Visiting Research Programmer for Repository Development

Description

Position available immediately. This is a full-time, three-year visiting academic professional appointment in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Software Development Group. Position may become permanent dependent on funding.

Duties and Responsibilities: As part of a team of repository developers, the Research Programmer will be responsible for providing programming and technical support for all components of a large-scale digital preservation management system, codename Medusa, and the technical infrastructure for the IDEALS scholarly communications initiatives within the University Library. As necessary, the Research Programmer may also provide technical support to other scholarly communication or digital preservation research projects or related programs within the Library.
Detailed job duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Work with project stakeholders and senior programming staff to gather and analyze requirements for repository development and digital preservation, and recommend approaches to meeting those requirements.
• Working independently or as a member of a small team, will be responsible for implementing the approved recommendations, especially for in-house development, but also for customization or integration of purchased and open source software.
• Apply best practices in 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.
• May supervise student hourly or graduate assistant employees.
• Encouraged to spend 5% of their time on personal research to learn new skills and stay abreast of the latest developments and trends in software development, especially in the context of a library setting.
• May also have opportunities to participate in other research grant projects in the Library.

Environment: The University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign is one of the preeminent research libraries in the world. With more than 12 million volumes and significant digital resources, it ranks second in size among academic research libraries in the United States and first among public university libraries in the world. As the intellectual heart of the campus, the Library is committed to maintaining the strongest possible collections and services and engaging in research and development activities in pursuit of the University's mission of teaching, scholarship, and public service. The Library currently employs approximately 90 faculty and 300 academic professionals, staff, and graduate assistants.

The Library consists of multiple departmental libraries located across campus, as well as an array of central public, technical, and administrative service units.   The University of Illinois Library Software Development Group (SDG) is an exciting and supportive team with whom to work that encourages continual learning and career growth. SDG developers work closely with library faculty and staff to design, customize and implement a wide variety of innovative and critical software, web services and technical infrastructure including IDEALS[i] , Connections@Illinois[ii], BibApp[iii], Vireo[iv] and Medusa[v]. All academic professionals in the Library are encouraged to take advantage of Investigation Time[vi].

Qualifications: Required: Bachelor’s Degree; Solid understanding of core Web technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript; Experience with one or more relevant programming/scripting languages: Ruby, Python, VB/ASP, Java, etc.; Demonstrated ability to accurately convert client requirements and specifications into working code; Ability to work independently or under only general direction; Motivated, self-starter, proactive, resourceful, naturally inquisitive, desire to continuously improve; Strong oral and written communication skills; able to legally work in the United States by January 15, 2013. Preferred: Master’s degree in Library and Information Science, Computer Science or related field; One or more years of experience in developing and coding interactive, data-driven Web applications in Ruby on Rails and/or Java; Experience with open-source software tools relevant to scholarly communication and libraries, specifically those related to repositories: DSpace, Fedora Commons, Blacklight and Solr; Experience working in a UNIX/Linux command-line environment; Experience with current software development methodologies and tools, such as agile and scrum, test driven development, source control and versioning, code refactoring and DRY; Experience working with XML, and library metadata and interoperability standards (e.g., PREMIS, MARC, MODS, Dublin Core, OAI-PMH)

Salary:   Salary is competitive and is commensurate with experience and credentials. This is a three-year visiting academic professional position. If funding is available after the three years, the position could become permanent.

Terms of Appointment:   Twelve-month appointment; 24 work days' vacation per year; 11 paid holidays; 12 days annual sick leave (cumulative up to a maximum of 240 days) plus an additional 13 days (non-cumulative) per year if necessary; health insurance, requiring a small co-payment, is provided to employees (coverage for dependents may be purchased); participation in the State Universities Retirement System is required upon appointment (8% of member's salary is withheld and is tax exempt until retirement); newly hired university employees are covered by the Medicare portion of Social Security, and are subject to its deduction.