Open Research Coordinator for Data and Software (Assistant Librarian), UT Libraries

The Research Support & Digital Initiatives (RSDI) department within the Academic Engagement division of the UT Libraries (UTL) values initiative, creativity, commitment, and teamwork. The Open Research Coordinator for Data and Software will be housed in the University of Texas Libraries (UTL) within RSDI and will report to the Head of Research Data Services. 

The Open Research Coordinator will provide research data and software sharing assistance to UT faculty, students, and staff. They will work in coordination with campus partners such as the UT Open Source Program Office and support university researchers through consultation sessions, resource guides, instructional programming, and event coordination. Their work will facilitate researcher use of the Texas Data Repository and ensure that deposited data and code is curated in accordance with FAIR principles to foster research reproducibility.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate with campus partners to support members of the university community engaging with open source software in the context of the research data lifecycle by providing consultations, planning workshops, developing guides, and other related activities

• Review data, metadata, and code contributed to the UT Austin Dataverse in the Texas Data Repository (TDR) and provide direct curation support to protect sensitive data and foster research reproducibility

• Develop workshops, lectures, and online materials to promote effective use of the Texas Data Repository for sharing research data and code

• Track UT researcher data and software publishing metrics to facilitate discovery of UT research products

• Participate in professional development and serve as an active member of campus-level and external professional groups to maintain an awareness of current tools and methodologies for research data and software sharing

Other related functions as assigned. 

Required Qualifications

• Graduate degree in library science, data science, information studies or any field of science or humanities research involving data

• Familiarity with and enthusiasm for open science, open source software, and research data management

• Familiarity with one or more programming languages like Python, R, or JavaScript

• Education or experience involving data sharing, metadata, or research documentation

• Excellent interpersonal skills, a professional, team-oriented attitude, and the ability to establish positive and productive collaborations 

• Ability to communicate effectively, in person and in writing, including a demonstrated facility in conveying technical concepts to non-technical audiences

• Enthusiasm for continual learning and professional development

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with reproducible research practices

• Experience with research data publication, data repositories, or data curation

• Experience managing datasets containing sensitive information and PII

• Familiarity with metadata standards, controlled vocabularies, and persistent identifiers

• Familiarity with GitHub or a similar platform for managing software versioning and dissemination

• Ability to coordinate multiple projects in a fast-paced, evolving work environment

We want to emphasize that the preferred qualifications are not required and that we are committed to helping our future colleagues develop these preferred skills.

Salary Range

$52,000 + depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

• May work around standard office conditions.

• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation.

• Typical library conditions.

Work Shift

Monday through Friday between the hours of 7am - 7pm, as arranged with supervisor. Occasional evening or weekend work required. Regular onsite work is expected but once training and onboarding is complete, there will be an option for a Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) allowing for a flexible number of days working remote and in-person each week depending on responsibilities that require presence on campus.

Required Materials

• Resume/CV

• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor

• Letter of interest

During your application, you will be asked the following questions:

• Please describe any experience you have using online resources like data repositories and GitHub to find or share datasets and code.

• Please describe your approach for conveying technical information about research data and software practices to a non-technical audience.

• Provide an example of a time that you have taken initiative, outside of an academic program, to develop skills with a new tool or resource for working with data (e.g. a programming language, a software application, an online platform or repository).