"AI & Machine Learning Developer"

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn's distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America's Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Job Description Summary

The Research Data and Digital Scholarship (RDDS) team at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries is looking for an AI & Machine Learning (Al/ML) Developer. The University's Strategic Plan, 'In Principle & Practice,' articulates a desire to lead on the great challenges and opportunities of our time using cutting-edge approaches and interdisciplinary thinking. A key challenge is to provide leading expertise around data-driven research and the use of AI, areas that fit directly within the RDDS's mission. The Libraries' Strategic Plan, 'Knowledge for Life,' also places the Penn Libraries at the nexus of student learning and breakthrough research. Finally, the PennAI mission is to drive responsible AI innovation in a strategic direction. Our Research Data & Digital Scholarship department addresses these aims by giving students, faculty, and researchers opportunities to experiment with and adopt data-driven, interdisciplinary methods, including AI and machine learning.

As a member of the Penn Libraries' Research Data & Digital Scholarship team, the AI & Machine Learning Developer will demonstrate excellent knowledge of various methods and techniques necessary to integrate emerging uses of AI/ML technologies in scholarly applications. The successful candidate will also be expected to keep abreast of developing trends in AI/ML methods, tools, and applications, and have a strong interest in ethical AI practices.

This position will play a key role in the library's efforts to meet emerging technical needs for AI and machine learning applications in research, working with Penn faculty and students to advise on and develop tools and models, such as eScriptorium for Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR). Alongside RDDS's Applied Data Science Librarian, the candidate will support Penn's community through workshops on popular and emerging topics, such as the use and fine-tuning of small models. They will also work with the Libraries staff to support the use of AI/ML internally to increase the discoverability and use of the Libraries' unique and valuable resources and collections.

As a patron-focused member of a service-oriented library team, they will have a demonstrated ability to explain complex ideas to a variety of stakeholders and have an interest in developing programs collaboratively and fostering existing partnerships, such as with SAS's Data Driven Discovery Initiative.

Job Responsibilities

• Serve as a developer for AI/ML projects within the digital scholarship team.
• In collaboration with the RDDS team and others, develop and maintain open-source tools and evaluate licensed platforms that facilitate AI/ML and other projects for wider audiences.
• In the context of RDDS's overall workshop and classroom program, provide instruction on AI/ML methods as appropriate to the candidate's skills and knowledge.
• In collaboration with the wider Penn Libraries, contribute AI/ML expertise to promote collections as data initiatives, such as the Manuscript Collections as Data Research Group & Collections Search & Discoverability.
• Work with the Digital Projects, Publications, and Partnerships team to plan workflows, review project proposals, and assist as project manager on some projects.
• Remain abreast of the AI and machine learning field, including innovations and ethical AI concerns.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

Required

• A master's degree in a relevant discipline and 3 to 5 years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated development experience with AI and machine learning models;
• Ability to communicate complex ideas in an understandable way to a broad variety of stakeholders.
• Demonstrated programming skills in Python and familiarity with areas in AI/ML, such as Natural Language Processing, HPC, HCI, API, AI Model development, AI frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, Kraken, etc. and AI/ML methods and infrastructure.
• Proven ability to write clear, well-documented code and work with version control using GitHub.
• Willingness and demonstrated ability to learn new skills and technologies beyond existing areas of knowledge, including new software applications and/or programming languages.
• Experience successfully working in a collaborative team on interdisciplinary digital scholarship projects.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical capacities.

Preferred

• Demonstrated informal or formal teaching experience.
• Project management experience.