Research Software Engineer

at  University of Vermont

POSTING SUMMARY

The VERSO Research Software Engineer is a full-time, 2-year grant-funded position responsible for all aspects of software development and engineering in the academic research domain. As a key member of the VERSO team, the engineer will work closely with researchers, data scientists, and other stakeholders to design, implement, and maintain robust software solutions. This role includes developing software tools, optimizing algorithms, and ensuring the reliability and scalability of research applications. The engineer will be pivotal in disseminating scientific software and research findings through the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation VERSO Open Source Program Office and other initiatives across the Vermont Complex Systems Center and UVM.
The Research Software Engineer will participate in research discussions, contribute to project planning, and provide expertise on software best practices. The role involves collaborating with faculty, researchers, and students to develop new and enhance existing open-source research software. This position reports to the Executive Director of the Vermont Complex Systems Center. By providing software design, code development, and researcher support, this position directly supports UVM’s goal of enhancing IT resources available to the UVM research community and promoting outreach and community engagement.
Experience developing software in languages such as Python is crucial for this position, along with a strong track record of open-source software design and research. The position offers a competitive salary and a generous benefits package. Renewal for additional years is possible, contingent on the availability of funds. The expected start date is flexible and can be any time in Fall 2024.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (OR EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE)

Minimum Qualifications:

• Combination of education and/or applicable experience equivalent to a graduate degree in a STEM-related field relevant to software development and large data systems.
• Demonstrated portfolio of open-source contributions and software work in higher education, research institutions, or industry, with a track record of positive collaboration and impactful research software design.
• Clear understanding of open-source principles and governance.
• Programming experience with multiple languages such as Python, C, C++, R, and bash, and experience with software version control like Git.
• Experience with high-performance computing infrastructure and GPUs.
• Experience with non-relational databases like MongoDB.
• Experience with agile project management and team-based software development.
• Enthusiasm for learning and evaluating new technologies, with the ability to determine their appropriateness for adoption.
• Expertise in installing software on Linux-based systems, often from source.
• Strong technical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to think creatively about technical challenges.
• Excellent customer service ethic, effective communication skills, and a collaborative approach to teamwork.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Desirable Qualifications:

• Experience teaching open-source software engineering at the university level.
• Ability to educate graduate students and researchers about research-related open-source software.
• Experience building processes supporting data transformation, data structures, metadata, dependency, and workload management.
• Experience creating, using, and updating automated testing.
• Experience working at an academic institution.
• Familiarity with Linux systems engineering and deployment.

Please refer the Job description for details