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Details

**Open Date** 10/31/2025

**Requisition Number** PRN16504N

**Job Title** Research Associate

**Working Title** Research Associate

**Career Progression Track** A00

Track Level

**FLSA Code** Professional

**Patient Sensitive Job Code?** No

**Type** Non Benefited Staff / Student

**Temporary?** No

**Standard Hours per Week** 20-30

**Full Time or Part Time?** Part Time

**Shift** Day

Work Schedule Summary

**Is this a work study job?** No

**VP Area** Academic Affairs

**Department** 00810 - Scient Comp & Imag Instit-Oper

**Location** Campus

**City** Salt Lake City, UT

**Type of Recruitment** External Posting

**Pay Rate Range** 20,000 to 42,000

**Close Date** 01/31/2026

Priority Review Date (Note - Posting may close at any time)

Job Summary

We are looking for MS and PhD students with experience and interest in state-of-the-art data management technologies, high performance computing, memory management, and software development. You will enjoy being part of a world-renowned research institute and work closely with other students, PostDocs, software engineers, and faculty members on developing cutting-edge AI ready data management.

We’re working on extending and maintaining the National Data Platform (**https://nationaldataplatform.org/**) and advanced data management software in the Science Data Exchange (**https://scidx.sci.utah.edu/**) with new use cases, features, and technology.

We’re seeking Research Associates who can contribute to the research and development of advance data management and AI ready platforms with topics such as: data discovery, data & memory management, heterogeneous data integration, multi-modal machine learning, high performance computing ( HPC ), cyberinfrastructure, edge computing, cloud computing, data streaming, remote execution, agentic programing, and NLP interfaces. Areas of application for these methods include: geosciences (environmental, climate, atmospheric, earthquake, hydrology, etc), medical imaging, sociology (food security, policy impacts, etc), and more.

Please contact Jess Tate ([email protected]) for further information.

The SCI Institute

The SCI Institute is a world-class research institute located within the new Warnock Engineering Building on the University of Utah campus. We are a highly dynamic, driven group of over 170 faculty, staff, and students. The overarching goals of the SCI Institute’s scientific computing research are to create new techniques, tools, and systems, by which scientists may solve problems affecting various aspects of human life. We believe that to advance the state-of-the-art and create meaningful computational solutions for such complex systems, one needs to advance research in a number of areas within scientific computing, including: visualization, simulation, and modeling. The SCI Institute presents a highly challenging, collaborative work environment that can be deeply rewarding for the right individual. Further information is available at**http://www.sci.utah.edu/**.

Work Environment

+ You will be contributing to cutting-edge computational methods for data management, HPC , edge computing and more.

+ You will work with a diverse team of students, professional software engineers, research staff, and faculty

+ We offer professional career development opportunities.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities:

+ Work with faculty, students, and staff in designing and developing research products: scientific/engineering papers, conference presentations, seminar presentations, etc.

+ Aid in the specification of software requirements in coordination with faculty or team leads.

+ Contribute to software products with code contributions, testing, review, and documentation

+ Profile and optimize performance for software products and research pipelines

+ Interface with collaboration partners and participate actively in a collaborative work environment to turn requirements into optimal solutions on a large scale.

+ Contribute actively to team discussions on architectural design and solutions by continuously looking for improvements.

+ Research and stay current with project-related scientific literature.

+ Identify and implement creative solutions to overcome problems.

+ Mentor other team members on research, technology, and project expertise.

+ Support the end-user community by responding to user questions posted on the discussion list, fixing bugs, and incorporating feature requests.

+ Help with the project website and discussion boards for user support, developer support, and announcements.

+ Contribute to teaching activities by preparing and presenting educational seminars

Minimum Qualifications

Required Skills:

+ Current or planned MS or PhD student at the University in CS or related field.

+ Solid background and working knowledge of computer science fundamentals including algorithms, data structures, object-oriented programming, server technology, and databases.

+ Strong understanding of Linux toolchains, and debugging tools

+ Proficiency in Python or similar language

+ Experience in git, or similar version control system, and their platforms (GitHub, GitLab, etc)

+ Ability to navigate issues related to low-level system dependencies, architecture flags (e.g., AVX ), etc.

+ Debugging and critical thinking skills including identifying bottlenecks, and bugs and devising solutions to these problems.

Preferred, but not required, skills and experience:

+ Experience contributing to scientific computing frameworks

+ Knowledge of RDMA , libfabric, or similar low-level communication APIs

+ Familiarity with FastAPI, Kafka, or Python pipelines for integration

+ Working with large codebases

+ Experience with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or similar CI/CD systems

+ Containerization (Docker) and building software for multi-arch environments

+ Development in high-performance computing ( HPC ) or distributed systems

+ Strong understanding of Linux toolchains, build systems (CMake), and debugging tools

+ Parallel computing libraries ( MPI , RPC , Mercury, Margo)

+ Experience with HTML and web technologies.

+ Cloud computing platforms and web deployment technologies

Non-Technical Skills

+ Able to work in a collaborative software development environment as well as working independently with minimal supervision and direction.

+ Able to learn new tools and technologies.

+ Being self-motivated and having good organizational, communication, and teamwork skills is essential.

+ Willingness and ability to collaborate in a highly diverse, multi-disciplinary environment.

+ Excellent oral and written communication skills necessary to effectively work in a multidisciplinary team environment.

+ Communication and presentation skills to engage technical and non-technical audiences.

+ Strong interpersonal abilities and teamwork skills.

+ Highly motivated to support research projects.

+ Ability to manage time across simultaneous tasks.

Note: This job description is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to the job.

Minimum Qualifications

Requires a bachelor’s degree in a related area or equivalent experience. Applicants must be a current or future MS or PhD student at the University in CS or related field.

Applicants must demonstrate the potential ability to perform the essential functions of the job as outlined in the position description.

Preferences

Special Instructions Summary

Additional Information

The University is a participating employer with Utah Retirement Systems (“URS”). Eligible new hires with prior URS service, may elect to enroll in URS if they make the election before they become eligible for retirement (usually the first day of work). Contact Human Resources at (801) 581-7447 for information. Individuals who previously retired and are receiving monthly retirement benefits from URS are subject to URS’ post-retirement rules and restrictions. Please contact Utah Retirement Systems at (801) 366-7770 or (800) 695-4877 or University Human Resource Management at (801) 581-7447 if you have questions regarding the post-retirement rules.

This position may require the successful completion of a criminal background check and/or drug screen.

The University of Utah values candidates who have experience working in settings with students and patients from all backgrounds and possess a strong commitment to improving access to higher education and quality healthcare for historically underrepresented students and patients.

All qualified individuals are strongly encouraged to apply. Veterans’ preference is extended to qualified applicants, upon request and consistent with University policy and Utah state law. Upon request, reasonable accommodations in the application process will be provided to individuals with disabilities.

The University of Utah is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and does not discriminate based upon race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, or protected veteran’s status. The University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education program or activity that it operates, as required by Title IX and 34 CFR part 106. The requirement not to discriminate in education programs or activities extends to admission and employment. Inquiries about the application of Title IX and its regulations may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, to the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, or both.

To request a reasonable accommodation for a disability or if you or someone you know has experienced discrimination or sexual misconduct including sexual harassment, you may contact the Director/Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action ( OEO /AA). More information, including the Director/Title IX Coordinator’s office address, electronic mail address, and telephone number can be located at: https://www.utah.edu/nondiscrimination/

Online reports may be submitted at oeo.utah.edu

https://safety.utah.edu/safetyreport This report includes statistics about criminal offenses, hate crimes, arrests and referrals for disciplinary action, and Violence Against Women Act offenses. They also provide information about safety and security-related services offered by the University of Utah. A paper copy can be obtained by request at the Department of Public Safety located at 1658 East 500 South.