Senior Software Developer

Description

The George Washington University Libraries serve as a vital and dynamic resource for the George Washington University campus community.  We are looking for a software developer to join our growing IT team.  Our team works on digitization, technology, and development; it comprises full-time staff responsible for digitization operations, IT services, library systems, web development, software development, and project management.

We are in the thick of all the things academic library IT groups are doing: improving user experience across diverse services, mass reformatting operations, developing new software and services for our community, and working more and more with diverse data and digital collections.  We want to add somebody who will help us move wisely and efficiently through our tasks and projects so we can focus together on redefining the library as a platform for information access and services.


RESPONSIBILITIES

The dynamic individual to fill the Senior Software Developer position will: 

• Lead development or be in a supporting role in a wide range of collaborative software projects, from backend to frontend, using multiple languages and frameworks, with scopes big and small, on short deadlines and for ongoing projects.
• Manage and support the full software lifecycle from requirements to implementation, production support, enhancement, and maintenance.
• Implement and support craftsmanlike practices to help our team work reliably and efficiently together, whether it's code style, testing, managing issues and iterations, deployment strategies, or documentation.
• Mentor colleagues in technical work, and be receptive to training and mentoring in aspects of running a library outside of your expertise.
• Represent the library and the services our team provides on campus, with faculty, researchers, students, and non-technical library staff, and in the international library community.
• Find new tools and techniques that help us innovate in and improve upon all of the above, but know when to stick with what you know.

The Senior Software Developer will report to the Director of Scholarly Technology.


BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in library science from an ALA-accredited library program, or a master’s or terminal degree in a related information technology field, such as Computer Science (CS), Management of Information Systems (MIS), or Information Management.
• Four years post-bachelor's experience as a full-time software developer working on the full software lifecycle, both as a solo coder and as a part of, and technical lead on, larger teams.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and supporting all aspects of software systems using two or more of Python, Ruby, Perl, or PHP, and comfort working with languages that are not your strongest.
• Demonstrated experience with a variety of database environments (RDBMS/SQL and others) and with information retrieval systems like Lucene/Solr.
• Demonstrated experience with Unix system administration in development, test, and production environments.
• Demonstrated experience with and a preference for using free software and open source development practices, but no objection to using proprietary tools when appropriate.
• Four years developing all aspects of web applications and a deep knowledge of HTTP and web standards.
• Five years working in libraries, archives, museums, or cultural heritage organizations beyond the bachelor’s degree.
• Demonstrated experience working with information and data of all shapes and sizes, from basic processing and transformation to statistical analysis and visualization, in support of access and research as well as just for fun.
• Demonstrated experience working through hard problems and with big datasets.
• Desire to automate routine tasks thoughtfully to enable colleagues to perform their work more effectively.
• Demonstrated experience improving user experience for users, staff, and developers alike.
• Demonstrated experience implementing and supporting production web applications using Python and Django.
• Demonstrated experience working with diverse forms of library and special collections resource description data and strategies.
• Demonstrated experience with a wide array of IT and library standards.
• Demonstrated experience and preference for working as part of a collaborating team, in a mix of lead, support, and backup roles.
• Excellent communication skills, especially when discussing technical work with non-technical people.

The University and department have a strong commitment to achieving diversity among librarians and staff. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from members of underrepresented groups and strongly encourage women and persons of color to apply for this position.

Review Date: Review of applications will begin on January 7, 2013 and will continue until the position is filled.

Application Procedure: Only complete applications will be considered.  Please follow the instructions for this posting on the GWU Employment portal:

  https://www.gwu.jobs/postings/12663

The George Washington University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.