November 26, 2019

Research Software Engineer: Infrastructure and Development Operations

POSITION SUMMARY
EcoHealth Alliance seeks a creative, dedicated, and collaborative research engineer to support infrastructure for a variety of projects in conservation, public health, disease surveillance and reproducible science. The engineer will build and maintain systems to ingest data feeds into databases, analysis pipelines and apps, collect, organize, and disseminate field and laboratory research data, and maintain high-performance computing resources for research teams.

The role will include collaborating closely with data science, field, and laboratory teams working on a variety of projects, including natural language processing, machine-learning, epidemiological simulations, as well as supporting on-the-ground researchers engaged in wildlife disease surveillance and medical anthropology. A successful candidate will actively engage with and collaborate with teams to build tools and expand and improve our capabilities.

EcoHealth Alliance researchers largely use an R-focused analysis stack but use different languages and technologies for infrastructure based on project needs. We value growth and learning, and seek a candidate with enthusiasm to learn new skills and find solutions over a specific checklist of knowledge.

RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Design and operate data collection, warehousing, and publishing systems to support field, lab, and data scientists at EcoHealth Alliance and collaborating institutions
  • Design and operate systems for continuous integration of databases, machine-learning, and data analysis pipelines
  • Maintain and administer high-performance computing servers and containerized analysis environments
  • Support research teams in packaging, modularizing, archiving and publishing data and code research products for re-use
  • Work collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams that have a mixture of workflows and needs
  • Recommend software, hardware, and service providers for projects considering cost, usability, security, and maintainability
  • Participate in the design of new projects and developing grant applications
  • Contribute to open-source software projects
  • Participate in other projects and tasks as required or assigned by supervisor

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

  • Python or R development experience
  • Two years’ experience or a Master's degree in a relevant field
  • Experience and knowledge of at least some of:
    • Linux system administration
    • Docker, Ansible, and other orchestration technologies
    • Amazon Web Services or other cloud-computing providers
    • Continuous integration platforms such as Jenkins, Travis-CI, Gitlab-CI, or Circle-CI
    • SQL and NoSQL databases
  • Demonstrated ability and willingness to learn new frameworks, technologies, and concepts
  • Strong communication and teamwork skills
  • Strong organizational and project management skills

OTHER DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

  • Web development experience with Django or other frameworks
  • Knowledge of Python or R machine learning and/or natural language processing libraries
  • Experience working in scientific or academic organizations
  • Background in statistics, data science, or related quantitative fields
  • Knowledge of reproducible research practices, data archiving, and metadata standards

The position will be based at EcoHealth Alliance in New York City. EcoHealth Alliance is an equal opportunity employer and we encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We offer comprehensive benefit package including health, dental, and vision coverage, and a 403(b) pension plan.

How to Apply:

Send an email with a single attachment labeled with your first and last name only (“first last.pdf”) in PDF format containing (a) a cover letter, (b) CV, and (c) contact information for three references to jobs@ecohealthalliance.org with “EHA 2019 RESEARCH SOFTWARE ENGINEER” in the subject line. Applicants are encouraged to include links to code repositories, online portfolios, and other demonstrations of experience, but public or open-source work is not required.

Emails without the subject line or with multiple attachments will not be received. No formal text is required within the body of your email, since only the attached document will be retained and reviewed by the hiring committee. All inquiries will receive an automatic response confirming receipt. Applications will be evaluated and only appropriate candidates will be contacted.

Thank you for your interest in EcoHealth Alliance!