Sr Software Application Analyst, Research Cyberinfrastructure (CI) Network Facilitator

91186BR

Campus: Tempe

Sr Software Application Analys

Job Description

Arizona State University’s Knowledge Enterprise Research Technology Office (RTO) is seeking a Research Cyberinfrastructure (CI) Network Facilitator to support the ASU research community and the Sun Corridor Network (Arizona’s Research & Education Network) both on campus and across the region. The successful candidate will join a cross-matrixed, dynamic, and collaborative organizational environment responsible for working directly with scientists to enable their effective use of cyberinfrastructure resources and high-speed data transfer services for new scientific discoveries. This role will report to the Executive Director of the Sun Corridor Network (SCN) and the Associate Director of Research Engagement. 

The primary role of the Research Cyberinfrastructure (CI) Network Facilitator is to engage and advise stakeholders and partners on the best use of a broad set of research network technologies and state-of-the-art cyberinfrastructure (CI) systems, tools, specialized software, and applications to enable research productivity and discovery. Experience with the application of advanced computing and enabling and troubleshooting big data movement, sharing, and acquisition to solve research problems as well as strong technical and problem-solving skills are key to this role. Candidates with scientific domain experts who have experience using advanced cyberinfrastructure and research network technologies are strongly encouraged to apply.

In this role, the Facilitator will engage ASU’s research community and a broad regional community in developing research activity around networking. The Facilitator will provide high-quality, highly specialized outreach, engagement, and solutions supporting research network activities such as data movement, data sharing, and data acquisition across local and wide area networks. This role will engage with the Sun Corridor Network and other state, regional, and national network providers such as CENIC, LEARN, Internet2, ESnet, and The Quilt.

The incumbent for this role will not only represent ASU & SCN locally but also regionally and nationally, through participation at conferences and workshops as well as collaboratively developing and disseminating whitepapers and best practices documents. Additionally, researching and understanding current, emerging, and innovative technologies will be an essential part of this role. The successful candidate must be able to work effectively on team and independent projects, with the ability to proactively self-direct and adjust to shifts in priorities. This job requires willingness to travel within the state of Arizona and conferences throughout the USA. 

Job Family

Information Technology

Department Name

Research Technology Office

Full-Time/Part-Time

Full-Time

VP Code

KNOWLEDGE ENTERPRISE DEV

Grant Funded Position

This is not a grant funded position and is not contingent on future grant funding.

Salary Range

$71,629 - $98,799 per year, DOE

Essential Duties

• Develop and maintain a deep understanding of cyberinfrastructure, data, research and education network resources, and research activities through regular engagements with a broad set of researchers.
• Provide onboarding for researchers to state-of-the-art cyberinfrastructure and networking resources and services to enable research productivity.
• Connect and coordinate interactions between researchers and research technology providers.
• Connect researchers to appropriate computational, data, and networking resources and solutions including ASU’s dedicated advanced cyberinfrastructure resources, cloud resources, data resources, research network, or national resources as appropriate.
• Collaborate internally to gather requirements, plan, and support a formal research and education networking program with the goal of understanding existing and future needs that inform our local service and capacity investments.
• Facilitate opportunities to work directly with researchers to provide direct design consultations of networking and compute strategies ensuring these experiments are equipped with effective networking services.
• Facilitate collaborative relationships and partnerships and foster a community of researchers engaged in regionally relevant and potentially regional-scale activities.
• Participate in local, regional, and national CI and research and education network initiatives, working groups, or activities.
• Partner with national and international Research and Education Networks (regionally, nationally, and internationally) to align engagement efforts and pursue similar engagement and service goals that benefit the region.
• Facilitate highly technical and research-specific meetings and events including the coordination and execution of regional research network events and outreach activities with campus researchers, students, and other technology groups. 
• Identify, classify, and solve network performance challenges.
• Co-develop, maintain, and deliver training, presentations, documentation, and research network facilitation best practices. 
• Provide support to the local and regional research community through help requests and one-on-one consultations.
• Apply knowledge and expertise to collaborative peer-reviewed technical papers, presentations, posters, and the development of peer-to-peer relationships with external partners and collaborators. 
• Mentor student employees as appropriate.
• Facilitate the design, debugging, and automating/scripting of complex research workflows alongside researchers and troubleshoot users' computational problems in the cloud or on-premise.
• Assist researchers with data management, processing data sets, or with data sharing. 
• Create and foster a database or list of projects and researchers so as to enable preparedness as funding opportunities emerge.
• Track usage and performance to guide researcher engagement and document research engagements through the use of a Customer Relationship Management system.
• Investigate and educate the research community on the availability of both internal and external CI and research network resources on the national/international research landscape.
• Foster a community of community college, tribal college, and K12 STEM instructors/researchers in the name of advancing outreach, undergraduate research, science education, and research engagement in this community (Missing Millions)
• Represent and inform relevant communities as to the capabilities and communities facilitated by the Sun Corridor Network
• Inform Sun Corridor Network of future direction in support of regional research activities and relevant activities for K12, tribal, and community colleges.
• Participate in the coordination and execution of the NSF-funded SHEKATE and Sun Corridor Network convenings related to the above activities.
• Serve as a coordination point for bringing proposals to fruition for Sun Corridor Network and local research and education network.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science or related field AND four (4) years of experience in software application development, including writing computer code in one or more programming languages; OR, any equivalent combination of experience and/or education from which comparable knowledge, skills and abilities have been achieved.

Desired Qualifications

• Evidence of a Master’s degree in a scientific or computational field and three (3) years of relevant full-time experience after completion of that degree
• Professional experience that bridges network engineering concepts with developing or supporting scientists in utilizing services to improve/augment their science workflows for accelerated results.
• Experience in developing high-impact strategic projects that require building consensus among stakeholders including executive-level partners.
• Demonstrated knowledge of computer operating systems and computer architecture, especially those aspects related to overall system performance.
• Demonstrated knowledge of science workflows that include data acquisition, data transfer, compute, and storage requirements.
• Demonstrated knowledge or experience with software development, network performance, and information systems as they relate to service deliverables.
• Demonstrated knowledge with open-source software and hardware approaches that support high-speed data transfer for science including data transfer nodes, GridFTP, network performance measurement, and related concepts.
• Demonstrated knowledge related to the design and operation of LAN and WAN architectures; knowledge of common networking protocols (BGP, IP, TCP, etc.)
• Evidence of effective communication skills with an ability to document and communicate solutions.
• Experience in maintaining a customer-focused approach.
• Utilize interpersonal and communication skills to present to an audience or be comfortable with being mentored to be an effective presenter.
• Experience in prioritizing multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to professional development by striving to continue learning and evolving skill sets.
• Background or experience in working directly with researchers in support of their scientific discovery process. 
• Experience in managing members of cross-team projects to a successful outcome.
• Able to make judgment calls that may require autonomous decision making. 
• Experience in working in Linux environments.

• Evidence in mastering programming in a compiled language (e.g. fortran/C/C++)
• Experience programming with a modern interpreted language such as Python, R, Matlab, etc.
• Experience with traditional parallel programming tools such as MPI, OpenMP, or CUDA and/or modern parallel APIs such as Kokkos or OneAPI
• Working knowledge of machine/deep learning tools (e.g. TensorFlow, PyTorch)
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience with basic bash shell scripting (or equivalent transferable experience with similar environments/shells)
• Experience using version control using Git, GitHub, GitLab
• Experience running scientific software on CPU and GPU compute and using a parallel file system.
• Experience with developing data analysis pipelines in high-level scripting languages
• Experience in a batch HPC environment using Slurm
• Demonstrated knowledge of containerization (Docker, Singularity, Kubernetes)

Working Environment

• Regular activities require ability to manage multiple tasks at one time, to be able to prioritize tasks; to manage conflict: to interact in a team environment: and to communicate effectively to exchange accurate information.  
• Activities are performed in an environmentally controlled office setting and laboratory subject to extended periods of being in a stationary position, operating computer and other office productivity machinery; required to move a moderate distance to perform work.  
• Frequent moves up to 25 pounds for various needs. 
• Regular activities require ability to quickly change priorities which may include and/or are subject to resolution of conflicts.  
• Ability to clearly communicate and exchange accurate information to perform essential duties. 
• May be required to wear personal protective equipment before entering laboratories such as lab coat, gloves, safety glasses, closed toe shoes and respirator.
• Requires that you are willing to travel within the state of Arizona and conferences throughout the USA. 

Department Statement

For the eighth year in a row, ASU has been named the most innovative school in the nation, recognizing the university's culture of groundbreaking research and partnerships, as well as its commitment to helping students thrive in college and beyond. U.S. News and World Report has named ASU as the most innovative university all eight years the category has existed. 

ASU Knowledge Enterprise advances research, innovation, strategic partnerships, entrepreneurship, and international development. Our success arises from solutions-focused, interdisciplinary research; an entrepreneurial approach that is embedded in every school and department; and a commitment to transform society in a positive way. To learn more about how Knowledge Enterprise is a place for your career to grow, visit https://research.asu.edu/about-us/careers .

At Knowledge Enterprise, Research Technology Office, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway. We value your unique background and perspective, and you may be just the right candidate for this position or other roles on our team. 

Working at ASU has additional perks and OUTSTANDING benefits, which include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; sick leave and holidays; ASU/UA/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; state and optional retirement plans; access to ASU recreation and cultural activities; and more. To estimate the value of your total compensation, please visit https://cfo.asu.edu/compensation-estimator .

ASU Statement

Arizona State University is a new model for American higher education, an unprecedented combination of academic excellence, entrepreneurial energy and broad access. This New American University is a single, unified institution comprising four differentiated campuses positively impacting the economic, social, cultural and environmental health of the communities it serves. Its research is inspired by real world application blurring the boundaries that traditionally separate academic disciplines. ASU serves more than 100,000 students in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, the nation's fifth largest city. ASU champions intellectual and cultural diversity, and welcomes students from all fifty states and more than one hundred nations across the globe.

ASU is a tobacco-free university. For details visit https://wellness.asu.edu/explore-wellness/body/alcohol-and-drugs/tobacco

Arizona State University is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor and an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by law.

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Employment Verification Statement

ASU conducts pre-employment screening which may include verification of work history, academic credentials, licenses, and certifications.

Background Check Statement

ASU conducts pre-employment screening for all positions which includes a criminal background check, verification of work history, academic credentials, licenses, and certifications. Employment is contingent upon successful passing of the background check.

Instructions to Apply

Application deadline is 3:00PM Arizona time on the date indicated.

Please include all employment information in month/year format (e.g., 6/88 to 8/94), job title, job duties and name of employer for each position.

Resume should clearly illustrate how prior knowledge and experience meets the Minimum and Desired qualifications of this position.

ASU does not pay for travel expenses associated with interviews, unless otherwise indicated.

Only electronic applications are accepted for this position.

IMPORTANT NOTE: What is the meaning of “equivalent combination” in the minimum qualifications? It means one year of higher education or 24 credit hours, is equal to one year of experience. For example, a four year Bachelor’s degree is equal to four years of experience.