Stanford Libraries is seeking a full-time Data Scientist to join Digital Library Systems and Services. The Libraries values are rooted in a commitment of mutual respect, the idea that every member of the staff has something to contribute, and that learning is constant. We seek a team member who is ready to share their skills and perspectives.
About Stanford Libraries:
Stanford Libraries is a network of over 15 libraries with over 400 employees. We are committed to fueling teaching, learning and research across Stanford by acquiring, stewarding, and making available a robust collection, currently in excess of 12 million items. Everyone in the organization plays a vital role in fulfilling that objective. Our dedication to discoverability and information management also has us engaged in dynamic global partnerships. We are constantly building and strengthening our organization, and we recognize striving for excellence is a marathon and not a sprint. We are constantly trying to strike the right pace and admit there are times when we find ourselves at a fast jog. While we hope to always find candidates who fit within our organization, what we truly seek is someone who will add to our culture, our profession as well as the greater academic arena. We are invested in the success of our teams and the individuals who represent Stanford Libraries.
About the Position:
The Data Scientist supports the operations, services, and projects of Digital Library Systems and Services, the Stanford Libraries and its partnership projects. The Data Scientist applies their skills on library data in a variety of forms and systems, with the goal of powering, extending, and enhancing library services and the research enterprise at Stanford.
The Data Scientist role has multiple areas of focus:
- Participate in Research Intelligence activities in support of investigating, analyzing, and characterizing the impact of Stanford research activities and outputs using a variety of data sources. Develop reports for the Stanford Office of Scholarly Communications, research groups, principal investigators, and funders.
- Investigate and apply machine learnings techniques to library corpora and services. Apply data skills and techniques in the analysis of the Libraries’ body of archival data (descriptive and administrative) to inform the ongoing management of the data and processing required to prepare and load the data into new discovery environments and systems for archival collections. Support data-intensive operations for a host of other library data systems, including the Platform for Open Data (POD), FOLIO and the Stanford Digital Repository.
- Support the production operations and services of the Digital Library of the Middle East (DLME), including the applications, workflows, systems, and tools that enable transformation and indexing of metadata from a variety of sources to the DLME web application for discovery and use by a global community of researchers. In collaboration with the DLME program stakeholders and curatorial advisory team members, conduct outreach to existing and prospective user communities as well as content contributors with the goals of expanding the volume of content in DLME and its use and impact in scholarly research.
- Serve as a technical lead on Stanford Libraries’ Google Analytics, supporting the management and use of analytics data for a variety of use cases and users within the Libraries, including bibliographers, curators and selectors, digital library service managers, user experience designers, public services, technical services, and library management. Generate and maintain a library operational dashboard via Tableau or like services.
In this role, the Data Scientist interacts routinely with stakeholders with data service needs and collaborates on an ongoing basis with a team of project managers, service managers, and technical analysts to plan, organize, and support the work to deliver digital services. The Data Scientist also works along with software engineers and operations engineers to ensure operations and supporting infrastructure run smoothly, and to guide the development of system and service enhancements to meet the evolving needs of the immediate stakeholder community as well as the broader research community.
Technical tasks may include: scripting; data wrangling; data analysis; data extraction, transformation, and loading; data remediation. Functional tasks may include: responding to requests; creating and updating documentation; running reports; training users; project planning and reporting; troubleshooting and reporting issues; issue tracking and prioritization; testing system changes. The Data Scientist will also, under the guidance of senior management, capture and model/map business requirements, and work with business partners to understand directions and priorities to assure the delivery of quality solutions. They will also serve as project leader on small to medium-sized projects or on a portion of a larger project, as assigned. A combination of strong data science skills and an orientation to operations and customer service are needed to successfully fulfill the role.
Core Duties*:
● Serve as a lead on library data analysis and data science projects.
● Develop and apply algorithmic / data science approaches to library business, collection and service needs.
● Track and apply data science approaches.
● Operate and develop scripts, workflows, as well as supporting documentation and training materials.
● Collaborate with and support other team members managing projects and services or developing systems and data processing workflows.
● Communicate with a broad range of stakeholders.
● Act as a single point of contact between IT and the customer.
● Perform necessary business and system analysis to gather all pertinent data related to issues in production system, patches, upgrades, and enhancements.
● Collaborate with business partners to gather requirements and identify gaps between requirements and the application. Assist business partners with determining deliverables, creating system test plans, identifying test scenarios, managing user acceptance testing and conducting production roll out of resolution.
● Collaborate with developers on application specifications and system enhancements to ensure appropriateness of design and delivering resolution of issues; work with business partners to test and deploy resolution in a timely manner.
● Assist with initial determination of the feasibility of requests and ensure user requirements are thoroughly and accurately documented in accordance with standard techniques.
● Interact with team members, the user community, and others on an ongoing basis to ensure accurate identification and delivery of business requirements.
● Make formal recommendations, and write application specifications, including conversion, upgrade, and interface routines.
● Develop functional specifications to ensure compliance with system development
lifecycle methods.
● Team up with business partners and developers to set realistic response time and/or deliverable expectations. Manage the implementation of the approved development in partnership with developers and business partners.
* - Other duties may also be assigned
The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classification and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Education and Experience:
Bachelor’s degree and eight years of relevant experience or combination of education and relevant experience.
Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
● Strong capabilities in the following: scripting, data mapping, conversion, table structure knowledge, running and analyzing traces, configuration settings, page customizations, security updates, issues analysis and recommendations, running SQL queries, documentation skills, test scripts development, functional analysis,
coordination of user acceptance and signoff, business process improvement, fit/gap analysis, requirements documentation and process flow charting, presentation of options and solutions facilitation.
● Strong understanding of the components of web applications.
● Strong understanding of the software development life cycle.
● Strong verbal and written communication skills.
● Ability to work effectively and collaboratively with minimum direction.
● Ability to establish effective, ongoing relationships with clients, staff and management.
● Ability to manage multiple competing priorities and work under pressure in high stress situations.
Other Relevant Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities May Include:
● Experience working in a variety of data manipulation and transformation applications and environments, including Traject, OpenRefine, and Airflow.
● Experience working with application programming interfaces (APIs).
● Experience working in a digital archives or digital library environment, creating, enhancing or transforming content and metadata.
● Knowledge of library metadata standards.
● Knowledge of machine learning techniques.
● A strong service orientation, with demonstrated experience working with customers to deliver products and services on time with a high level of professionalism.
Physical Requirements:
· Constantly perform desk-based computer tasks.
· Frequently sit, grasp lightly/fine manipulation.
· Occasionally stand/walk, use a telephone.
· Rarely writing by hand, lift/carry/push/pull objects that weigh up to 10 pounds.
* - Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of his or her job.
Working Conditions:
· Work extended hours.
Work Standards:
- Interpersonal Skills: Demonstrates the ability to work well with Stanford colleagues and clients and with external organizations.
- Promote Culture of Safety: Demonstrates commitment to personal responsibility and value for safety; communicates safety concerns; uses and promotes safe behaviors based on training and lessons learned.
- Subject to and expected to comply with all applicable University policies and procedures, including but not limited to the personnel policies and other policies found in the University’s Administrative Guide, https://adminguide.stanford.edu/ .
Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Stanford welcomes applications from all who would bring additional dimensions to the University’s research, teaching and clinical missions. We believe Stanford’s future success will be shaped by the diverse perspectives, unique experiences, and inclusive culture of its community.
This remote role is open to candidates anywhere in the United States. Stanford University has five Regional Pay Structures .The compensation for this position will be based on the location of the successful candidate.
The expected pay range for this position is $95,000.00 to $129,000.00 per annum.
Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the university reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location, and external market pay for comparable jobs.
Why Stanford is for You:
Imagine a world without search engines or social platforms. Consider lives saved through first-ever organ transplants and research into curing illnesses. Stanford University has revolutionized the way we live and enrich the world. Supporting this mission is our diverse and dedicated 17,000 staff. We seek talent driven to impact the future of our legacy. Our culture and unique perks empower you with:
● Freedom to grow. We offer career development programs, tuition reimbursement, and course auditing. Join a TedTalk, watch a film screening, or listen to a renowned author or global leader speak.
● A caring culture. We provide superb retirement plans, generous time-off, and family care resources.
● A healthier you. Choose from hundreds of health or fitness classes at our world-class exercise facilities. We provide excellent health care benefits.
● Discovery and fun. Stroll through historic sculptures, trails, and museums.
● Enviable resources. Enjoy free commuter programs, ridesharing incentives, discounts and more.