Scientific Programmer - Neuroinformatics

NeuroInformatics Center

University of Oregon

Eugene, Oregon

Job Availability: Immediate

The University of Oregon has an immediate opening in its NeuroInformatics Center (NIC) for a Scientific Programmer. The position involves the strategic development of NIC's computational algorithms and infrastructure for neuroinformatics tools. The ideal candidate will have extensive knowledge and experience with state-of-the-art scientific programming languages, systems, and development tools, including numerical algorithms and packages, object-oriented frameworks, component-based methodologies, parallel models and libraries, scientific data representations, and
statistical and computational environments. Specific and preferred requirements are listed below.

The overall goal of the NIC is to develop advanced informatic and computational tools for integrated multimodal neuroimaging, neurological data analysis and data management, and internet-based analytical and database services. NIC is targeting neuroinformatic applications in both research and clinical domains. The scientific programmer will be responsible for developing the computational software framework to support MR image processing, computational head modeling, EEG data analysis, and decision analytics. This core framework will be then be integrated into a web services / application server architecture to support distributed telemedicine services for image processing, EEG-based epilepsy data analysis, and pre-surgical planning.

The NIC is supported through federal appropriations from the Army's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC). Presently, there is funding for the scientific programmer position for two years, with high potential for indefinite long-term support. The NIC will also be pursuing research grant opportunities in the immediate future specifically targeted to development projects the successful candidate will lead. In addition, there may also be opportunities for the transfer of NIC technologies to commercial projects in the biomedical informatics field.

The scientific programmer will work with a team of professional scientists, computer science faculty, and computer science graduate students. In addition to the broad knowledge and experience in software development required, it is also very important that the successful candidate possess good communication skills and be able to work independently and part of a research software development team. It is expected that the successful candidate will have significant experience working in a scientific research environment. A background in a science-related field is desired. Success with large software engineering projects must be demonstrated.

The necessary requirements for the scientific programmer position are:

Scientific software programming and development
* minimum 10 years professional scientific software development experience
* expert knowledge of C, C++, Fortran, Python, and Java
* software engineering skills covering the full software lifecycle
* experience with broad software development tools:
- compilers, interpreters, RAD tools, IDEs, documentation tools
* experience developing parallel scientific software
- MPI, OpenMP, multi-threaded
* background building software tools, such as parsers and languages
* demonstrated success engineering large software projects
* proven ability to take projects from conception to completion
* knowledge of scientific data formats
- HDF, HDF-5, ...
* knowledge and use of numerical libraries and packages
- BLAS, ScalaPACK, PetSc, SuperLU, ...

Systems environment
* minimum 8 years experience with Unix/Linux systems
* minimum 6 years experience with Apple (Mac OS) systems
* minimum 6 years experience with MS Windows systems
* minimum 5 years experience with programming parallel systems
* extensive knowledge of Unix software development environment
- GNU C, C++, Fortran compilers, Unix make utilities, debuggers, YACC
* cross- and inter-platform development experience
* experience with multiprocessor, cluster, multicore computer systems

Education and personal
* minimum Master's degree in science-related field
* excellent oral and written communication skills
* experience working as part of a research development team
* able to work independently
* strong decision-making and strategic planning skills

The preferred skills for the scientific programmer position include:

Software programming and development
* knowledge of Eclipse environment
* experience with grid computing

Science background
* work experience in scientific computing project
* solid mathematics knowledge
* physics background preferred

Computing tools
* experience using statistical analysis packages (e.g., R)
* experience using computational packages (e.g., Matlab and Mathematica)

The appointment at the University of Oregon would be as a 12-month research assistant. Continuation of the appointment beyond the initial 6 months is subject to a satisfactory evaluation by the director of the NIC. Yearly continuation will depend upon acceptable performance and availability of funds. Salary range is $70,000 to $85,000, based on background and experience. The successful candidate will have the ability to work effectively with faculty, staff and students from diverse backgrounds. The University of Oregon is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

How to apply:

Please send (electronically preferred) a letter of interest, a curriculum vitae, and contact information for three references to:

Dr. Allen D. Malony, Director
Neuroinformatics Center
University of Oregon
malony@cs.uoregon.edu

Position open until filled. Review of applications will begin February 20, 2008.