1–2 Research engineers/system developers with a focus on humanities digital research infrastructure development and curation - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

In recent years the ongoing digitalisation of society has increasingly affected the methodologies, approaches and critical perspectives of the humanities and social sciences.

Digital Humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the intersection of computing or digital technologies and disciplines of the arts, humanities and social sciences. It includes the systematic use of digital resources in the humanities, as well as the analysis of their application. DH is based on interdisciplinary collaboration and a willingness to work across disciplinary, institutional as well as national boundaries.

The Centre for Digital Humanities at Uppsala University (CDHU) leads and curates the digital transformation of the humanities and social sciences at the university. CDHU's assignments are threefold:

1. research-initiating activities (seminars, workshops and major events) as well as support for individual projects and applications
2. pedagogy and knowledge exchange, including initiating, developing and supporting education in Digital Humanities from master's level to doctoral researchers; and
3. the development of a technical infrastructure to support research in the field of DH

CDHU is currently governed by a director and supported by a deputy director and a research coordinator. The operation is supported by a steering board that spans distinguished professors across the disciplinary domains of Humanities and Social Sciences.

For more information here: CDHU.

About the employment: Permanent employment of 50–100% with access as soon as possible or the 16th of August 2021 at the latest, and subject to agreement. 6 months probationary employment may be applied. The employment is linked to CDHU, with a formal placement at the Department of ALM (Archival Studies, Information Studies, Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies), Faculty of the Arts at Uppsala University.

Tasks and responsibilities: As a research engineer/system developer, you will be responsible for supporting researchers and research projects in the humanities and social sciences that are connected to CDHU. You will be working in close collaboration with other employees at CDHU but also together with the CDHU partners at SNIC/Uppmax and the University Central IT unit. The core tasks are to help initiate and technically support research projects located at CDHU, and to participate in the long-term development of the Centre’s digital research infrastructure for the humanities and social sciences. This includes:

• Having a leading technical role in the computational cloud environment that CDHU is developing for data analysis, curation and processing.
• Setting up and maintaining servers and virtual machines in the cloud environment, for both research and teaching purposes; and, additionally,
• Tailoring code and creating and modifying applications for specific research and pedagogical purposes.

Qualification requirements: We are looking for a candidate with an MSc in computer/systems science, IT or equivalent. You have the ability to understand and navigate the problems and needs of researchers and to deliver technical solutions in terms of code, configurations and adaptations of existing tools and tool-chains. You have a genuine interest and curiosity in analyzing data and implementing technologies and methods relevant to humanities research and in participating CDHU’s activities. You also have:

• Documented experience/knowledge of configuring and managing servers and virtual machines (e.g. Linux, LAMP, etc.).
• Documented experience of working with server script and server programming (e.g. PHP or Python).
• Documented experience of configuring databases (e.g. SQL/PostgreSQL, etc.)
• Documented experience/knowledge of programming languages with an emphasis on Python.
• The ability to collaborate and to quickly adapt and familiarize yourself with new technical solutions, as well as to develop and supplement your own skills.

Other qualification requirements:

• Fluency in the English language.
• Great emphasis is placed upon good communication skills as well as commitment to inclusion, equality and diversity.
• Great emphasis will also be placed on personal qualities such as initiative, problem-solving ability, flexibility and the ability to work together.

Desirable/meritorious in other respects:

• Previous experience of working with digital research infrastructure, especially for the humanities and social sciences.
• Documented experience of working across disciplines.
• Documented ability of teaching and other pedagogical work concerning IT.
• Documented experience of developing web-based interfaces adapted for different platforms/front end development.
• Documented experience of interactive visualization of humanities and social sciences data.
• Experience of configuring programming/data analysis platforms of particular relevance to researchers (e.g. Project Jupyter, R, MatLab).
• Experience of working with or studying digital or other humanities.
• Good knowledge of Swedish.
• Doctoral degree.

Instructions: We are looking forward to receiving your application documents:

• Cover Letter
• CV
• Any documents in support of your application
• Names and contact information for 2-3 references

Salary: Individual salary.

Starting date: As soon as possible, at the latest 16-08-2021.

Type of employment: Permanent position, probationary period may be applied.

Scope of employment: 50-100%.

For further information about the position please contact: Anna Foka, Director for the Centre for Digital Humanities at Uppsala University, anna.foka@abm.uu.se or Åse Hedemark Head of department ALM, ase.hedemark@abm.uu.se.

Please submit your application by 12th of April 2021, UFV-PA 2021/907.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.