Research Infrastructure and Software Engineer

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

The John

F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is one of 12 graduate and professional schools at the university. Harvard Kennedy School’s mission is to improve public policy and leadership so people can live in societies that are more safe, free, just, and sustainably prosperous. By combining cutting‑edge research, the teaching of outstanding students, and direct interaction with practitioners, we have an impact on solving public problems that no other institution can match.

When you work at Harvard Kennedy School, you make a difference.

The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) is launching an initiative to build the best‑in‑class research enablement environment for public policy. Over the next two years, the School will pilot and pressure test strategies and solutions addressing the increasing complexity of the research and research compliance environment. This position will directly support this work.

As a member of the Research Computing and Data Services (RCDS) team in Library and Research Services (LRS) at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and reporting to the Director of Research Computing and Data Services, the Research Infrastructure and Software Engineer will design and build software and platforms for fast, reproducible, and scalable research. You will problem‑solve and apply out‑of‑the‑box technical solutions to address the ever‑increasing complexity of research and research compliance.

You’ll work under the direction of the Director of Research Computing and Data Services, and in close collaboration with LRS research enablement staff. You will partner with Harvard’s cloud vendors, the HKS research community, HKS Information Technology, Harvard University Information Technology, and Harvard High Performance Computing units to design reliable compute, data, and experimentation systems.

We seek candidates who have:

• An ability to work in a distributed organization that often requires collaborating with multiple parties to accomplish objectives
• An ability to partner with research, business, and technical subject matter experts to successfully develop and implement solutions
• The willingness and proven ability to think strategically, and proactively take responsibility, ownership, and action to ensure the success of projects and initiatives
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a collaborative and/or team environment.
• A commitment to belonging, community, and connection.

Within LRS, we value continually learning. You will be expected to continually pursue new areas for learning related to this role and use newly gained skills and knowledge on the job. You will also encourage and support this learning for other members of LRS.

HKS, including LRS, is committed to building a welcoming and supportive community of staff, faculty, and students. This position will work toward building such a community and foster an environment in LRS (for colleagues and library patrons) that values and prioritizes belonging, community, and connection.

• Design, build, maintain, and document research computing and storage infrastructure on‑prem, in the cloud, or hybrid
• Work closely with the LRS research enablement team to design and develop solutions for research, research enablement, and training at HKS
• Provide guidance and advisory services, and develop and deliver trainings to the HKS research community
• Develop solutions aligned with the Harvard information security and data policies
• Stay abreast of emerging technologies and incorporate them into solutions, as appropriate
• Employ best practices in designing, developing, and maintaining solutions
• Collaborate with the members of the Research Computing and Data Services group to develop and continually update and expand a research engineering services and solutions portfolio that addresses current and future needs of the HKS…