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University of Delaware

Scientific Applications Consultant III (GIS), IT Client Support & Services

Deadline: April 27, 2015

The IT Client Support & Services department seeks applicants for the position of Scientific Applications Consultant III (GIS). The Research Support group within IT Client Support & Services provides computational science support, primarily as direct user support through consulting, programming assistance and training. Staff include specialists in applied mathematics, statistics, geographic information science and database construction. Through collaborations with other IT and academic units, the Research Support group also designs and implements new cyberinfrastructure to support the University’s extensive and varied funded research initiatives. Research support is a key strategic and operational activity of the central IT organization and is regarded as integral to the strategic goals of the University.

The Research Support group principally supports faculty, staff and students from the biosciences, computational chemistry and physics, engineering, environmental and earth sciences, mathematical sciences, and social and behavioral sciences in their use of centrally provided and national computational and data resources. The University’s central computing systems include enterprise class client/server systems, data storage and retrieval systems, web servers, learning management systems, and a variety of other services supporting the business needs of the University.

The Scientific Applications Consultant III (Geographic Information Sciences) will work closely with faculty, students and staff to introduce and expand the use of IT and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in their research and instructional programs and in general campus IT infrastructure. The incumbent will take a lead role in his or her areas of responsibility in developing ideas for new projects, leading other projects and executing projects with a high degree of independence, working alone and in small groups.

The Scientific Applications Consultant III reports to the Director of IT Client Support & Services.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide technological leadership, consulting, and in-depth support to the campus in GIS projects at all levels, including project design and execution, associated programming and scripting languages, software selection, data management, and GIS modeling. 
• Promote GIS use through workshops, web sites, webcasts, newsletters, blogs, meetings, and guest lectures.
• Develop and maintain internet mapping and geospatial analysis applications and supporting data for research, instruction, and administrative infrastructure projects. Diagnose, analyze and debug application and data problems, ranging from simple to complex, and suggest expedient or optimal solutions. Provide creative and innovative solutions to solve conceptual computing problems raised by cutting-edge research.
• Distribute GIS software and provide installation assistance for departmental and IT computing sites.  Advise on appropriate use of geospatial software and data according to applicable licenses and terms of service.
• Coordinate and participate (and may lead) in IT Client & Support Services’ projects supporting research and advanced instructional activities through needs assessment; technology evaluation; data access, distribution, analysis and visualization; use of group collaboration tools; software testing; troubleshooting; and web site development.
• Investigate emerging open-source and commercial software relevant to areas of specialization. Researches, evaluates, recommends, integrates and implements new technologies, architectures and products. Thoroughly test application software in areas of responsibility. Communicate problems to vendors and colleagues to resolve problems.
• Maintains technical knowledge and keeps abreast of technical developments in area of expertise and makes recommendations for use of specific applications on campus when appropriate. Maintains broad knowledge of state-of-the-art technology, equipment, and/or systems. Acts as a resource to other IT professionals in area of expertise and as a general resource to more junior staff.
• Establishes and maintains appropriate working relationships with colleagues and clients and follows University and department policies and procedures governing IT efforts. Works within the department’s overall strategic plan following project priorities and scope. Meets deadlines and achieves goals. Participates in operational and strategic planning activities within IT Client and Support Services. Recommends operating policies and procedures that improve the University’s research IT infrastructure.

• Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field and three years of GIS and computing-related experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.  Master’s degree preferred.
• Effective organizational, interpersonal and client-service skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies.
• Advanced working knowledge of ArcGIS Desktop (including extensions, modeling and customization); and geospatial data formats.
• Intermediate working knowledge of web map APIs (e.g., Leaflet, Google Maps API, ArcGIS JS API, or OpenLayers).
• Basic working knowledge of server-side web development tools (e.g., PHP, Python, Ruby, .NET, or Java); web servers (e.g., Apache, Nginx, IIS,or Tomcat); and client-side web development (e.g., JavaScript, CSS, AJAX).
• Experience working with relational databases (Postgres, SQLite, MySQL, Oracle, SQLServer)
• Experience working in a Windows Server or Linux/Unix Server environment (both preferred).
• Demonstrated ability to create and deliver effective oral and written presentations.

Preferred Additional Qualifications:

• A GISP or some formal education in geospatial sciences.
• Working knowledge of ArcGIS Server.
• Working knowledge of spatial databases (e.g, PostGIS, Spatialite, SDE, Oracle Spatial) and web best practices.
• Working knowledge of other desktop GIS software (e.g., QGIS, GRASS, Google Earth, ENVI, GDAL, OSSIM).
• Working knowledge of other server GIS software (e.g., Geoserver, Mapbox, MapServer).
• Working knowledge of related software and formats (e.g, R, Adobe Illustrator, ImageMagick, CAD).
• Working knowledge of cloud-based visualization software.