Research Software Engineer

About the department

The University of Chicago Data Science Institute (DSI) is a hub for scholars, researchers, educators, and practitioners tackling the methodological, societal, and domain-specific challenges of our increasingly data-driven world. As a leader in the field, DSI drives cutting-edge research, fosters innovation in data education at all levels, and engages in meaningful partnerships with industry, government, and the broader community.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and debug complex software programs.
• Implement and optimize algorithms for data-intensive research.
• Deploy and maintain systems in both simulated environments and on physical hardware.
• Diagnose and resolve complex system and software issues.
• Execute feature requests independently, with guidance from the PI and project manager on goals and design.
• Collaborate with team members to improve software quality, testability, and fault tolerance.
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously, supporting faculty, postdoctoral researchers and students in achieving their research objectives.
• Develops, tests, debugs, and maintains new and existing application software.
• Works independently to define and document project requirements and provides overall technical guidance in design, architecture and implementation of software solutions.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Requirements

• Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
• Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Qualifications

• Professional experience in software engineering or a related programming field.
• Strong experience with Linux, Python, and at least one additional programming language.
• Experience working with large, existing codebases.
• Experience in building web applications and APIs.

Skills

• Knowledge of cloud computing platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure, etc.).
• Proficiency in software development best practices, including version control (Git) and CI/CD pipelines.

Preferred Competencies

• Strong project management, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Ability to work effectively in a dynamic, hybrid work environment, collaborating with faculty, staff, students, and the broader UChicago community.
• Familiarity with virtualization and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes, etc.).
• Expertise in at least one of the following: Developing highly performant solutions to computational problems using Python; Modern frameworks for full-stack web development, including backend (Flask, Node.js), front-end (React, Angular), and/or GIS and spatial data visualization tools; Building AI solutions, including chatbots, RAG, and other LLM-based tools.
• Interest in and experience developing software to support data-driven research.

Pay

$110,000.00 - $135,000.00

Schedule

37.5 hours per week