Data Management and Curation Consultant

Provides expert guidance to researchers and students on data management activities across the research enterprise at Virginia Tech. This role involves advising on data management planning, data curation, and data sharing, using best practices and emerging standards to design, implement, and evaluate data curation, preservation, and transformation strategies for research data stewarded by the Library. Consults with researchers on their data management needs, including research using AI applications, and provides specialized scholarly services to research teams seeking federal and private funding. Engages in scholarly activities related to these responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Advise researchers and students on data management planning, curation, and sharing.
• Design, implement, and evaluate data curation, preservation, and transformation strategies for research data.
• Consult with researchers on data management needs, including AI applications.
• Provide specialized scholarly services to research teams seeking funding.
• Engage in scholarly activities related to data management and curation.

Requirements

• A terminal degree in a field related to the job duties, such as a Masters in Library and/or Information Science (MLS, MLIS, MIS, etc) from an ALA-accredited graduate program.
• Demonstrated experience in service provision or working with clients.
• Coursework or experience using data in a disciplinary research setting (e.g., agriculture, environmental science).
• Demonstrated experience in public presentation, oral and written communication.
• Problem-solving skills and ability to work independently.
• Demonstrated experience reading, executing, and troubleshooting code.
• Demonstrated experience in any of the following: research data documentation, research data archiving, research data publication, or secondary use of research data.

Preferred Qualifications

• An active research agenda demonstrated through published scholarly work.
• Demonstrated experience working in a collaborative, team-based environment.
• Demonstrated experience in development and/or delivery of guidance or training to faculty or students.
• Demonstrated experience with repository operation and/or administration.
• Demonstrated experience in metadata creation and management.
• Demonstrated experience in service program planning and development.
• Demonstrated experience in data management planning and writing/reviewing data management plans for funding proposals.
• Demonstrated experience in programming (e.g., Python, R, SQL).
• Demonstrated experience with AI, machine learning, and/or large language model (LLM) applications.
• Coursework or experience using data in an academic research setting.

Pay

$63,000 minimum, dependent on qualifications and experience.

Schedule

40 hours per week. Overtime status: exempt (not eligible for overtime).

About Virginia Tech

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution enhancing the quality of life in Virginia and worldwide, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of over 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students across eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. Virginia Tech has a significant presence across Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington, D.C. area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sites in Newport News and Richmond, and numerous Extension offices and research institutes. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $650 million in research annually.