University of Chicago

Research Software Engineering Manager

University of Chicago • $135K — $160K *
Education, Government & Non-Profit
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • A bachelor's degree in math, statistics, computer science, data science, or related field; a graduate degree is preferred.
  • Minimum of 7 years of relevant work experience in software development and engineering management.
  • Professional experience managing software development teams in academic or research settings.
  • Expertise in cloud computing platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and agile project management methodologies.
  • Significant coding experience in Python, with knowledge of Node.js and/or C/C++.
  • Familiarity with data science, machine learning, AI, and data platform design.
  • Experience mentoring students and junior engineers.

Responsibilities

  • Lead and manage a team of engineers and students in various research, education, and partnership projects.
  • Mentor team members, promoting engagement with new technologies and best practices.
  • Establish and enforce software development processes for bug tracking and code quality assurance.
  • Oversee computing resources to support engineering and research capabilities.
  • Collaborate closely with faculty and partners to develop innovative research projects.
  • Evaluate project proposals and provide guidance based on technical merit and institutional objectives.
  • Set program priorities, monitor operations, and ensure alignment with goals.

Benefits

  • Access to health benefits, retirement plans, and paid time off.
  • Opportunity to work in a dynamic academic environment with research-driven projects.
  • Professional development through mentorship and collaboration with industry partners.
  • Engagement in a team-oriented atmosphere aimed at innovation and learning.
Full Job Description

Department

PSD Data Science: Tech Leadership


Job Summary

The Research Software Engineering Manager will lead our internal engineering team across our research initiatives. The successful candidate will both understand how to establish and nurture software development best practices and is also excited by the opportunity to build and grow a team in a dynamic academic environment. They will have significant technical expertise in one or more of the following areas: cloud computing, database design, web-based applications or machine learning. The engineering manager will have significant decision making capability on both which projects are selected to be worked on and how those projects are executed.

Working closely with the Director of Data Science & Engineering and the Director of Data Science Clinic, this position will also evaluate external proposals on their technical merit, costs and value. This position’s responsibilities are also externally facing and will involve direct collaboration with researchers, students, post docs, and our industry and social impact partners.

This position will entail a mix of project management (including scoping, talking with our partners, planning and reporting), development activities (code review, working with our engineers and data scientists to improve their skills) and direct contribution.

Responsibilities

  • Manage a team of engineers and students contributing to projects across the Data Science Institute’s activities of research, education, and partnerships driving the development of robust, scalable, core components.
  • Provide mentorship to engineers and students and share your passion for staying on top of tech trends, experimentingwithand learningnew technologies.
  • Establish processes to triage bugs, track software defects, and ensuretheir timelyresolution. Define and steward technical standards and code quality.
  • Oversee internal computing resources.
  • Work closely with faculty, staff, and external organizations to develop novel research and act as the principal liaison to faculty research partners.
  • Collaborate with external data science partner organizations on engineering projects.
  • Develop,applyand communicate standards for evaluating project proposals based on technical merit and other institutional goals.
  • Develop and communicate program priorities and performance standards and assess operations using these criteria.
  • Participate and direct code review and code evaluation activities.
  • Act a subject matter expert and technical lead on one or more areas of database design, cloud deployment, microservices,devopsbest practices.
  • Monitors achievement of programmatic and operational goals. Directs the management of projects, asappropriate, including ensuring that all priorities arereasonably setand appropriately met.
  • Manages relationships with faculty and researchers to address their needs, both to further develop existing services and toidentifynew opportunities.
  • Performs other related work as needed.


Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.


Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.


Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:


  • Bachelor27s degree, graduate degree in math, statistics, computer science, data science, or related field.

Work Experience:


  • Professionalsoftware development management experience.
  • Experience using anddeveloping onone of the major cloud providers (AWS, GCP or Azure).
  • Project management experience using agile methodologies (scrum, kanban, etc.).
  • Strong foundationin data platform design, data science, machine learning, and AI.
  • Experience with Cloud computing cost estimation and budgeting.
  • Experience with research universities or research environments; experience working with faculty, students, and researchers.
  • Experience in student mentoring.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:


  • Significant experiencedeveloping code in Python with knowledge of Node.js and/or a compiled language such as C/C++.

Preferred Competencies


  • Strong analytical skills and problem solving.
  • Demonstrated communication skills and the ability to break down complex technical problems.

Application Documents


  • Resume (required)
  • Cover letter (preferred)


The University of Chicago uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions.

When applying, the document(s) MUSTbe uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.


Job Family

Research


Role Impact

People Manager


Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5


Drug Test Required

No


Health Screen Required

No


Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No


Pay Rate Type

Salary


FLSA Status

Exempt


Pay Range

$135,000.00 - $160,000.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University27s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.


Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

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