ANALYST, IT-MEDIA ARTS DEVELOPER AND INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGIST - Military Veterans

Duke University:

Duke University was created in 1924 through an indenture of trust by James Buchanan Duke. Today, Duke is regarded as one of America’s leading research universities. Located in Durham, North Carolina, Duke is positioned in the heart of the Research Triangle, which is ranked annually as one of the best places in the country to work and live. Duke has more than 15,000 students who study and conduct research in its 10 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. With about 40,000 employees, Duke is the third largest private employer in North Carolina, and it now has international programs in more than 150 countries.

Occupational Summary

The responsibilities of the Analyst, IT - Media Arts Developer and Infrastructure Technologist will focus on programming software, developing hardware infrastructure, and training for media arts & computation-based research and project development. The majority effort goes to direct programming and development support for Bill Seaman in the Media Arts + Sciences Emergence Lab at Duke University, with some collaboration with the Computational Media, Arts & Cultures (CMAC) program. This position is a half-time position and reports Bill Seaman in the Media Arts + Sciences Emergence Lab.

Responsibilities:

• Work and brainstorm on projects as they are articulated and learn new aspects of code as research areas change. Conduct individual research in areas relevant to the position. Partner on select project development teams, especially where collaboration would result in methods and templates usable by the wider lab community.
• Development of web-based technologies/languages/libraries w/database back-ends and server-side processing, and cross-platform development tools. Create, modify and maintain robust documentation and testing of new code, systems, and procedures.
• Investigate and deploy both proven and experimental technologies connected to artificial intelligence and/or machine learning, natural language processing, data mining, and statistical methods
• Develop hardware and software solutions for advanced media arts computing in areas including 3D modeling, Geographical Information Systems, Virtual and Augmented Reality, and Games.
• Guide technology selection and purchasing for specialized computing applications and displays such as game-optimized computers, multiprocessor graphics processing arrays, rendering clusters, scanning, virtual reality systems and peripherals, and file storage solutions.
• Train faculty, staff, and students on advanced hardware and software applications relevant to databases, virtual reality systems, data visualization, computational media, and other information technology systems as appropriate.
• Consulting and training on digital projects, as well as selecting, setting up and maintaining 3d printers, laser cutters, physical computing devices, and consulting on hardware and software setups with relevant organizations and partners.
• Offer workshops and guest lectures in collaboration with courses and projects. Present/co-present work at relevant conferences, meetings, events, and installations/shows
• Some supervision and training of graduate and undergraduate student workers in these areas may also be involved.
• Act as a liaison to colleagues in TTS, OIT, Learning Innovations, and other campuses IT groups with related interests. Develop relationships with external IT partners were appropriate around advanced media arts technologies and their use.
• Participate in the Visualization and Interactive Systems group meetings and activities.
• Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein.

Desired Technical Knowledge

• Web -> HTML5/Canvas/CSS, JavaScript, and JavaScript libraries such as JQuery, P5. js, 3.js (WebGL), WebSockets
• Database-> NoSQL/MongoDB/MySQL
• Server-side libraries -> NLKT, Diffbot (via API), Gensim, FreeLing, PL, OpenCV and the use of flexibly deployable game engine technologies such as Unity 3D
• System Admin experience: Linux, macOS, Windows
• Natural Language Processing: HuggingFace, Pytorch

Additional skills that would also be of benefit related to historical projects:

Programming experience:

• Coding experience as an intern or any other volunteer may be applicable experience.

 • Two to Three years of experience in coding or software development.

• Experience with software installations and packaging as well as modern software version control systems (SVN, CVS, Git).

• C/C++/C#, Java

• Container based development: Docker

• Container provided services: Text extraction, MP4->MP3->text extraction

Potential experience with the following libraries/platforms/frameworks:

OpenFrameworks, Processing/ProcessingJS/P5.js, OSC, TUIO, OpenGL/GLSL, Unity

• Game framework (libraries, frameworks), Ardunio/RaspberryPi

 • Graphics: Adobe Creative Suite (Acrobat, Illustrator, In-Design, Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects)

Other Skills:

 • Demonstrated ability to work independently and to learn new hardware/software/systems as needed • Demonstrated ability to multitask

 • Excellent communication skill

Education and Experience:

Required: Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience in a technology-related field.

Preferred: Advanced degree with a concentration in Computer Science, Information Science or a demonstrated equivalency.

Working Conditions

• Normal office environment, potential for hybrid work schedule.

 • May require occasional evenings and weekends to facilitate major project completion or disaster mitigation.

These statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the employee in this position. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of a person in this position.

Minimum Qualifications

Education

Refer to Job Description

Duke is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essentialjob functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.