BU’s Research Computing Services (RCS) group currently has one job opening, but check back here in the future or at BU’s HR jobs site for opportunities.

BU Research Computing Services Overview

For 40 years, RCS has provided consulting, training, and infrastructure support to thousands of researchers and students on the Charles River and Medical Campuses. RCS supports a wide range of disciplines from the Physical Sciences and Engineering to recently emerged computational communities such as Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, Genomics, Neuroscience, Machine Learning, Public and Global Health, Economics, Finance, Social Sciences, Microbiology, and Infectious Diseases. RCS manages the University’s Shared Computing Cluster (SCC) a Linux cluster with over 28,000 CPU cores, 300 GPUs, and 12 PB of disk for research data. RCS serves 3000 researchers in 1200 projects from 90 departments and centers at the University. In addition, 50 courses from 26 BU academic departments use the SCC.

Boston University is a founding member of the Massachusetts Green High-Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) along with Harvard, MIT, Northeastern and the University of Massachusetts. The MGHPCC is a research computing data center which includes 33,000 square feet of computer room space optimized for high performance computing systems, a 19MW power feed, and a high efficiency cooling plant that can support up to 10MW of computing load.

RCS can facilitate access to regional and national  systems such as NSF ACCESS, DOE systems, and the New England Research Cloud (NERC). BU is a lead partner  in The Massachusetts Open Cloud Alliance (MOC-A), a collaboration of industry, the open-source community, research IT staff, and systems researchers. 

Boston University is one of the leading private research and teaching institutions in the world, and one of the largest employers in the city of Boston. With over 35,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 130 countries, 10,000 faculty and staff, 17 schools and colleges, and 300 programs of study, our three campuses lead the way in world-class education and innovative research. BU has a rich legacy of serving both greater Boston and the world community.

Boston University’s policies provide for equal opportunity and affirmative action in employment and admission to all programs of the University.

For more information about the Research Computing Services group, please visit rcs.bu.edu.

To learn more about being an employee at Boston University, please visit www.bu.edu/hr/careers.

RESEARCH COMPUTING APPLICATIONS & DATA SPECIALIST (NEUROSCIENCE)

Job Description

Lead the technical aspects of Research Computing services and service components related to consulting, training, scientific application package support, and the development, porting, and optimization of research computing software focused on computational neuroscience, neuroimaging, neuro-engineering, and synthetic biology. Serve as the primary support contact for faculty and graduate students working in the above areas, particularly those located in the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering, on complex projects and issues that require in-depth knowledge of the multiple technical areas, as well as the core computational research tools which they utilize. Work directly with faculty and other academic stakeholders to assess needs and recommend solutions as a representative of the Research Computing team. Coordinate with Desktop Support and other IS&T groups to ensure the most efficient and effective solutions to researcher computing needs.

Our mission is to provide best-in-class technology and data services to support outstanding education, groundbreaking research, effective administration, and a connected, secure community to Boston University, one of the largest private employers in Boston with almost 10,000 faculty and staff BU. IS&T invests in our staff and their personal and professional growth. We promote staff learning including lunch and learn sessions, an extensive library of online courses, and opportunities to engage with peers at NERCOMP and EDUCAUSE events. Our Fun Advisory Board (FAB) arranges a number of events throughout the year; recent events included a night a Lucky Strikes Boston, karaoke night, BU hockey game, a night at Symphony Hall, pancake breakfast, and a department holiday lunch. If you require a reasonable accommodation in order to complete the employment application process, please contact the Equal Opportunity Office at 617-353-6474.

Required Skills

  • Graduate training in Engineering, Bioinformatics, Neuroscience, or a related technical field or an equivalent combination of education and experience required. Three to five years of relative work experience is preferred.
  • Extensive knowledge of neuroimaging and computational neuroscience software packages such as Freesurfer, FSL, SPM, etc.
  • Experience with fMRI analysis and constructing and optimizing analysis pipelines.
  • Fluency in multiple programming languages (including MATLAB, R, and Python) and the ability to quickly learn new programming languages and tools as required
  • Experience with command-line development tools in a Linux environment is desired
  • Experience with the architecture, design, and implementation of the software and hardware computational frameworks for neuroimaging, including familiarity with XNAT/ DICOM file processing and NiFTI-1 file processing, is highly desirable
  • Extensive experience with supporting life sciences research, including neuroscience and neuroimaging research
  • Strong analytical skills are required, with an ability to manage multiple projects and deliverables
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills, the ability to convey technical information in a clear and thorough manner