Software Engineer - Backend Services

Software Engineer - Backend Services

Location: Chicago, IL

Time Type: Full time

Posted On: Posted 10 Days Ago

Job Requisition ID: JR27791

Department

Provost Globus Labs - Materials

About the Department

Globus ( is a sustainable, non-profit business within The University of Chicago delivering solutions to the research community worldwide. Globus develops and provides critical services that support scientific research for governmental, academic, and commercial organizations in a wide range of disciplines including life sciences, physics, and astronomy.

Job Summary

As a member of the Globus Labs software development team, the focus of this position will be to prototype, develop, and deploy new software services to help scientists and researchers publish, share, and make accessible their data and AI models, as well as to solve problems in domains ranging from materials science, chemistry, catalysis, x-ray science, and more.

We’re looking for highly skilled developers experienced in building and supporting Python backend services and systems that will be used by thousands of researchers in pursuit of open data initiatives supported by the NSF, NIST, DOE, and the Materials Genome Initiative.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development of systems to enable publication of large datasets in materials science, chemistry, and other domains.
• Develop, manage, and deploy data infrastructure services to support various projects.
• Build and maintain relationships with program managers and other key personnel.
• Define key directions to keep UChicago at the forefront of AI/ML and national data infrastructure.
• Champion innovative solutions and drive initiatives that push the boundaries of AI/ML in scientific data publication and community building.
• Identify and pursue opportunities to create spin-off projects or products from our core research.
• Take ownership of key projects and see them through from concept to deployment.
• Collaborate with industry partners to identify real-world applications for our technologies.
• Propose and lead internal 'startup-like' projects to explore new directions in data infrastructure.
• Contribute to the definition and documentation of requirements, architecture and design of secure, scalable, asynchronous, data access services.
• Develop, test, document, deploy and maintain high-quality software on a cloud-based platform, including REST interfaces, command-line interfaces, and socket-based services.
• Participate in and contribute to research efforts related to the software, including collecting and analyzing data, and writing research papers for journals or conferences.
• Maintain a working knowledge of relevant software technologies being used in scientific and commercial communities.
• Perform code testing on components and ensure that appropriate implementation standards are met.
• Investigate, analyze and resolve day-to-day technical problems using standard procedures.
• Perform other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience: Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or another relevant computer related field.
• Advanced degree in computer science or another relevant computer related field strongly preferred.

Experience:

• 3+ years of relevant programming experience developing, implementing, debugging, and maintaining applications with Python.
• Experience designing, developing, deploying, managing, and maintaining web services.
• Experience with a distributed version control system (e.g., Git).
• Experience with Unix/Linux.
• Experience with Amazon Web Services.
• Experience in cloud computing and cloud design patterns (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud).
• Experience in high performance computing (HPC).
• Experience contributing to an open source project.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Python programming.
• Python frameworks (e.g., Django, Flask, FastAPI).
• SQL databases (e.g. PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite).
• Container deployment and management (e.g. Docker, Singularity, Kubernetes).
• Web technologies (e.g. REST, HTML, CSS, Javascript, AJAX, PHP).
• High performance computing (HPC).
• HTTP servers (e.g. Apache, NGINX).
• Unit and integration testing tools (e.g. pytest, Jenkins).
• Web security technologies (e.g. SSL/TLS, OAuth2, OpenID Connect and PKI).
• Shell scripting (e.g., Bash).
• Agile (e.g. Scrum) development processes.

Preferred Competencies

• Ability to work in a collaborative team environment.
• Exposure to fundamental concepts, practices, and procedures of software development.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong problem solving skills.
• Ability to prioritize and manage workload to meet critical project milestones and deadlines.
• Confidentiality related to sensitive University matters.
• Ability to work on a flexible schedule, including occasional late night and/or weekend hours.

Working Conditions

• This job requires occasional evening or weekend hours.
• Position available for hybrid work with in-person meetings attendance required.

Application Documents

• Resume (Required)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Information Technology

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

FLSA Status

Exempt

Pay Frequency

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Benefits Eligible

Yes

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

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