Job Openings

Research Software Engineer

Posted Oct. 14, 2024

Department

PSD Computer Science: Keahey Group

About the Department

The Nimbus team (nimbusproject.org) is an academic leader in cloud computing research, development, and operations. We work closely with scientific communities to provide innovative solutions adapting cloud computing to the needs of science. Among others, we operate Chameleon (www.chameleoncloud.org), an experimental platform for Computer Science systems research where new solutions in cloud computing, machine learning, software-defined networking (SDN), and Internet of Things (IoT) are proposed every day by an international research community. The Nimbus team provides a friendly, challenge-oriented environment.

Job Summary

Will work on the intersection of development, research, and operations, discovering new requirements through working with scientific users, designing and building solutions that change the way science is done, deploying and operating them, and then supporting and interacting with their users to build communities around them.

Responsibilities

• Helps build and operate the Chameleon experimental platform (​www.chameleoncloud.org​): specific tasks may range from integrating state-of-the-art technologies such as disaggregated hardware or IoT devices, evaluating and extending open-source systems and tools such as OpenStack, and new feature development — to system upgrades and maintenance, or implementing security controls.
• Works directly with users as a technical consultant to answer their questions, troubleshoot issues, and see how the work is impacting their science daily.
• Collaborates with scientific application groups nationwide, work as part of a large supercomputing center and an outstanding academic institution.
• Shares experiences with wider community by contributing to papers as part of a research team that regularly publishes in various academic venues.
• Works with stakeholders to gather and analyze requirements for developmental programs. Receives a moderate level of guidance to design applications to meet University and business requirements.
• Supports and maintains existing applications. Works with web developers and responds to requests from users.
• Perform other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in a related field.

Work Experience: Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications: —

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or another relevant computer-related field.

Experience:

• Demonstrated programming experience (development, debugging, and maintenance).
• Experience with IaaS cloud systems, such as OpenStack or Amazon Web Services, and relevant technologies.
• Experience with system administration.
• Interest and experience in systems research and working on challenges that don’t have obvious solutions.
• Demonstrated contributions to open-source software.
• Experience with distributed systems, performance analysis, and resource and/or data management systems.

Technical Knowledge or Skills:

• Knowledge of Unix/Linux.
• Python programming skills.
• Familiarity with system administration tools (e.g., Ceph, MariaDB) and DevOps tools (e.g., Jenkins, Ansible) and virtualization or containerization technologies (e.g., KVM, Docker).
• Familiarity with front-end technologies, portal development, and Jupyter.

Preferred Competencies

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to think and work independently to develop exceptional technical solutions.
• Ability to identify similar or complementary commercial or academic solutions and read scientific literature to fill in knowledge gaps as needed.
• Ability to prioritize and manage workload to meet critical project milestones and deadlines.

Working Conditions

• Ability to work in a collaborative (potentially remote) team environment.
• Ability to work on a flexible schedule which will include occasional late night and/or weekend hours.
• Sense of humor appreciated.

Application Documents

• Resume (required)
• Cover Letter (preferred)

Job Family

Information Technology

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

FLSA Status

Exempt

Pay Frequency

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Benefits Eligible

Yes

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the <