"Data Curator"

Job Summary

Independently assist in the design, development, maintenance and support of a data management system.

Job-Specific Responsibilities

The Harvard College Observatory (HCO) seeks an astronomical Data Curator to: 1) support and maintain curation of data sets generated by HCO researchers; and 2) assist researchers in efficiently integrating access to large cloud-based data sets (e.g. from Rubin, Roman, and other new surveys) and other data sets, including local resources.

The Data Curator will join the staff of the "Seamless Astronomy" effort at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. Seamless Astronomy brings together researchers, computer scientists, information scientists, librarians, and visualization experts, all of whom are involved in developing tools and systems to study and enable the next generation of astronomical research.

The Data Curator will:

• Create, maintain, and curate HCO data releases in the Harvard Dataverse and other online repositories. Assist in researcher-friendly curation of the Harvard Plate Stacks database.
• Facilitate access to external national and international datasets and services, integrating cloud-based sources with local research environments.
• In collaboration with Seamless Astronomy faculty leadership, help to design and test software and data management strategies (e.g. what balance of curator/PI time is optimal, what 3rd-party services should be supported (e.g. GitHub, Dataverse, Zenodo, Amazon AWS, etc.)
• Working with leaders representing various HCO faculty groups, implement software and data curation strategies for a variety of projects and data types.
• Ensure HCO’s data-sharing and curation practices meet or exceed the standards of leading external archives, whether hosted internally or externally
• Leverage AI tools to harmonize and integrate datasets, and assist HCO researchers in independently using AI data-management tools
• Participate in meetings with HCO and Harvard data science specialists; perform additional duties as assigned

Working Conditions

Work is performed in an office setting. This position will be primarily based on campus in Cambridge, MA, with the possibility of having a hybrid in-person/remote schedule not to exceed 25% of the curator’s time. The selected candidate will need to be on campus as business needs require.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

Minimum of two years’ post-secondary education or relevant work experience

Additional Qualifications and Skills

Minimum two years’ additional post-secondary education or relevant work experience. MSc or PhD in Astronomy, Physics, Information or Computer Science or related fields. Knowledge of information technology applications, processes, software and equipment. Advanced knowledge of ETL (Extraction, Transformation, and Loading), reporting and database technologies. Advanced communication, technical and project management skills. Demonstrated team performance skills, service mindset approach, and the ability to act as a trusted advisor. Familiarity with the formatting and utility of astronomical data, coordinate systems, software, and relevant AI tools. Demonstrated coding, data management, and software experience used in astronomical data analysis, including (but not limited to) Python and Julia, and involvement with open-source software initiatives. Excellent communication skills and a proven record of work in collaborative environments, as the position includes working directly with researchers, to evaluate, and meet, their data management needs. Experience with databases, including SQL. Experience with computing and data storage on cloud services and HPC environments. Experience with observational astronomical data, particularly big data sets (e.g., from large surveys).

Certificates and Licenses

Completion of Harvard IT Academy specified foundational courses (or external equivalent) preferred

Additional Information

Standard Hours/Schedule: 35 hours per week. Visa Sponsorship Information: Harvard University is unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position. Pre-Employment Screening: Identity. Applicants MUST submit a cover letter in addition to their resume in order for their application to be reviewed. We regret that Harvard University is unable to provide work authorization and/or visa sponsorship for this position. All formal written offers will be made by FAS Human Resources. Work Format Details: This is a position that is based at a Harvard campus location with some remote work options available. Additional details will be discussed during the interview process. All remote work must be performed within one of the Harvard Registered Payroll States. Salary Grade and Ranges: This position is salary grade level 057. Please visit Harvard's Salary Ranges to view the corresponding salary range and related information. Benefits: Harvard offers a comprehensive benefits package that is designed to support a healthy work-life balance and your physical, mental and financial wellbeing.