Hello, my name is Joshua Gomez. I'm a programmer analyst in the library at
George Washington University. We are currently looking for someone to manage
the library's web presence. This is an excellent opportunity for an
information school graduate with prior experience in web development. In
addition to improving the existing website and various web apps, the
selected candidate will also lead the development of our mobile services.
He/she will also help with our development of digital services for academic
research, such as data curation and visualization.

We are looking for someone well versed in the principles of information
architecture and usability. The web developer must gather requirements and
perform usability testing on a diverse array of stakeholders, from students
to faculty, librarians and administrators. Each of these groups has varying
levels of technical abilities, so the candidate really will need those
"excellent communication skills" we all list on our resumes. Web
development includes a fair amount of troubleshooting, so the selected
candidate should also have a fondness for problem-solving and a high level
of patience.

Most of our systems are open source, so on the technical side we need
someone capable of working with a Linux operating system, a MySQL database,
and experience with a scripting language like PHP, Perl, or Python. I
should clarify that you do not need to be guru (or ninja, or rock star) with
any of these tools. A basic level of ability is all that is needed to be
considered for the job (though a demonstrated high level of expertise will
certainly help). A strong familiarity with HTML/CSS/XML and JavaScript is,
of course, also necessary. We would also like someone with experience using
a Content Management System, like Plone or Drupal (we currently use Plone,
but may be moving to something else in the near future). Bonus
qualifications include great design/Photoshop skills , and experience with
Apache, LDAP authentication, and SEO.

Working at GW is great. I began working here last summer, after earning a
Master’s from the School of Information at UC Berkeley in 2009. Finding a
job in the 2009-2010 economy was very tough, but GW has managed its finances
well and has been able to hire new employees and even gave out raises this
year while other universities are struggling and making cuts. The
university has a new president and provost, who are both pushing GW forward
with large fund raising goals and an increased focus on research. The
library is going through some exciting changes, as we are currently
designing a new array of digital services. This job opening is an excellent
opportunity for those interested in the future of digital libraries.

If you are interested in the position, you can view the official job
description at:
http://www.gelman.gwu.edu/about/organization/jobs/staff/web-developer-posting-0602335

Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions.
-Joshua

Joshua Gomez
Digital Library Programmer Analyst
Gelman Library
George Washington University
(202) 994-8267
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