Visiting Research Programmer

Description

This position is a full­time visiting academic professional appointment in
The School of Information Sciences (iSchool) at the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign. The iSchool is an international leader in graduate
education, home to world-class faculty, top-tier research, and highly
ranked academic programs. This position is for a Visiting Research
Programmer, who will support research project needs, as a part of a larger
team of technical staff. To date, one year of funding has been secured for
this position, however it may be extended or become permanent dependent
upon future funding.

*Duties and Responsibilities:*
As part of a team of researchers, the person in this position will help
author and implement prototype and experimental software (including
Web-based services and applications) for projects investigating web
discovery, linked open data interactions, digital content access, digital
library support for pedagogy, and other information science­related
research questions. Many of these research initiatives involve
multi-institutional collaboration, are nationally prominent and are funded
by agencies such as IMLS, Mellon, and NEH. Under direction, the individual
hired will write and execute scripts for manipulating, importing and
processing textual data, metadata and library catalog records; fix bugs and
implement new requests for functionality as they occur; and participate in
the development, testing, and evaluation of software applications and
databases supporting ongoing digital library research.

*Detailed job duties include but are not limited to the following:*
Work with researchers and other project stakeholders and more senior
programming staff to gather and analyze requirements for software and
design approaches with potential to advance research project goals
Implement code, translate algorithms to code, and debug for test deployment
in appropriate languages such as JavaScript, Python
Integrate data queries developed by the team (e.g., in SQL and SparQL) into
scripts that call to services written by others
Fix bugs or develop features to meet enhancement requests for the projects
as they occur
Apply (in a research context) emerging best practices and various software
development methodologies, including version control, automated testing and
code refactoring, and leveraging appropriate programming frameworks and
technical architectures to the requirements and proposed solutions

*Position Requirements and Qualifications:*
This position requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree with a preferred
degree in computer science or a related field. The successful candidate
must have experience developing and deploying applications using a
contemporary programming or scripting language with a preferred experience
with and knowledge of academic library software tools, client/server and
internet architectures, and information retrieval systems for searching and
browsing; Experience in developing and coding interactive, data-driven Web
applications in JavaScript, Python, Ruby on Rails, PHP, and/or Java;
Experience working in a UNIX/Linux command-line environment/ Linux Web
and/or Windows Web development experience, both on the server and client;
Experience working in an academic library setting; Experience working with
library metadata and library interoperability standards. Knowledge
requirements are the solid understanding of core Web technologies;
Demonstrated ability to accurately convert client requirements and
specifications into working code; Ability to organize tasks assigned and
work semi-autonomously; Excellent oral and written communication skills.
Preferred experience is understanding of relational databases;
Understanding of HTML, CSS, Python and/or JavaScript; Understanding of XML;
Familiarity with RDF and linked open data best practices Motivated and
creative problem solver, self-starter; proactive, resourceful, naturally
inquisitive, desire to continuously improve, interested in information
science research.

Information about the iSchool and its programs can be found at
http://ischool.illinois.edu/. This is a full-time, 12-month academic
professional position with regular University benefits. Salary is
commensurate with experience. The starting date is as soon as possible
after the closing date. This position may become regular at a later date.

To ensure full consideration, please complete your candidate profile at
https://jobs.illinois.edu/ and upload your letter of application, resume,
and a list of three professional references, including contact information
by December 19, 2016. All requested information must be submitted for your
application to be considered. Interviews may be conducted before the
closing date, although no hiring decisions will be made until after the
search has closed. For further information regarding application
procedures, you may contact Candy Edwards at cledward@illinois.edu.

The University of Illinois conducts criminal background checks on all job
candidates upon accepting a contingent offer.