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Full job description
Contractual hours
36
Basis
Full time
Job category/type
Digital & Technology (IT)
Date posted
02/06/2026
Job reference
R00001318
Location: St Pancras
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time (36 hours)
Grade: A
Salary: £43,867 per annum
This is the starting salary for this role unless the successful candidate is able to evidence being in receipt of a higher salary in which case this may be reviewed
We are looking for a Digital Humanities Research Software Engineer (DH RSE) to become an integral part of the Digital Research Team at the British Library.
About the role
This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the development and implementation of our digital scholarship and public outreach activities. Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team, the successful candidate will help identify requirements, design and implement software to showcase our collections, help answer research questions, and support application of novel methods across team activities.
The DH RSE will create outputs, tools and interfaces for digitised collections, crowdsourcing and annotation tasks, for subject matter specialists, academic, and public users. See our Research Reports and blog for examples of the different types of past activities we have been involved in.
The post holder will have a good understanding of digital scholarship, preferably gained from working in a research library, academic or other appropriate environment. This may include work as a research software engineer, software developer, creative technologist, data or visualisation specialist, or digital humanities researcher. They will have excellent technology skills, including experience of the tools and technologies that support digital scholarship, increasingly including AI and machine learning. Excellent oral and written communication skills are also essential for this post.
As with other Research Software Engineer roles, the post holder will have the opportunity to develop their skills and play an active part in all aspects of research and outreach, including publications.
About us
We are the national library of the UK and we are here for everyone. Our shelves hold over 170 million items – a living collection that gets bigger every day. Although our roots extend back centuries, we aim to collect everything published in the UK today, tomorrow and far into the future. Our trusted experts care for this collection and open it up for everyone to spark new discoveries, ideas and to help people do incredible things.
What we can offer you
- 25 days’ holiday plus 2.5 privilege days.
- Access to a defined benefit Civil Service pension scheme.
- Flexible working arrangements, including flexi-time.
- Full details of employee benefits can be found on our Careers: Benefits
Things you need to know
- We are unable to provide sponsorship under the UK Skilled Worker visa for this role.
- Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check (DBS check).
- Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn.
- We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse candidates and disabled candidates. Creating an inclusive workplace is the core of our business and a way to engage the diversity of thought that is essential to achieve our aims.
Closing at 23:59 on Friday 19th July 2026
If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]