Research Software Engineer II

Code4lib; Princeton (NJ); On-site; USD 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking team dedicated to advancing humanistic research through innovative software solutions. As a Research Software Engineer, you'll collaborate with scholars to transform research priorities into impactful software tools. This role not only allows you to leverage your programming skills in Python, R, or JavaScript but also enables you to contribute to meaningful projects that bridge the gap between humanities and computation. With a focus on data analysis and visualization, you'll play a key role in enhancing research discoveries and fostering new collaborations. If you're passionate about using technology to enrich the humanities, this full-time position in Princeton offers a unique opportunity to make a difference.

Benefits

Flexible Work Arrangements

Full Benefits

Professional Development Opportunities

Qualifications

• 4-8 years of experience as a Research Software Engineer or similar role.
• Strong programming skills in Python, R, or JavaScript.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain research software; analyze and process data and metadata.
• Advise on best practices for humanities data-driven research.

Skills

Data Analysis

Data Visualization

Python

R

JavaScript

Version Control

Unit Testing

Collaborative Research

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Humanities, Data Science, or Computer Science

Graduate-level research (MA or PhD) in a related discipline

Tools

Git

Automated Testing Tools

Job description

Do you want to advance humanistic research through software? Are you a humanities researcher who loves to write code to solve problems? Are you a software engineer who wants to tackle research questions? If so, consider applying to join the Center for Digital Humanities (CDH) as our new Research Software Engineer (RSE).

As RSE, you will be an integral member of a collaborative team that designs and implements high-quality, sustainable software to advance research in the humanities. You will work closely with faculty, student, and campus partners to translate research priorities into software needs, including analyzing data, implementing models or simulations, and developing software modules or tools. You will advise Princeton scholars and recommend appropriate approaches and solutions, and will contribute to research articles, presentations, and course modules.

For this position, we are looking for a team member with expertise in data analysis and visualization, particularly from a humanities perspective. Your work will enable domain-specific research discoveries while also advancing data visualization research within the digital humanities. The interests and experience you bring to CDH will benefit existing projects and will help recruit new partners for future collaborations. We look forward to hearing in your cover letter how you envision your work connecting with and expanding the efforts of the CDH to advance scholarship at the intersection of the humanities and computation.

This position reports to the CDH Assistant Director and qualifies for 20% R&D time on personal research or professional development that enhances/complements departmental work.

It is a full-time, full benefits, permanent position in Princeton, NJ, with the possibility for some flexible work arrangements. This is not a remote position.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Build, port, test, debug, and document research software. Contribute to maintenance and updates for existing research software as needed.
• Analyze, transform, migrate, and process data and metadata.
• Participate in code review and contribute to team best practices (unit testing, documentation, continuous integration, etc.).
• Translate research goals into software deliverables; analyze requirements, design software, design information architecture.
• Advise faculty and students on best practices, solutions, and scope for humanities data-driven research.
• Promote the work of the CDH and Research Computing at Princeton campus and to the broader digital humanities community (e.g. give presentations, write blog posts, etc.).

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in a Humanities, Data Science, Computer Science, Computational, or related discipline.
• 4 - 8 years’ experience as a Research Software Engineer or in a similar role.
• Experience with humanities research and ability to communicate with humanities researchers, computer scientists, and data scientists.
• Programming skills, particularly in one or more languages (Python, R, or JavaScript) typically used for computational humanities research and data analysis (Python preferred).
• Demonstrated success:
  • Using conventional and readable coding style.
  • Creating comprehensive and well-written documentation.
  • Using version control systems and automated testing, including unit testing, integration testing, and continuous integration.
• Demonstrated successes contributing to a collaborative research team.
• Ability to learn new programming languages and technologies beyond area of core knowledge.

PREFERRED:

• Graduate-level research (MA or PhD) in a humanities, computational or related discipline.
• Experience conducting exploratory data analysis and creating interactive visualizations of complex data for use as a research tool and as a research output.
• Ability to manage projects and multiple priorities.
• Experience writing scripts to gather and process data from diverse sources and formats.
• Experience working with and visualizing high-dimensional data using projections such as t-SNE or UMAP.
• Familiarity with web accessibility standards (e.g. WCAG).

*Please include code samples or links to Github repositories on your resume.

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

How to apply: Apply here

Contact: Jessica Jenks - [e-mail]