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Pay Grade/Pay Range:  Based on Qualifications

Department/Organization: 750501 - Alabama Water Institute (AWI)

Normal Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am to 4:45pm

Job Summary: The Assistant Research Professional should show evidence of competence in the disciplinary area of the position and demonstrated promise of moving towards excellence in professional leadership, practice, and/or research and scholarly activities as appropriate for the position. As directed, individuals in this track level independently contribute to the planning and design of research and creative projects. He/she performs supporting research and creative activities such as data analysis, monitoring outcomes, performing lab maintenance, and/or performing experiments and creating creative projects. May assist in both short-term and long-term planning and project goals, as well as in research and creative proposals and dissemination of project findings. This is only a representation of possible duties and is not an all-inclusive listing.

Additional Department Summary: The Alabama Water Institute at the University of Alabama seeks applications for Research Software Engineer, Data Science position to support a hydrologic model software development project.
AWI is creating a replicable, hybrid HPC-cloud water science environment to support a collaborative experiment to analyze the National Water Model and improve US capacity for critical flood and drought prediction. To support the project, the Research Software Engineer will work closely with a DevOps Manager, DevOps Engineer, Managers, System/Site Reliability Engineer, and Research Software Engineers, hydrologic modelers, and experts in geographic information systems, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and databases.

• Works with both AWI technical staff and external partners to develop software and tools to support hydrologic modeling, data analysis and scientific cloud computing.
• Builds, optimizes, and maintains complex software applications using a variety of programming techniques and technologies.
• Collaborates with water researchers and engineers to design, build, and maintain applications, assisting with all aspects of software design and coding, including code reviews and software testing.
• Utilizes creativity and innovation to independently solve problems raised by cutting-edge water research.

The applicant must have a high level of interpersonal skills for effective collaboration with academics, researchers, engineers, and students.
Further, candidates will demonstrate excellent capacities for personal responsibility, taking initiative, original thinking, and communication skills.
Continuation in this position is contingent upon availability of external funding derived from research programs or specific projects. To best execute its mission, the Office for Research & Economic Development (ORED) prefers that all ORED employees work on the campus of The University of Alabama. However, ORED will consider, on a case-by-case basis, remote work for an employee if such work makes strong business sense for ORED based on the scope of work and expectations for that employee. Prior to any remote work, the employee and their direct supervisor(s) and the Vice President will execute a Flexible Work Agreement, per UA policy.

Required Minimum Qualifications:  A relevant post-Baccalaureate degree is highly preferred (Master’s degree or higher). For candidates demonstrating comparable independent research and creative productivity, a relevant four-year undergraduate degree (B.A. or B.S.) and one (1) or more years of documented relevant experience may be substituted. May require terminal degree and licensure.

Additional Required Department Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Software Engineering or other related degrees OR equivalent experience
At least 3+ years of professional experience as Software Engineer or a Research Software Engineer.

Skills and Knowledge: • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define, design and create services and API’s that support innovative user experiences.
• Develop micro service prototypes to validate interactions and prove product designs.
• Design and build cloud computing environments to support new vehicle and consumer experiences
• Experience working with data in structured or unstructured databases
• Build libraries and frameworks that support rapid prototyping
• Proficiency in at least one programming and scripting language (R, C, C++, Fortran, Python).
• Experience developing software that runs on Linux operating systems.
• Familiar with version control (e.g., git) and standard development practice tools and be able to write modular, maintainable, and testable code.
• Ability to communicate with diverse audiences in both written and verbal forms.
• Experience with object storage.
• Analytical and complex problem-solving skills.
• Experience in UI technologies like Html, JQuery.
• Good knowledge of OOP concepts and design patterns
• Familiarity with Algorithms and Data Structures
• Solid understanding of Data Science concepts
• Ability to work independently and self-teach.
• Ability to adapt to emerging technologies and develop new skills.

Preferred Qualifications: • Exposure and/or expertise in hydrology and related disciplines in the Earth sciences.
• Experience with front-end web development using modern frameworks such as React, Angular, Django etc.
• Experience with software containerization, e.g., Docker, Singularity.
• Experience developing and deploying software in commercial cloud environments (e.g., Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services).
• Willing to learn new tools and technology.
• An understanding of high-performance computing

Background Investigation Statement: Prior to hiring, the final candidate(s) must successfully pass a pre-employment background investigation and information obtained from social media and other internet sources. A prior conviction reported as a result of the background investigation DOES NOT automatically disqualify a candidate from consideration for this position. A candidate with a prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags will receive an individualized review of the prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags before a hiring decision is made.

Equal Employment Opportunity: The University of Alabama is an Equal Employment/Equal Educational Opportunity Institution. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment or volunteer status without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, age, genetic or family medical history information, disability, protected veteran status, or any other legally protected basis, and will not be discriminated against because of their protected status. Applicants and employees of this institution are protected under Federal law from discrimination on several bases. Follow the link below to find out more. "EEO is the Law" Poster

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