Cloud Research Support Engineers

Indiana University seeks cloud research support engineers

The Pervasive Technology Institute at Indiana University seeks a limited number of qualified individuals currently engaged in cyberinfrastructure-supported research across any specific discipline at Carnegie-classified Doctoral Universities (R1 and R2), to fulfill the role of Cloud Research Support Engineers (CSREs). Candidates must be positioned in research-intensive roles and classified as research associate or post-doctorate fellows at their institutions.

Candidates will be supported via an honorarium of up to $2,000 per month in conducting project-related efforts to develop support for the use of cloud-based cyberinfrastructure at their institutions and demonstrate the value of cloud computing environments in their own research. The period of support will be from January 2019 through June 2019. Candidates will also receive a grant of time on Microsoft Azure’s cloud computing environments. Candidates will be expected to report on tasks and outcomes on a monthly basis to the Research Engagement Manager based at Indiana University. Candidates will have other support provided to them, including funds for project-related travel and events hosted on their campuses to engage researchers, faculty, and students. Candidates will also be provided with an allocation of cloud computing "credits" for use in their efforts or in supporting the work of constituent researchers.

Candidates will be expected to submit a final report of their overall efforts, as well as a paper for publication to a recognized journal in their field. A total of up to six awards will be made.

Selected CRSEs will become part of a broader team of colleagues who are engaged in the project. While individual, localized efforts and outcomes will be paramount in importance to the success of the project, the broader national/global effort to build a sustainable model for supporting cloud-based tools in support of successful research ROI is also important.  As a result, a degree of teamwork and esprit de corps across the initiative will be expected.

Efforts of the CRSEs will be closely coordinated by the project Research Engagement Manager, Mr. Brian D. Voss, of Indiana University’s Pervasive Technology Institute. Candidates will be supported by an array of technical and administrative resources coordinated by Mr. Voss. Mr. Voss will have sole discretion on the evaluation of performance of CRSEs, including decisions regarding their continued affiliation with and support received from the project.

HOW TO APPLY:

Interested candidates should submit a proposal to bvoss@iu.edu and include the following:

• Cover letter
  • 1-2 paragraphs wherein the candidate “makes their case” for inclusion in this project
  • The institution where the candidate is employed and their current status
  • The academic/research area that the candidate supports
  • A brief description of the candidate’s experience with high performance computing and the use of cloud-based HPC (Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Engine, etc.)
  • A summary of paper(s) in work or planned, along with the journal or publication to which such paper(s) will be submitted no later than June 2019, along with an explanation of how some or all of the computational work done as part of this paper might be done via use of Microsoft Azure cloud computing environment.
• Current curriculum vitae
• Brief letters of support from two or more faculty/researchers

NOTE: Candidates are invited to send a "notification of intent to apply" via a brief email to bvoss@iu.edu no later than close of business December 13, 2018.

NOTE: Proposals are due December 20, 2018. Evaluation of proposals will commence upon receipt, and awards may be made to qualified candidates immediately. Announcement of awards will occur on or about January 4, 2019. 

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

The Pervasive Technology Institute at Indiana University is exploring, advancing, and developing evidence of the impact of the use of human resources – hereafter referred to as "humanware" – in supporting and advancing the use of cloud-based cyberinfrastructure (CI) by researchers in university environments in North America. Funding from Microsoft Corporation supports the project.

The concept of humanware – called out in the 2011 NSF Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure Task Force on Campus Bridging (p 107) – has proven successful in enabling the effective use of information technology (IT) in higher education environments (institutions, campuses, etc.). Humanware describes the critical importance of people (support providers) in the provision of CI supporting research in the 21^st century.  This concept is based upon decades of experience and success in broad areas of leveraging IT support resources, as use of technology became decentralized and distributed starting in the 1990s.  Indiana University is a leader in absolute terms in the development of concepts, programs, and processes that enabled successful adoption of humanware approaches across higher education. 

This project aims to build upon this success, specifically to demonstrate that the established concept of humanware can be successfully applied to a new area – specifically to aid in the adoption and successful use of cloud-based resources as a key element of CI-supporting research.

The project will also explore the impact of cloud-based CI on the research environment in higher education in the US, by examining the return on investment (ROI) in both humanware and use of cloud-based CI components, primarily high performance computing. The project will explore and illuminate the potential (positive) impact that humanware has on increasing ROI in the use of cloud-based CI, as well as the potential (positive) impact of the use of cloud-based CI on increasing ROI of research endeavors in higher education in North America.