Starting in July 2023, Yale University collections, the Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, and Information Technology Services launched a pilot project to collect, aggregate and analyze environmental monitoring data for all collection storage and display spaces. The goal of the pilot is to determine the feasibility of improving the preservation of Yale collections while optimizing the use of energy for maintaining temperature and relative humidity. The pilot will examine potential efficiencies for harmonizing the deployment of sensors. Initial phases of the pilot include a survey of existing infrastructure to determine the technical feasibility of consolidating multiple monitoring data streams into a single pipeline. Subsequent phases would model this pipeline resulting in an understanding of cross-collection preservation environments, local and aggregate energy usage, and other requirements. Once established, this data pipeline would be adapted to monitor other variables that impact the preservation of collections, such as light and air quality.  The project team includes a diverse range of collections, facility types, and expertise, including collection managers, conservators, ITS, facilities engineers, data scientists, and vendors.

The Data Engineer will play an integral role to determine the feasibility of automating the collection, harmonization, storage, analysis, and reporting of sensor data. The Data Engineer will be responsible for designing and building out the data pipeline for sensor data from harvesting, ETL, anomaly detection, to storage. Design will include database design, reporting tools, and integrations to other systems.

They will engage with collection stakeholders such as curators, with central and collection specific IT staff, with a dedicated project manager, and with analytics experts for evidence-based decision making. The specialist will also be able to understand and synthesize stakeholder requirements for access to the data for different reasons, and work with IT specialists to enable the reporting and visualization of this collected information to meet those needs.

Essential Duties

1. Design, implement, and document data pipelines to harvest, transform, and store data derived from distributed sensors used to monitor environmental sensors deployed around Yale’s collections. 2. Build test suites and data validation routines to deploy via continuous integration services to ensure the quality of the data pipelines. 3. Work closely with software engineers and subject matter experts in the collecting units to assist with quality and understanding of the incoming data. 4. Engage with subject matter experts in the collecting units and facilities to design integrations with building automation systems based on triggers from the sensor data. 5. Work with software engineers to design integrations between collection management systems and the stored sensor data.

Required Education and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in a related field and at least 2 years of software development or data management experience, or combination of education and relevant experience.

Required Skill/Ability 1:

Proficiency in Python, or demonstrated ability to translate experience from an equivalent language.

Required Skill/Ability 2:

Demonstrated skills in creating and managing large data sets to align with stakeholder requirements.

Required Skill/Ability 3:

Demonstrated experience designing and building all components of a data pipeline.

Required Skill/Ability 4:

Strong verbal and written communication skills. Strong interpersonal skills for working in a dynamic multi-user environment. Proven ability to work effectively and communicate technical information to a wide range of audiences and stakeholders.

Required Skill/Ability 5:

Strong organizational skills and abilities to drive results and work effectively as a member of a team.

Preferred Education, Experience and Skills:

Advanced degree (Masters or PhD) in Information Science or related discipline. Knowledge of IoT (“Internet of Things”) device management. Interest in data science, machine learning, and advanced data techniques. An interest in the preservation and conservation of cultural heritage collections.

Physical Requirements

Ability to travel to multiple sites in the greater New Haven area.

Drug Screen

No

Health Screening

No

Background Check Requirements

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.

COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement

The University maintains policies pertaining to COVID-19. All faculty, staff, students, and trainees are required to comply with these policies, which may be found here:
https://covid19.yale.edu/health-guidelines

Posting Disclaimer

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the particular position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through their hiring departments.

EEO Statement:

University policy is committed to affirmative action under law in employment of women, minority group members, individuals with disabilities, and protected veterans. Additionally, in accordance with Yale’s Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment, and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.

Inquiries concerning Yale’s Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment may be referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).

Note

Yale University is a tobacco-free campus