Software Developer

Description

The University of Utah’s Marriott Library and the Boston Public Library (BPL) are looking for a skilled, creative, and motivated software developer to help us improve the way libraries store and share digitized historic newspapers. This 20-month full-time telecommuting position, which includes excellent benefits, is funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The goals of the project will be to develop a set of modular, open-source software plugins for ingesting, describing, discovering, displaying, and disseminating digitized newspaper content within the popular Hydra (https://projecthydra.org/) and Fedora Commons (http://fedorarepository.org/) digital asset management system framework. Due to the temporary nature of this position, the Marriott Library will not be able to sponsor work-authorization visas.

The project addresses an acute need among institutions providing digital access to cultural heritage materials. Newspaper content poses unique challenges for management and dissemination, especially in terms of article-level access. Our goal is to provide robust support for managing both physical (microfilm reels, pages, digital files) and intellectual (issues, articles) objects, as well as supporting descriptive metadata specific to newspaper content.

The successful candidate will join a distributed team of passionate and talented developers and technologists from The University of Utah and Boston Public Library. We will employ a development process informed by Agile development frameworks, emphasizing frequent communication, adaptive planning driven by user needs, iterative development, frequent delivery of releases, continuous refinement, and flexible adaptation to changing requirements. You will also work with committees and Interest Groups representing key stakeholders, who will provide guidance on project planning, vision, and sustainability, as well as feedback on the code. (See https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/hydra/Hydra+Newspapers+Interest+Group for more.)

Responsibilities

• Develop set of modular, open source software plugins to work within Hydra (Samvera).

• Collaborate with project partners in gathering requirements and communicating information about implemented features.

• Participate in design and development team meetings.

• Support process management workflows (ticketing system, wiki, etc)

• Make recommendations directly related to improving the development and operational support of newspaper functionality within Hydra (Samvera).

Minimum Qualifications

Requires a bachelor’s degree in a related area or equivalency and 3-5 years of experience in the field or in a related area. (2 years related work experience may be substituted for 1 year of education)

Department Specific Qualifications:

• Experience with full-stack development, including:

- Light Linux server administration (bash scripting)

- Web application frameworks (such as Ruby on Rails, Python/Django, Angular, etc.)

- Front-end interaction and design including JavaScript andCSS

• Familiarity with Test Driven Development (TDD) and Continuous Integration (CI) services.

• Fluency using the Git distributed version control system.

Applicants must demonstrate the potential ability to perform the essential functions of the job as outlined in the position description.

Preferences

• Knowledge and experience with the Ruby programming language.

• Experience working with Ruby on Rails. (Extra bonus points if you have ever used the Hydra framework.)

• Demonstrated experience with MySQL or PostgreSQL.

• Familiarity with search platforms such as Apache Solr or ElasticSearch.

• Knowledge of the concepts of Schema.org,RDF,OAI-PMH, Linked Data, and the Linked Data Platform.

• Experience working in a library, museum, or an academic, research, or scientific institution.

• Familiarity with library metadata standards such as Dublin Core,MARC,PCDM, orMODS.

• Experience working in an Agile development environment.

• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills, demonstrated ability to work in a collaborative team-based environment.

• Demonstrated experience working remotely with teams across the globe.

• Reading, writing, or speaking skills in a second language.

• Fluency in English and excellent communication skills.

Type Benefited Staff

Special Instructions Summary

Due to the temporary nature of this position, the Marriott Library will not be able to sponsor work-authorization visas.

For full consideration, please apply for July 17, 2017.

When prompted to do so, please upload a resume that includes links to projects you have contributed to, preferably with code on GitHub or Bitbucket.

When prompted to do so, please upload three (3) professional references.

Additional Information

The University of Utah is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and is committed to diversity in its workforce. In compliance with applicable federal and state laws, University of Utah policy of equal employment opportunity prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, veteran’s status, status as a qualified person with a disability, or genetic information. Individuals from historically underrepresented groups, such as minorities, women, qualified persons with disabilities, and protected veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Veterans’ preference is extended to qualified applicants, upon request and consistent with University policy and Utah state law.

To inquire about this posting, email: employment@utah.edu or call 801-581-2300. Reasonable accommodations in the application process will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities. To request an accommodation or for further information about University AA/EO policies, please contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 201 S. Presidents Cr., Rm 135, (801) 581-8365 (V/ TDD ), email: oeo@umail.utah.edu .

The University is a participating employer with Utah Retirement Systems (“URS”). To be eligible for retirement contributions, you must be hired into a benefit-eligible position. Certain new hires are automatically assigned to the URS retirement plan and other employees with prior URS service, may elect to enroll in the URS within 30 days of hire. Regardless of whether they are hired into a benefit-eligible position or not, individuals who previously retired and are receiving monthly retirement benefits from URS must notify the Benefits Department upon hire. Please contact Utah Retirement Systems at (801)366-7770 or (800)695-4877 or the University’s Benefits Department at (801)581-7447 for information.

This position may require the successful completion of a criminal background check and/or drug screen.