Data Platform Specialist

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Compensation Range

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Posting End Date

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

Please provide cover letter with resume.

At UBC we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research innovation and learning for all faculty staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary
The UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre (DERC) is required to be self-sustaining financially; revenues from milk production and animal sales generate approximately $3.5 million dollars per year. The Dairy Centre ($30 million operation 500 experimental animals 110 hectares of land with multiple building sites) is located on Agriculture and Agri-Foods Agassiz Research Station.

The Data Platform Specialist will be responsible for the design implementation and ongoing operation of a centralized a data platform for the UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre (the Dairy Centre) to support UBC researchers and their students engaged in research. The data platform will fulfill several key needs:

a) Research Integration: Accurately represent the core research concepts required to manage the experimental farm address various research and administrative requirements and ensure a high degree of flexibility as future data needs arise.

b) Data Source Integration: Integrate legacy and new data sources to support retrospective and ongoing research including manually collected animal measurements and data collected by automated technology systems.

c) Comprehensive Documentation: Provide structured documentation for code software applications and data platform usage accessible to researchers without technical background.

d) Trustworthy Software: Use well-tested widely adopted open-source software and adhere to software development best practices to support reproducible data workflows.

e) Version Control: Implement robust backup systems snapshots and code version control (e.g. via GitHub and Borealis) to support software as a research product and establish transparent workflows.

f) Cloud Computing and Storage: Design and configure cloud computing and storage infrastructure supporting data input output and access streams (e.g. data landing pages APIs automated DOI minting and other tools). Integrate with existing UBC services (e.g. Arbutus Sockeye) where possible and comply with laws and regulations governing animal welfare personal privacy and data confidentiality.

g) FAIR data: Implement data structures and workflows aligned with FAIR data principles and applicable governance guidelines.

h) Data Science Training: Develop training resources and instructional tools to equip the Dairy Centre undergraduates and graduate students with strong programming and data analytic skills.

Organizational Status
Reports to the Dairy Centre Director. This position works closely and collaboratively with faculty members and graduate students and liaises with the DERCs leadership team (Animal Health Welfare and Research Manager and Business Operations Manager) and the Facultys Learning Centre.

Work Performed
Develops implements and manages the technical infrastructure for the UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre datahub including the use of permanent digital identifiers to link research protocols livestock records to personnel identifiers publications data products partner organizations and research activities.

Provides technical leadership and knowledge exchange related to the design of the DERC data platform.

Develops research impact tools connecting research projects to published outputs enabling tracking of research outcomes from on-farm activity through to scholarly publication.

Contributes to proposals partnerships and grants related to technical infrastructure including development of comprehensive data management plans.

Provides technical advice in divisional planning and prioritization related to data and digital infrastructure.

Develops budgeting proposals and cost/benefit analysis for data infrastructure or technology investments.

Provides technical training and platform-related support to research and students.

Manages consultants and contracts as needed.

Mentors and/or supervises students and personnel including the development of standard operating procedures and documentation for technical infrastructure.

Performs other duties as required.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
Works under professional standards and general guidelines. Errors may jeopardize research outcomes and result in financial loss and damage credibility of the Dairy Centre. Significant communication with the various UBC and dairy industry stakeholders is crucial to the facilitation of high-level research at the Dairy Centre. Failure to meet these objectives could affect the reputation of the centre and its future ability to attract funding researchers and students to contribute to the Centres academic portfolio jeopardizing the viability of the Centres core operations. As the DERC is seen as an integral component of UBCs research mission the innovation and quality of on-site research and teaching contributes towards the quality and success of UBCs broader research efforts.

Supervision Received
Reports to the Dairy Centre Director and exercises a high level of independent decision-making. Work is reviewed in terms of research impact and deliverables (e.g. DairyBase development integrated documentation data quality workshop/toolkit development).

Supervision Given
May supervise and train students/staff.

Minimum Qualifications
Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of three years of related experience or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives including perspectives in conflict with ones own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing ones own awareness knowledge and skills related to equity diversity and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

Relevant discipline such as life sciences.

Preference for post-graduate degree with at least 10 years of experience in managing heterogeneous data sources and proven leadership in building and maintaining research data hubs.

Experience in Data Science and Data Science education.

Proven research track record that includes interdisciplinary research highlighting the ability to work collaboratively.

Strong record of grant writing and success in multi-PI proposals.

History of working with and adopting data standards from multiple scientific disciplines.

Demonstrated knowledge of user-based design approaches to system engineering.

Experience in maintaining and growing a research-quality database with the potential for high quality research impact.

Ability to design research and outreach tools (e.g. R Python packages web pages workshop materials) with in-depth knowledge of applications and the business requirements supporting them.

Ability to meet evolving standards in research data management (e.g. FAIR data CARE Principles)

Experience with existing research data processes including ORCID and DataCite APIs DataCite metadata schemas data serialization and long-term data sustainability planning.

Experience in cloud computing database development documentation and programming as well as teaching and training.