Research IT Architect

Brigham Young University•Provo, UT

11d•$102,000 - $132,500•Onsite

About The Position

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) — Academic Solutions provides technology and consulting services that support the academic and research missions of the university. Faculty and student researchers across campus have varied technology needs, including storage, computation, databases, SaaS platforms, integrations, data workflows, and related technical services. The Research IT Architect helps faculty and their student research assistants identify practical, supportable technology solutions for research and academic needs. The employee meets with users to understand goals and constraints, translates those needs into technical requirements, recommends appropriate existing enterprise offerings when possible, and works with OIT teams to design and document solutions. The position also helps OIT understand emerging research technology needs across campus, including recurring requests, common pain points, service gaps, and opportunities to improve university technology services. The ideal candidate has broad IT experience, strong communication skills, sound technical judgment, and the ability to work with faculty and student researchers with varied technical backgrounds. This person should enjoy learning new technologies, clarifying ambiguous needs, designing practical solutions, and helping research and academic work move forward at the university.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
Consulting with end users to gather and clarify technical requirements
Designing and documenting technology solutions
Broad IT experience such as systems administration, storage, databases, SaaS platforms, development, integrations, or related services
Communicating technical requirements to implementation teams
Writing clear technical documentation
Supporting research technology needs in a university or similar environment
Working with faculty, researchers, or other expert end users
Capability and desire to learn new skills
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Ability to gather requirements from users with varied technical backgrounds
Ability to translate user needs into clear technical requirements and architecture documentation
Ability to manage expectations and communicate limitations in a timely, professional manner
Ability to work effectively across multiple technical teams
Strong organizational skills and ability to follow through on user needs over time
Significant experience in at least a few areas of information technology

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field plus two years of relevant experience.

Responsibilities

Meet with faculty and student research assistants to understand research technology needs and related academic technology needs
Analyze business, technical, and workflow requirements
Identify appropriate solution approaches using existing enterprise offerings whenever possible
Design architectures for needs involving storage, computation, databases, SaaS platforms, integrations, and related services
Document architectures according to established standards, including architecture diagrams, requirements, constraints, assumptions, and relevant decision points
Define and communicate solution scope, dependencies, and implementation needs to appropriate OIT teams
Evaluate when a request can be satisfied with standard services and when a more specialized review or custom design effort may be necessary
Serve as a primary point of contact for faculty seeking guidance on research technology needs
Consult with users of varied technical abilities to clarify goals, constraints, and expectations
Direct users to appropriate existing services, support teams, and technical resources
Work with other OIT groups to communicate needs and facilitate progress toward implementation
Track solution progress sufficiently to remain an effective advocate for the user and to help remove misunderstandings or barriers
Follow up periodically with users to determine whether implemented solutions continue to meet their needs
Manage expectations for niche, highly specialized, or infeasible requests, including communicating when requests cannot reasonably be supported
Identify patterns and trends in faculty research technology needs across colleges and departments
Keep management informed of recurring requests, unmet needs, emerging technology patterns, and opportunities for service improvement
Help OIT maintain awareness of campus research needs by serving as a key source of information about user demand, common pain points, and evolving requirements
Research existing and emerging technologies relevant to faculty research and related academic needs
Perform initial investigation of vendor and SaaS solutions as needed
Assist in evaluating whether requested technologies align with university standards, current offerings, and operational feasibility
Maintain awareness of enterprise technology capabilities and changes in available services
Proactively learn new skills through available documentation, university resources, professional development, training opportunities, and collaboration with other technology professionals.

Benefits

401k. BYU automatically contributes 8% at no cost to you. Additionally, if you contribute 5%, BYU adds an additional 4% (Rehires may qualify for different retirement plans)
Excellent work-life balance: 13 paid holidays + 22 days paid vacation + 12 sick days, accrued annually
Employee assistance program, available to the employee and all members of their household
Tuition benefits for employees and eligible family members
Access to athletic facilities
Excellent medical/dental benefits
Short/long-term disability benefits
Paid parental and maternity leave
Wellness Program
Free on-campus parking
Free UTA passes for employees, spouses, and qualified dependents
Discounts at the BYU Store and for many events at BYU