareness of working within science and engineering environments and an understanding of their potential use of HPC/AI would also be beneficial but not essential.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council is a world-leading multi-disciplinary science organisation where curiosity-driven, blue-skies thinking meets practical, application-led science and engineering. Our goal is to deliver economic, societal, scientific and international benefits to the UK and its people – and more broadly to the world.

One of Europe’s largest research organisations, we’re trusted to support, enable and undertake cutting-edge projects in an amazing diversity of fields. Through world-class facilities and people, we’re driving ground-breaking advances in science, engineering, computing and technology. Our research seeks to understand the Universe from the largest astronomical scales to the tiniest constituents of matter, yet creates impact on a very tangible, human scale.

For more information about STFC please visit https://stfc.ukri.org/

How to Apply

Online applications only for this role. Please click the apply button to submit your CV and a covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation to join STFC and the role you’re applying for. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit your application without a covering letter may result in your application not being considered.

About UKRI

UK Research and Innovation brings together the nine organisations to create an independent organisation with a strong voice for research and innovation, and a vision to ensure the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. More information can be found at www.ukri.org.