[tdwg] Position Opening: Biological Informatician

[Gail E. Kampmeier]

Please consider or pass this announcement to someone who might be interested in applying for this 
position.  Apologies for cross-posting.

For further information please contact Erica Hanson, Human Resources, Illinois Natural History Survey, 
217-333-6897, elhanson at inhs.illinois.edu.  For technical questions, please contact: Dr. Andrew Miller, 
Search Committee Member, at amiller at inhs.illinois.edu. 

--Gail


BIOLOGICAL INFORMATICIAN
ILLINOIS NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY, a division of the INSTITUTE OF NATURAL RESOURCE SUSTAINABILITY
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

POSITION: The Illinois Natural History Survey, a division of the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability, 
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is pleased to announce the position of Biological Informatician.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Cyber-technology in the Biological Sciences presents a nearly unbounded 
landscape for development and implementation of extensible and sustainable solutions in dissemination of 
scientific research data. World-renowned scientific research at the Illinois Natural History Survey, the 
nation’s second oldest and largest biological survey, continues and with the application of cyber-
technologies for integration and dissemination, will continue to have a major impact on society, science, 
and critical issues such as biodiversity and global climate change. We seek a highly motivated, innovative 
individual to contribute to a rapidly developing and transformative biodiversity informatics program at the 
Illinois Natural History Survey.  The successful candidate will work with INHS scientists and IT staff to 
advise, develop, and implement sustainable and extensible database-driven web applications aimed at 
electronic dissemination of biological research results. Focal areas include biodiversity informatics 
(ecological and biotic community datasets), a developing extensible cybertaxonomy portal, and 
amalgamation and synthesis of the INHS natural history collections databases, which currently include 
more than 11 million objects. Half time will be devoted to informatics for collections-based research, while 
the other half will be devoted to the Species File program (http://software.speciesfile.org). 

JOB DESCRIPTION: The successful candidate will be expected to coordinate INHS-wide efforts to develop 
and implement computer-based solutions for mobilization, use, and sustainability of biodiversity data; 
collaborate with INHS scientific staff to solicit and secure external funding to support new and ongoing 
projects related to biodiversity informatics; recruit, train and supervise hourly programmers and 
undergraduate computer science interns to support funded projects; train INHS scientific staff in the use of 
biodiversity informatics tools and participate in bioinformatics standards development; serve as liaison 
between INHS scientists and the INHS webmaster, network administrator, and other INHS/INRS IT support 
staff.

QUALIFICATIONS: This position requires a B.S. in Computer Science, Information Science, or Bio-
(biodiversity) informatics.  M.S. or Ph.D. degree desired. Emphasis in biological diversity informatics 
preferred.  Individuals with a degree in a biodiversity-related field and relevant coursework and experience 
in scientific computing will also be considered. Experience with biological informatics support in a 
laboratory or organization setting is preferred.  Experience with database-driven web application 
development with skills in database design and management, SQL, HTML, Visual Basic, CSS, CMS (e.g. 
Drupal), and scripting languages (e.g. JavaScript, Python, Perl, Ruby, PHP). Demonstrated ability with 
programming languages and web application frameworks is required. Familiarity with Web 2.0 
programming technologies is highly desirable.

SALARY RANGE:  $68,000 to $75,000, commensurate with experience. This is a regular, academic 
professional, full-time, grant-supported, 9-month position/paid over 12-months (academic 9/12). 
Additional salary support for two summer months may be available through external funding obtained by 
the candidate through research grants or other funding opportunities.The estimated starting date is July 1, 
2011. 

 BENEFITS:  Generous sick leave.  State Universities Retirement System.  Group health, dental, vision and life 
insurance.

APPLICATION PROCESS: Applications must be received by May 27, 2011. To apply, all candidates must 
submit an online profile through https://jobs.illinois.edu by the close of the posting period. Qualified 
candidates must upload a cover letter which details qualifications noted above, curriculum vitae, working 
e-mail address, and the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of three professional 
references.  All requested information must be submitted for your application to be considered. 
Incomplete information will not be reviewed.

For further information please contact Erica Hanson, Human Resources, Illinois Natural History Survey, 
217-333-6897, elhanson at inhs.illinois.edu.  For technical questions, please contact: Dr. Andrew Miller, 
Search Committee Member, at amiller at inhs.illinois.edu. 

 The University of Illinois is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. The administration, faculty, 
and staff embrace diversity and are committed to attracting qualified candidates who also embrace and 
value diversity and inclusivity.