Software Engineer - Research & Development

• Contribute to the design, development and evaluation of the CollabXAI software architecture and TRL4 prototype.
  
• Develop and maintain the central CollabXAI codebase, including backend services/APIs, web-based user interfaces, database functionality, SME/agent registration, project management and model-update workflows.
  
• Develop and maintain a lightweight local software agent capable of operating within participating SME environments and communicating securely with the central platform.
  
• Implement secure communication and software components supporting privacy-preserving model-update exchange and secure aggregation.
  Support integration of AI/federated learning components developed by the AI Engineer into the end-to-end CollabXAI platform.
  
• Contribute to authentication, access control, logging, error handling, system monitoring and other security-related platform functionality.
  
• Undertake software engineering research and experimentation using C#, .NET/.NET Core, ASP.NET Core, REST APIs, Blazor, SQL, Azure and related technologies.
  
• Design and execute unit, integration and end-to-end tests using structured test cases, initially within the project testbed and subsequently during pilot deployment.
  
• Measure and document system behaviour, including communication latency, reliability, workflow completion, errors and relevant performance indicators.
  
• Support deployment and technical evaluation of the prototype within participating SME environments during the pilot stage.
  
• Plan and prioritise own work and resources within the research project framework in order to achieve agreed research objectives and development milestones.
  
• Write up technical results and prepare software architecture, API, deployment and testing documentation for the research team and relevant stakeholders.
  
• Contribute to project reports, research publications, demonstrations and dissemination materials.

• Work closely with the Project Lead, AI Engineer, Pau&Co and participating SME partners to translate research and user requirements into appropriate software functionality.
  
• Present development progress, demonstrations and technical findings to the research team and relevant project stakeholders.
  
• Contribute, where appropriate, to academic/professional publications, project demonstrations and dissemination activities.
  
• Participate in relevant internal and external project meetings and networks to share findings and good practice.

• Proactively and effectively engage with quality assurance procedures to ensure that University and project standards are upheld.
  
• Collaborate with academic colleagues and project partners on prototype development, evaluation and future technical directions.

• Actively participate as a member of the CollabXAI research team and collaborate closely with the AI Engineer to integrate software and AI components.
  
• Maintain clear technical documentation and use appropriate version-control and collaborative software-development practices.
  Contribute to project meetings, technical reviews, demonstrations and pilot activities as required.

This role is only open to current Manchester Met students who meet the criteria below.

Essential

• Currently studying at Manchester Metropolitan University in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or a closely related discipline, preferably at final-year undergraduate, Master’s or PhD level.
• Strong programming skills in C# and .NET/.NET Core.
• Experience of developing software using object-oriented programming and modern software engineering principles.
• Experience with REST APIs and relational databases/SQL.
• Ability to undertake research by preparing, setting up, conducting and recording the outcomes of software experiments and testing.
• Proficiency in relevant software development tools, including Git/version control and an appropriate IDE such as Visual Studio or VS Code.
• Sufficient breadth or depth of software engineering knowledge to work effectively within an established research team.
• Experience of presenting and communicating complex technical information clearly, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to prioritise work independently and as part of a team in order to meet agreed development milestones.
• Ability to write clean, maintainable and appropriately documented code.
• Strong understanding of software and application security principles.

Desirable

• Experience with ASP.NET Core and Blazor.
• Experience with Microsoft Azure or other cloud platforms.
• Knowledge of distributed systems, federated/collaborative learning or privacy-preserving computing.
• Knowledge of authentication, access control, secure APIs and secure software development.
• Experience with automated testing, CI/CD, containerisation or software deployment.
• Experience developing distributed/client-server applications.
• A strong interest in cybersecurity, trustworthy AI and secure distributed AI systems.