Lead Developer (Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities)

Description

MITH is seeking a Lead Developer to work on research-intensive projects in the digital humanities. The Lead Developer will work with other senior MITH staff to conceptualize, implement, and develop software for research work in a collaborative, team-driven environment. This role requires creative leadership and commitment to research and development leading to novel applications of technology in research projects in the humanities. The successful candidate will have experience developing software applications, establishing development milestones, providing technical management and oversight, and identifying emergent technologies and best practices.

Reporting to the Associate Director, the Lead Developer will collaborate with other members of the MITH design and development team to design, write, test, document, and deploy code. She/He will be responsible for conducting regular code reviews, coordinating iterative development schedules, and assuring quality control of all final software deliverables and deployments.
Prospective candidates should have proven experience in team-oriented software development within a research-intensive environment. They should be able to demonstrate expertise in at least one version control system and in a range of programming languages and platforms. The ability to estimate effort for software projects, prototype concepts and approaches, draft and communicate design concepts, as well as write and maintain documentation of systems and processes is required. Familiarity with the digital humanities is preferred but not required.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Software Development (60%)

• Responsible for full development cycle of planning, designing, testing, documenting and deployment.

Manage Development Processes (20%)

• Facilitate developer and designer meetings
• Create and track project milestones and schedules
• Review software code and ensure quality of all deliverables, including documentation

Systems Architecture (10%)

• Research appropriate software languages, frameworks, and platforms to realize project goals
• Design, prototype, and evaluate potential technical approaches
• Monitor systems administration and contracted development work

Engagement with Open Source Software Projects (10%)

• As appropriate, contribute to third-party open source projects and libraries used by MITH during paid time. Contributions may include code, documentation, outreach, group/event organization, and code review.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree
• Minimum of three years experience in software development

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• The successful candidate will work on and lead projects involving a variety of technologies/technology stacks. The ability to learn new technologies quickly and effectively is important. We would expect that the Lead Developer could demonstrate:
• Expertise with front-end web technologies (HTML5, JavaScript/CoffeeScript, CSS/SASS/LESS)
• Experience with a variety of high-level languages (e.g. Ruby, PHP, Python)
• Experience using web frameworks for these languages (Sinatra, Rails, Zend, Flask, Django)
• Experience with at least one JVM language (e.g. Java, Scala, Clojure, JRuby) and build system (Ant, Maven, SBT)
• Knowledge in designing and managing relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL)
• Knowledge of testing frameworks for a variety of languages (PHPUnit, RSpec, Cucumber, Jasmine, QUnit)
• Experience with plugin development for one or more content management systems (e.g. Drupal or WordPress)
• Experience with managing Linux operating systems
• Experience with a shell language (Bash, Zsh)
• Expertise in source code management tools like Git or Subversion
• Expertise in software engineering patterns including Model-View-Controller and Model-View-ViewModel architectures
• Experience with workflow and deployment tools like Grunt, Rake, and Capistrano
• Experience with XML technologies (validation schemes, XSLT, eXist, Cocoon, etc.)

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Applications from candidates who can also demonstrate the following are strongly encouraged:
• Five or more years experience in software development
• Experience in managing other developers
• Familiarity with pre-existing digital humanities software development community
• Able to work in a team-driven design and development process but with clear ability to motivate and manage oneself
• Experience designing and managing non-relational (Redis, MongoDB) data stores
• Experience with infrastructure management tools (Chef, Puppet, etc)
• Experience with RDF and Linked Open Data methods and tools
• Experience with authorization and authentication technologies (OAuth, OpenID)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Salary is commensurate with experience, ranging from $76,000 to $96,000.
• The University offers a comprehensive benefits package, including 22 Days Annual Leave; 15 Days Sick Leave; 3 Days Personal Leave; 15 Paid Holidays; Tuition Remission; Health, Dental, Vision and Prescription coverage.

TO APPLY
Applications should be submitted via ejobs.umd.edu (Position # 119907) and include: 1) a cover letter; 2) a resume or CV; 3) samples of code/projects (or URLs to accessible repositories); and 4) contact information for three professional references.
The position is open until filled.