"RESEARCH FACILITATOR #00025685"

Hiring Department

Information Technology- Research Support Solutions

Job Description

Are you seeking to make a difference in the lives of students? Are you desirous of enabling research that is changing our world? Would you like to have a strong influence in setting direction for a technology organization whose mission focuses on education, research, and application of knowledge to solve some of the world’s great challenges? If so, we would like to talk to you. If you are a potential member of the S&T information technology team and are humble, coachable, approachable, introspective, and passionate about building relationships, then we want to talk to you. Serving at Missouri University of Science and Technology is a calling. We are revitalizing our campus and looking to a bright future. Join us.

Nature of Work

This position serves as a primary technical consultant and liaison between the university's central IT department and the campus research community. The IT Research Facilitator enables and accelerates research by helping faculty, post-doctoral researchers, and students leverage advanced computing, data management, and information technology resources. This role involves performing technical consultations, providing training, and solving complex problems to support the planning, execution, and data lifecycle of diverse research projects. The facilitator will analyze researchers' needs and connect them with appropriate technological solutions, taking a consultative approach to enhance existing research workflows and enable new avenues of inquiry.

Key Responsibilities

• Consultation and Support: Meet with researchers to assess their computational, data storage, networking, specialized hardware, software, and service requirements; recommend and facilitate access to appropriate IT solutions, including high-performance computing (HPC) clusters, local or cloud resources, and large-scale storage
• Grant Proposal Assistance: Collaborate with principal investigators (PIs) to develop the cyberinfrastructure, cybersecurity, data management, data analytics, and IT budget components for grant proposals, ensuring they meet the requirements of funding agencies
• Training and Outreach: Design and deliver workshops, documentation, and training materials to educate the research community on available IT resources, best practices for data management, and the use of specialized research software
• Technical Problem-Solving: Act as an advanced resource for troubleshooting complex technical issues related to research computing and software, escalating to and collaborating with other IT teams as needed
• Service Development: Identify gaps in current IT service offerings for research and advocate for the development and implementation of new technologies and services to meet the evolving needs of the research community
• Liaison Role: Foster strong working relationships between researchers and central IT staff, translating research needs into technical requirements and communicating IT policies and capabilities back to researchers

Minimum Qualifications

• A Master's degree in computer science, information technology, a computational science field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience
• At least 4 years of experience supporting technology in a research or academic environment is necessary
• Proficiency with programming/scripting languages common in research (e.g., Python, R, Bash)
• Proficiency with data analytic software, and data analysis (e.g. SPSS, SmartPLS, SAS)

Preferred Qualifications

• A Ph.D. in a research-intensive field with a significant computational component.
• Direct experience working with high-performance computing (HPC) systems (e.g., using schedulers like Slurm, managing software modules)
• Demonstrated experience in assisting with the technical components of research grant proposals
• Familiarity with research data management principles, data security protocols, and compliance requirements (e.g., HIPAA, EAR, ITAR, CUI)
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical audience

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Possesses an in-depth conceptual and practical knowledge of the IT needs within a research environment
• Understands the academic research lifecycle and how technology integrates with it. Possesses knowledge of best practices in research computing, data management, and cybersecurity
• Ability to build consensus, collaborate effectively across different university departments, and explain difficult or sensitive information with clarity and empathy

Anticipated Hiring Range

The anticipated hiring range for this position has been established as $52,916-$102,024 annually.

Application Deadline

Applications will be accepted until this position is filled.