Director of Research Computing at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Job Description:

Harvard University


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Director of Research Computing
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
58936BR

Job Summary


Harvard University's Faculty of Arts & Sciences (FAS) seeks a Director to lead its FAS Research Computing (FASRC) organization. The newly reconceived Director position reports jointly to the Assistant Dean of Research in the FAS Division of Science and to the Vice President for Information Technology & University Chief Information Officer in her capacity as FAS' chief information officer. The Director will provide leadership in the ongoing development and management of research-computing resources for faculty across all of FAS' divisions and thus will play an important role in advancing Harvard University's research mission.

The Director will lead a team of 25 experienced research computing professionals and will foster partnerships with PIs, researchers, and students to best support their research and scholarship. The Director will also work closely with Harvard University's central technology function, other Harvard University research computing teams, and other partners and service providers to keep FAS research computing at the leading edge in a technically and fiscally sustainable way.
Position Description


The Director of FASRC is responsible for providing strategic leadership, fiscal stewardship, and operational oversight for FAS Research Computing. The Director is responsible for broadening the use of FAS computing resources by lowering barriers to entry to HPC and performing outreach to a broad range of faculty from multiple academic disciplines across the School.

The Director works to create a seamless ecosystem that allows researchers to maximize the use of FAS, HUIT, and other Harvard-operated research computing resources with little friction and with minimal administrative overhead so as to manage rapidly changing compute, storage, network, and security needs.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Serves as a key strategic partner for FAS faculty, research departments, and programs in advancing the FAS research mission, and will develop FAS Research Computing Strategic Plan to support faculty research
• Develops, coordinates, implements, and maintains research computing infrastructure (i.e. data center, network, compute, storage, and other core services) to meet the expanding needs of faculty and research programs across FAS
• Leads a team that provides guidance and support to FAS core facilities on instrumentation data capture, compute and storage workflows for data analysis and integration, data reduction/visualization processes, and long-term preservation of useful experimental data
• Closely collaborates with FAS leadership on strategic and operational leadership for the research computing space
• Provides project management oversight and coordination support for Research Computing projects
• Collaborates with HUIT leadership to:
  • Understand computing and data needs, current practices, and opportunities for faculty, researchers, core facilities, and other research programs in FAS
  • Develop and maintain a robust, financially sustainable model for research computing services supporting existing and emerging research areas
  • Work collaboratively with other University offices to ensure that research computing infrastructure complies with applicable federal, state, and granting agency requirements
  • Develop a coherent, sustainable strategy for research computing across the spectrum of Harvard schools and across its entire research ecosystem
• Serves as a member of the Science Dean's senior team and co-chairs the FASRC Faculty Advisory Committee
• Ensures proactive outreach and training to the FAS research community and fosters direct FASRC relationships with researchers
• Working with other Harvard offices, coordinates data management initiatives including data management planning, best practices, and compliance with funding agency requirements
• Develops and manages budgets for support research computing operations including sponsored projects
• Prepares grant proposals for sponsored opportunities that will promote or enhance research computing systems in the FAS
• Develops relationships with applicable funding agencies and program officers
• Builds and develops a diverse and effective team; plans and delegates work effectively; communicates and monitors performance expectations; motivates and develops direct reports
• Ensures compliance with FAS and Harvard HR policies and procedures
• Abides by, follows, and inculcates in the FASRC team, Harvard University IT technical standards, policies, and Code of Conduct

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree
• At least eight years of experience managing large-scale advanced research computing environment
• At least seven years of experience managing technical staff
• Experience managing budgets with multiple funding sources

Additional Qualifications and Skills


Success in the role also requires a range of qualities and experiences and a core set of interpersonal skills that will enable success at FAS and in the University's decentralized organizational environment more broadly. These include:

• A record of commitment to and/or engagement in activities designed to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Excellent organizational change management and project management skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to audiences with a wide range of technical skills and build support among a broad spectrum of users
• The ability to lead a high-performing, customer-oriented team dedicated to advancing the University's research mission
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills and ability to think creatively
• Ability to work effectively with faculty, staff, and students from a variety of diverse backgrounds
• Ability to adapt within a rapidly changing technical environment
• Ability to operate and communicate effectively while meeting deadlines and completing projects
• Good social skills and the marketing savvy to engage and build support among a broad spectrum of users
• The financial acumen to build the financial model in ways compliant with grant funding and other funding sources
• Some experience collaborating in proposal development and/or grant submission and management (e.g. infrastructure grants)
• Forward-looking views about, for example, opportunities created by AI and/or the implications of data science on academic disciplines
• Engagement with computing in service to education as well as research

Preferred/additional qualifications:

• Advanced degree in science, computer science, and/or engineering
• Experience managing and protecting restricted data
• Experience working with faculty or clients in a computational domain
• Experience using HPC systems as a researcher
• Experience developing and delivering tutorials, workshops, and lectures on high performance computing at the institutional, regional, and national levels

Working Conditions

COVID Vaccine Policy: The University requires all Harvard community members to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and remain up to date with COVID-19 vaccine boosters, as detailed in Harvard's Vaccine & Booster Requirements. Individuals may claim exemption from the vaccine requirement for medical or religious reasons. More information regarding the University's COVID vaccination requirement, exemptions, and verification of vaccination status may be found at the University's "COVID-19 Vaccine Information" webpage: http://www.harvard.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine-information/.



Commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Harvard University views equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging as the pathway to achieving inclusive excellence and fostering a campus culture where everyone can thrive. We strive to create a community that draws upon the widest possible pool of talent to unify excellence and diversity while fully embracing individuals from varied backgrounds, cultures, races, identities, life experiences, perspectives, beliefs, and values.

Job Function
Information Technology

Sub Unit
------------

Location
USA - MA - Cambridge

Department
FAS Research Computing

Time Status
Full-time

Union
00 - Non Union, Exempt or Temporary

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