/ Doctorate/PhD
JOB: Backend Software Developer (Data and Service Center for humanities (DaSCH))
We are looking for Backend Software Developer as soon as possible
Job title: Backend Software Developer (w/m)
Degree of employment: Full-time, part-time possible.
Starting date: as soon as possible.
Duration: One year, possibly renewable if funding is available.
Intro/Project Description
We are developing a web-based research environment for humanities scholars and are looking for a new member for our server software development team.
We are part of the Data and Service Center for humanities (DaSCH - https://dasch.swiss) at the University of Basel. The DaSCH deals with research data from different humanities disciplines, such as annotated collections of photographs in cultural anthropology, letters exchanged between members of the Bernoulli dynasty and Leonhard Euler, primary and second source material in musicology, and much more. All this data has to be made accessible to researchers and the public over the long term, as well as be preserved, so it can be cited and used in future research projects. Knora (http://www.knora.org) is our content management system; it is based on RDF (https://www.w3.org/RDF/), and offers a RESTful API to support the development of web-based virtual research environments.
Your Position
You will help imagine, plan, design, develop, test, document, and maintain Knora’s core functionality, mainly in Scala and SPARQL, as well as in Python and other programming languages. This involves participating in discussions with technical users and with the developers of Knora’s web-based user interface components (https://github.com/dhlab-basel/Knora-ui) and the Sipi media server (https://github.com/dhlab-basel/Sipi/) to reach a consensus on new features, and to ensure that all these software components work well together. You will explore new technologies, think about how to balance short-term and long-term objectives, and help shape robust, maintainable software designs that prevent bugs. You will work sometimes more independently and sometimes more in collaboration with other developers. You will respond to bug reports and queries from technical users, carry out code review, prioritise issues, and actively contribute to maintaining good communication in a geographically distributed team.
Your profile
● You have a solid background in server software development and in the maintenance of a large code base. Ideally, some of this code is publicly accessible (e.g. on GitHub).
● You have experience in object-oriented programming in a statically typed language such as Java, and have some knowledge of functional programming (e.g. in Scala, Haskell, or Objective Caml) or are open to learning it.
● You have experience in database query programming (e.g. in SQL). Familiarity with graph databases, Semantic Web technologies (RDF, SPARQL, JSON-LD), and Linked Open Data is appreciated but not required.
● You have experience working in a software development team using GitHub (code review, pull request, issue, milestone, etc.) or a similar system.
● You enjoy working with people from different academic disciplines, learning new technologies, and imagining new ways of using them.
● Good communication in English is required (speaking and writing). German and/or French would be a plus.
We offer you
You will work as part of a small, creative team of people with a mixture of technical and humanities backgrounds. We encourage experimenting with new ideas, we offer a friendly working environment, and we have a sense of humor.
Application/contact
Application deadline: open until a candidate is selected.
Please send your application documents (letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, relevant certificates) in a single PDF file to Vera Chiquet. She would also be glad to answer any questions you have about the position.
The University of Basel is an equal opportunity and family friendly employer committed to excellence through diversity. Applications from women and from people with a migration background are strongly encouraged.