Academic Information Technology and Support Technician, Digital Scholarship Center

Summary:

The Temple University Libraries are seeking a creative and energetic individual to fill the position of Academic Information Technology and Support Technician. This position is an opportunity to engage with the digital humanities, digital scholarship and open source software and hardware communities.  Temple’s federated library system serves an urban research university with over 1,800 full-time faculty and a student body of 36,000 that is among the most diverse in the nation. For more information about Temple and Philadelphia, visit http://www.temple.edu.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

The Academic Information Technology and Support Technician , reporting to the Librarian/Coordinator of Digital Scholarship Service Development, is responsible for configuring and managing both public and staff facing software platforms on Windows, Mac and Linux desk top and server environments.  This position is critical to the delivery of essential applications and services for Temple University Libraries’ newly created Digital Scholarship Center (DSC).  The AITST is expected to keep abreast of new and developing technologies, track ongoing trends in digital scholarship, and communicate recommendations to the Temple University community.  The incumbent researches, recommends, tests and subsequently implements innovative, open source software applications that are well suited for digital scholarship activities.   The AITST assists in setting priorities and timelines for these projects, and then defines and implements strategy for the projects he/she manages.  They assist patrons with the migration and transformation of complex data sets, both large and small. The AITST is expected to train other library staff as well as DSC patrons on how these cutting-edge applications can be applied within a specific discipline or field of study, as well as engage patrons and maintain software that is regularly updated via the open source community. Performs related duties as assigned.

Essential Functions:

• Install, upgrade, manage, and troubleshoot hardware, software, and other types of equipment that constitute the DSC server environment
• Keep abreast of new and developing technologies, track ongoing trends in digital scholarship, and communicate recommendations to the Temple University community
• Assist in setting priorities and timelines for these projects, and then defines and implements strategy for the projects he/she manages
• Clearly and accurately report on projects on a consistent basis
• Test and evaluate new software applications, hardware, and other types of equipment for use in the DSC
• Train patrons, DSC and other library staff in the use of software, hardware and equipment for digital scholarship use
• Provide support for software, hardware and other equipment specially designated for a DSC
• Supervise student workers who assist in supporting software, hardware and other equipment in the DSC
• Assist in the migration and transformation of large and small data sets for DSC, library staff and patrons
• Maintain a presence in and knowledge of the open source community for relevant open source software and hardware used in the DSC

·         Provide occasional after-hours support for upgrades or to respond to technical issues

Required Education and Experience:

Bachelors in Computer Science or a related field and 2 years of experience working in an academic environment. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.

Required Skills and Abilities:

·         System administration skills in Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP environments

·         Demonstrated familiarity with Mac and Windows operating systems

·         Demonstrated understanding of the open source community, how to communicate with it, and how to work with and maintain installations of open source software

·         Strong communication skills

·         Excellent interpersonal skills; ability to work with and train individuals and small groups on use of software applications

·         Ability to manage one's time and organize small-scale projects

·         Ability to work well in teams

·         Ability to provide occasional after-hours support for upgrades or to respond to technical issues

Preferred Skills and Abilities:

·         Familiarity with software used in a variety of digital scholarship areas including but not limited to:

o   GIS (ex. CartoDB, ArcGIS, Google Fusion Tables)

o   Data cleaning (ex. Notepad ++, Open Refine)

o   Textual analysis (ex. RStudio, Mallet)

o   Dissemination tools (ex. Omeka, Scalar)

o   Data visualization (ex. Gephi)

o   3D Technologies and environments (ex. Sketchup, Oculus Rift)

·         Awareness of data management and data transformation issues

·         Understanding of and ability to work with and troubleshoot a local area network with a variety of devices.

Compensation:

Competitive salary and benefits package.

To apply:

To apply for this position, please visit www.temple.edu, click on Careers at Temple, and reference TU-18985.  For full consideration, please submit your completed electronic application, along with a cover letter and resume. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

Temple University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer with a strong commitment to cultural diversity.