Library Software Applications Developer

Description

The University Libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill seeks an experienced Library Software Applications Developer to join the Libraries’ Software Development department.

As an experienced member of a highly collaborative team within the University Libraries’ Software Development department, the Library Software Applications Developer designs, implements, tests, and supports software projects at all stages of their lifecycles; evaluates advanced technologies and services to implement or customize for use by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Community; and integrates systems and works with established frameworks to support technology and infrastructure for University Libraries services and collections. The person in this position advocates for and helps lead the implementation of robust software development and diagnostic practices, including automated testing, software documentation, peer review, and the responsible stewardship of software inspired by DevOps practices. Mentorship of staff is fundamental to our department and the person in this position will contribute to and benefit from these practices. The University Libraries has fostered a community of learning and collaboration and presents many opportunities to learn new skills and to take on a range of technically challenging projects with support from colleagues.

The Library Software Applications Developer will serve as a technical lead and software developer on large-scale projects supporting the campus Open Access initiatives and the scholarly repository infrastructure. The campus Open Access initiatives and the scholarly repository infrastructure includes the Carolina Digital Repository, digital preservation infrastructure, and systems to support staff workflows related to the research activity of the university. These projects make use of several programming languages, including Ruby and JavaScript, as well as supporting systems, such as indexing platforms, relational databases, and media servers. Each project is managed by a team that includes software developers, metadata and user experience specialists, project managers, and product owners. The University Libraries is active in and committed to open-source software and communities and the Library Software Applications Developer will have opportunities to lead and contribute to open-source software projects in a variety of ways.

The position works in partnership with libraries staff and campus partners to make technical recommendations based on an analysis of their business needs, while coordinating with other developers, system administrators, project managers, and stakeholders. The Analyst regularly shares progress with stakeholders, seeking input on prototypes. The Analyst provides support to users throughout the lifetime of the project, troubleshooting problems and maintaining code. Our colleagues have taken a variety of paths to technical specializations, and we welcome candidates seeking collaboration with professionals who care about their work, within an environment that respects a work-life balance.

Qualifications

Required

• Master’s and 1-2 years’ experience; or bachelor’s and 2-4 years’ experience; or will accept a combination of related education and experience in substitution.
• Experience developing server-based and browser-based software.
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and complete technical projects.
• Experience working collaboratively and communicating effectively with software stakeholders coming from a range of technical backgrounds.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.

 Preferred

• Awareness of relevant issues that are unique to mission-driven research and academic institutions.
• Demonstrated experience contributing to professional communities.
• Experience leading technical projects.
• Experience mentoring software developers and developing a supportive and rewarding team culture.
• Experience with agile development methodologies.
• Experience working with application frameworks (e.g., Ruby on Rails, Django, Laravel, Spring, or Vue.js).
• Experience applying DevOps techniques in partnership with infrastructure management colleagues.
• Experience with computational research (e.g., data science) methods.
• Experience with test driven development and/or continuous integration.