Staff Scientist Supervisor - NSF NCEMS (Huck Institutes)

Penn State University•University Park, IL

1d•$102,936 - $154,452

About The Position

The National Synthesis Center for Emergence in the Molecular and Cellular Sciences (NCEMS), supported by the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, seeks a Staff Scientist Supervisor. The position is classified at the Research Computing Software Engineer - Supervisor level and leads the development of research software, analytical tools, and reproducible computational workflows supporting NCEMS Working Groups in synthesizing molecular and cellular science datasets. This hands-on research computing and software engineering leadership role translates scientific requirements into software solutions for cross-study analysis, modeling, and data-driven discovery. The incumbent oversees software development, testing, deployment, maintenance, and integration with shared computing environments, and supervises assigned technical staff. The role advises the NCEMS Director on technical priorities, risks, staffing, and resource needs. It focuses on research software development, computational workflows, and research computing operations, complementing the Scientific Program Manager and Project Manager roles. The position is funded for one year. Continuation beyond one year depends on university need, performance, and/or funding availability. Remote or hybrid work approval is not guaranteed. Employment requires successful completion of background checks, and Penn State does not sponsor or assume sponsorship of staff employment visas; applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and at least 3 years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States; Penn State does not sponsor or assume sponsorship of staff employment visas.
Successful completion of required University background checks.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, adapt, test, document, and maintain research applications, analytical scripts, software tools, algorithms, and data-processing routines for NCEMS Working Groups.
Coordinate software validation, version control, release management, and ongoing maintenance of NCEMS-supported tools and workflows.
Develop and support computational pipelines for organizing, harmonizing, analyzing, and reusing datasets from multiple sources.
Integrate research tools and workflows with university, high-performance computing, cloud, and other approved research computing environments.
Collaborate with computing specialists and research personnel to determine storage, processing, access, and workflow execution requirements.
Optimize computational performance by resolving bottlenecks, memory-use issues, and other efficiency constraints; promote portability, reproducibility, and sustainable operation.
Work with investigators to translate scientific questions into analysis plans and software requirements; contribute expertise in data integration, statistical and quantitative analysis, model evaluation, and AI/ML-enabled research where appropriate.
Evaluate data quality, interoperability, formatting, and analytical limitations; develop reusable analytical components and advise on computational tools and methods.
Investigate and resolve software defects, pipeline failures, data-processing issues, and other computational challenges; consult, train, and support researchers using NCEMS tools and workflows.
Participate in Working Group planning and reviews to define computing requirements, technical milestones, deliverables, and dependencies.
Lead or contribute to technical projects from requirements gathering through development, deployment, and long-term support; coordinate activities, monitor progress, and recommend adjustments when constraints arise.
Collaborate with scientific leadership and project management staff to align technical work with research goals and timelines, and identify opportunities to reuse solutions across projects.
Supervise assigned research computing and scientific personnel by distributing work, setting priorities, and monitoring progress.
Review software, computational outputs, and technical documentation for quality, accuracy, maintainability, and adherence to procedures; coach staff and students and participate in onboarding, hiring, performance feedback, and development.
Develop and maintain technical documentation, software specifications, operating procedures, user guides, and troubleshooting resources; promote reproducible practices and appropriate software testing.
Share technical methods and lessons through workshops, presentations, discussions, and written materials; contribute technical methods, analyses, results, figures, and descriptions to research outputs.
Advise the NCEMS Director on computing capabilities, technology options, software support, and resource needs; coordinate with university computing units, external collaborators, and researchers.
Report development progress, operational issues, staffing capacity, technical deliverables, and corrective actions; monitor advances in relevant technologies and recommend practical improvements.
Establish daily priorities for assigned staff within Director-approved objectives, independently resolving routine issues and referring significant strategic, staffing, budget, or resource matters to the NCEMS Director.