Preservation Applications Programmer

Description

The Systems group in the Cornell University Library is looking for a Preservation Applications Programmer to support key new initiatives in digital preservation and archiving.

At Cornell, Library IT has a broad portfolio of projects, from supporting mission-critical library applications, to supporting outreach projects like teeal.org, to supporting research and scholarship through projects like arXiv.org. As part of the OLE partnership, we are collaboratively developing FOLIO, a next-generation open source Library Services Platform. The Systems group develops, maintains, and supports the technical underpinnings for all that, and works with developers, librarians, and support staff to keep it all humming.

One of the key challenges for modern research libraries is the management and preservation of digital content. This includes materials that are “born digital” as well as materials that have been digitized to protect the content as the physical items degrade over time. We need someone to help us implement the tools that will help us do that.

Are you the person to get us there? If so, you are an experienced programmer, comfortable with python and/or ruby. You’re comfortable pulling an open-source project out of Github, installing it in a linux command-line environment, and getting it up and running (even when the developer’s documentation is incomplete).  You can talk with the non-technical folks who would use the system, understand their workflows, and map that to the application. When needed, you can dig in and modify and/or enhance the application to meet our needs, and coax these applications to share essential data and metadata with each other.

We are looking for someone who has:

• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent
• 3-5 years’ experience in developing or managing server-based software applications
• Experience in python and/or ruby
• Comfort working with linux-based servers in a command-line environment
• Working understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Familiarity with micro services and APIs
• Excellent analytical and troubleshooting skills, with the ability to be creative and flexible in your approach to finding solutions
• Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing with both IT and non-technical staff

We would love to also get any of these:

• Working familiarity with multiple programming languages
• Linux systems administration and/or configuration management experience
• Aptitude and eagerness to understand the principles of digital preservation and archival descriptive practices
• Desire to integrate efforts into a team-based environment to develop digital preservation workflow and policy
• Experience deploying applications in the cloud

This is an operational role, focused more on implementation and integration than on raw development. You may have to occasionally work off-hours for system maintenance on on-call support. You won’t (often) spend days at a time heads-down coding, but you will interact with your users directly and you’ll be able to see how your work directly impacts the preservation and dissemination of knowledge in a dynamic library environment.

If this sounds like your sort of job, submit a cover letter that highlights why along with your resume.

This is a benefits-eligible, two-year term appointment.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Relocation assistance is not available for this position.