Research Facilitator

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; Omaha (NE); Hybrid; USD 114,000 - 162,000; Full time

Job summary

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City seeks a research facilitator to empower economists with state-of-the-art computing tools and HPC workflows. You will collaborate with researchers to co-create computing capabilities, reduce barriers to HPC usage, and accelerate publication through software optimization and parallelization.

You will lead curriculum delivery on research computing, version control, programming languages, Linux, SLURM, and cloud AI/LLM usage.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a computational field or related discipline.
• Minimum of 5 years of post-secondary education or relevant work experience.
• Proficiency in multiple programming/scripting languages (Python, R, Matlab, C, Stata, SQL, or equivalent).
• Knowledge of AI tools and practical experience utilizing large language models for research applications.
• Strong communication skills and ability to translate complex concepts for researchers with varying levels of programming experience.
• Experience with command line tools and Linux operating systems.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with researchers from diverse backgrounds.
• Experience with version control systems (Git/GitLab).
• Terminal proficiency and Linux system navigation.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct support to economists and research associates through consultations.
• Build understanding of economic research activities and computational needs.
• Co-author research papers under economist guidance.

Skills

Programming languages

Python

R

Matlab

C

Stata

SQL

Communication skills

Linux command line

Git/GitLab

AI tools / LLMs

Education

Bachelor's degree in a computational field

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Git/GitLab

Linux

SLURM

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GC)

Job description

Company Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

When you join the Federal Reserve-the nation's central bank-you'll play a key role, collaborating with leading professionals to strengthen and protect our economic, financial and payments systems. We invest in contemporary and emerging technology each year to support the Federal Reserve and our economy, and we're building a dynamic and diverse team for our future.

As a research facilitator you will engage with economists and research associates in the use of state-of-the-art computational systems, tools, and software to enable research productivity. Partner with researchers to co-create and co-learn relevant computing and data capabilities. Reduce barriers to utilizing High Performance Computing (HPC) instruments for innovative and computationally complex economic research. Accelerate time-to-publication through software optimization, parallelization, and modern computational techniques.

Key Activities

Researcher Engagement

• Provide direct support to economists and research associates through consultations.
• Build deep understanding of economic research activities and computational requirements.
• Co-author research papers under the guidance of economists.

Solutions Development

• Facilitate design, debugging, and optimization of research workflows and software models alongside researchers.
• Implement software parallelization and performance improvements to reduce time to publication.
• Support adoption of cloud computing and AI tools, including large language models, in research workflows.

Partnership/Collaboration

• Facilitate economist usage of on-prem and cloud HPC environments.
• Communicate regularly with research staff and technical professionals.
• Collaborate across teams on computational approaches and best practices.

Documentation/Training

• Develop and deliver curriculum on research computing tools and techniques including:
  • Version control (Git/GitLab).
  • Programming languages (Python, R, Matlab, C, Stata, SQL).
  • Linux command line and terminal usage.
  • High Performance Computing and job scheduling (e.g. SLURM).
  • AI/LLM utilization and cloud computing.
  • Provide one-on-one consultations and maintain documentation of local computing resources.
  • Give presentations to research staff on latest tools and techniques.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a computational field (Computer Science, Computational Economics, Applied Mathematics, Data Science, or related field).
• Minimum of 5 years' relevant post-secondary education OR relevant work experience including a combination of these two.
• Proficiency in multiple programming and scripting languages (Python, R, Matlab, C, Stata, SQL, or equivalent).
• Knowledge of AI tools and practical experience utilizing large language models for research applications.
• Strong communication skills with ability to translate complex technical concepts for research audiences with varying levels of programming experience.
• Experience with command line tools and Linux operating systems.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with researchers from diverse backgrounds.
• Service-oriented mindset with commitment to supporting research excellence.
• Experience with version control systems (Git/GitLab).
• Terminal proficiency and Linux system navigation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in a computational field.
• Experience with High Performance Computing environments and job schedulers (Slurm or equivalent).
• Background in economic research or working with economists.
• Prior research experience in academic or policy research settings.
• Experience with parallel computing and code optimization techniques.
• Experience supporting GPU-accelerated research computing, including adapting existing workflows to leverage GPU resources.
• Familiarity with research workflows in economics and social sciences.
• Knowledge of statistical computing and econometric methods.
• Experience with cloud computing platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud).
• Understanding of data security and confidentiality requirements in economic research.

Additional Information

How We Work

• On-site, full-time with 5 days per month remote work flexibility.
• Location(s): Kansas City, Denver, Oklahoma City, Omaha
• Remote Eligible: No

Salary

• $91,600 - $130,500 / Experienced Level
• $113,500 - $161,600 / Senior Level
• $127,500 - $181,500 / Advanced Level
• The listed salaryis applicabletothe Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Final offers aredeterminedby factors including the candidate's qualifications, internal alignment considerations, district assignment, and geographic location.

Citizenship Requirements

United States citizenship or lawful permanent resident alien status, with at least three (3) or more years of United States residency from the date of legal entry to the United States is required for this position.

Screening Requirements

This position has additional screening requirements due to the information accessed while performing the job. These additional screenings would be initiated at the time of offer acceptance and could take up to a couple of months to complete. You can begin work before the screening is completed; however, continued employment is contingent on acceptable screening results. The areas screened may include education/employment verification, criminal history, credit history, and reference checks.

Sponsorship

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization for this position. Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or in the future.

About the KC Fed

• Total Rewards & Benefits
• Who We Are
• What We Do

• Full Time / Part Time
• Full time
• Regular / Temporary
• Regular
• Job Exempt (Yes / No)
• Yes
• Job Category
• Information Technology Family Group
• Work Shift
• First (United States of America)

The Federal Reserve Banks are committed to equal employment opportunity for employees and job applicants in compliance with applicable law and to an environment where employees are valued for their differences.

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