Digital Publications Developer, Linguistic Data Consortium
University Overview
The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn's distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America's Best Large Employers in 2023.
Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.
The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.
Posted Job Title
Digital Publications Developer, Linguistic Data Consortium
Job Profile Title
Application Developer B
Job Description Summary
The Digital Publications Developer focuses on developing and managing data processing systems for the Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC) at the University of Pennsylvania. The role involves coordinating the preparation and publication of digital language resources for human language technology research and ensuring quality control and compliance with best practices in digital repositories.
Job Description
The Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC) is an open consortium of universities, libraries, corporations and government research laboratories. LDC was formed in 1992 to address the critical data shortage then facing language technology research and development. The Advanced Research Projects Agency provided seed funding for the Consortium and the National Science Foundation provided additional support via Grant IRI-9528587 from the Information and Intelligent Systems division.
Responsibilities:
This position will have primary responsibility for developing, implementing and managing data processing systems, tools and workflows required to coordinate and prepare publications of digital language resources used for human language technology research and technology development distributed by the Linguistic Data Consortium, a center within the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts and Sciences, https://www.ldc.upenn.edu/. Such resources include speech, image, text and video data, lexicons, and software that are distributed via web delivery and media to LDC's user community.
This position will communicate with external data contributors and internal project managers to acquire resources and to schedule releases; perform quality assessments of such resources; create, adapt or apply software tools to condition data to a uniform format and level of quality (e.g., eliminating corrupted data, normalizing data); validate quality control standards to published data and verify results; document initial and final data formats; review author documentation and supporting materials; create additional documentation as needed; and prepare and replicate release-ready publications.
This position will maintain the publications catalog system in accordance with best practices for digital repositories, https://catalog.ldc.upenn.edu/ which includes developing public catalog entries and related tasks. Position will maintain the publications data archives, planning for long-term safe and cost-efficient data preservation solutions. Position will maintain publications-related pages on LDC's website and manage LDC's affiliations with international bodies including CoreTrustSeal, DataCite and ISLRN. Position will maintain replication hardware. Position requires attention to detail and is responsible for managing multiple short and long-term projects and part-time staff engaged in both ongoing and project-based work.
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor of Science and 1 to 2 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience
Strong SQL querying skills
Scripting language proficiency (Ruby, Python, or Bash)
Knowledge of structured text formats (XML, HTML, JSON)
Linux command line proficiency
Attention to detail
Experience managing multiple short and long-term projects and part-time staff engaged in both ongoing and project-based work
Preferred knowledge/experience:
BS Computer Science, Bachelor's Library and Information Science, or Master's Library and Information Science, or equivalent is strongly preferred
Ruby on Rails
AWS or other cloud computing ecosystems
Database design and data mapping skills
Dublin Core or other metadata standards
Job Location - City, State
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Department / School
School of Arts and Sciences
Pay Range
$43,919.00 - $65,000.00 Annual Rate Salary offers are made based on the candidate's qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, as well as internal and market factors and grade profile.
Affirmative Action Statement
Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.
Special Requirements
Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.
University Benefits
Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family's health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
Tuition: Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.
Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn's Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.
Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family-whatever your personal needs may be.
Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you're newly hired, you won't have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.
Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That's why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.
Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.
University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University's libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There's always something going on at Penn, whether it's a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you're right in the middle of the excitement-and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.
Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.
Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.
Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.
Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.
