Working Title: Research Technician - Web/Data Developer

State Role Title: Information Technology Specialist I

Position Type: Full-time Staff (Classified)

Position Status: Full-Time

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt: Eligible for Overtime

College/Division: College of Science and Mathematics

Department: 551238 - SEA-PHAGES: 2024-2029

Pay Rate: Pay Range

Specify Range or Amount: $44,192 - $46,000

Is this a JMU only position? No

Is this a grant-funded position? Yes. This is a grant-funded position and is contingent upon continued funding.

Is this a Conflict of Interest designated position? No

Beginning Review Date: 9/24/2025

About JMU:

James Madison University is a publicly funded university with a beautiful campus and a supportive community that is committed to preparing students for the future. The university offers excellent comprehensive benefits which include paid vacation, sick, parental, and community service leave in addition to 19 paid holidays a year; affordable health insurance; retirement through the Virginia Retirement System. We also offer a work-life balance and integration program, Balanced Dukes, that is designed to support the overall wellbeing of our employees and a Tuition Waiver Program that allows employees to have tuition waived for undergraduate and graduate level courses taken at JMU.

Visit our Prospective Employee site to learn more about what makes JMU a great place to work: bit.ly/JMUEmployment

General Information:

The Research Technician will contribute to the web-based genomics applications and data management work of the Cresawn lab, which supports the international SEA-PHAGES program (https://seaphages.org) by designing and building web-based comparative genomics software tools (phamerator.or, genesdb.org, etc) and associated databases. This is primarily a team-based technical role in software development and data management in which the research technician will work both independently and in collaboration with others to build and maintain software systems, databases, and documentation.

Duties and Responsibilities:

-Develop and maintain web-based software applications for comparative genomics using the TypeScript and JavaScript programming languages.

-Maintain Linux server environment by applying patches, updates, and configuration changes in a timely way, development and testing of consistent, automated backup and recovery strategies.

-Maintain and enhance existing backend database management tools written in the Python programming language and their documentation.

-Participate in the running of the international SEA-PHAGES project by meeting regularly with colleagues and collaborators, including the program director, other members of the research lab, and the other members of the SEA-PHAGES team.

-Communicate with JMU IT staff to maintain servers and network access and with grant administrators to order laboratory supplies and computing equipment.

-Manage data for the SEA program.

Qualifications:

-Formal training or comparable work experience in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, or similar field.
-Ability to write software, work with version control systems (i.e. Git), relational (i.e. MySQL) and non-relational (i.e. MongoDB) databases and software containers (i.e. Docker) in a Linux server environment.
-Strong interpersonal skills, self-motivation and ability to work collaboratively with a large, distributed team are required.
-Experience with or interest in bioinformatics and genomics of viruses is beneficial, but not required.

Additional Posting Information:

Conditions of Employment:  

Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a criminal background check.

E-Verify Notice: After accepting employment, new hires are required to complete an I-9 form and present documentation of their identity and eligibility to work in the United States. James Madison University uses the E-Verify system to confirm identity and work authorization.

EEO Statement:

James Madison University is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.

We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience and qualifications support an ongoing commitment to this core quality.

Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity: (540) 568-6991.

Reasonable Accommodation:

If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance searching or applying for jobs please contact us at (540) 568-3597 or jobs@jmu.edu. You may also visit the JMU Human Resource Office, located at 752 Ott Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22807 and we will be happy to assist you.