Data Scientist focusing on Research & Innovation data

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Do you know how to analyze complex data and deploy web applications?

Do Django and PostgreSQL have no secrets for you?

Are you motivated to use your data skills to support the research & innovation communities?

If yes, the Research & Innovation Organization opens 1-2 positions at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) to work as data scientist in a stimulating working environment with a strong entrepreneurial mindset.

Description of the work and team
The positions belong to the 'Research Support' team of the Research & Innovation Organization (SDU RIO), a university-central research support unit. This team supports the development, grant application and implementation of international research projects. The team has worked with advanced data analysis and AI-tools for several years and developed web applications and AI-assisted support concepts for research support

The current positions are open to work on European projects that analyse large datasets to help coordinate and support activities to achieve the objectives of the EU Mission ‘Restore our Oceans and Waters’. In this context, SDU RIO is developing data-driven tools for effective knowledge management and transfer of knowledge to end-users in support of the Mission.

The positions offered are multi-faceted. Hard skills are required since tasks relate to the entire data science lifecycle, although with a special focus on data collection and the design and deployment of web applications. Chosen candidates will become core members of a team of data tool developers at SDU RIO, but also central players in a Europe-wide project consortia. Soft skills are also needed to understand the research and innovation ecosystem around the EU Mission Ocean, to interact with relevant stakeholders in the areas of policy and governance, research and innovation, and citizen science, as well as to respond to developments in the EU research funding and policy landscape.

Employed candidates are expected to perform both as individual data science experts and as team members. Sometimes, demanding tasks or deadlines may be faced, and the work may be partly remote from other team members; employed candidates are therefore expected to have excellent time management skills and to be self-driven. You are, however, never alone and can rely on your close colleagues.

Main working assignments and skills
Performance of the job requires that you can:

• Understand end-user needs and help to co-design customized solutions
• Design service architectures to support data sourcing, curation, and dissemination through a set of advanced web research tools
• Perform efficient, large scale data ingestion, munging, and storage
• Instrument, debug, and optimize container-based services for performance and stability
• Create and maintain continuous integration and continuous deployment
• Maintain robust and clear documentation
• Participate in code reviews, system designs, implementation decisions, performance optimization, and overall best practices
• Continue learning and sharing current and emerging web, database, online services, and other relevant technology trends.

Applicant's profile
We are looking for applicants who are preferentially:

• Passionate about applying data skills to deliver powerful insights from analysing complex data
• Skilled data scientists with strong experience in Python, data cleaning, data analysis and text mining
• Robust web developers with strong experience in relational databases (such as PostgreSQL) and with understanding of internet architectures and protocols, as well as cloud services (such as Azure)
• Experienced with Python web framework (such as Django or similar)
• Experienced in deploying web applications on CI/CD, code version control system like Git, and familiar with big data workflows and tools, as well as data visualization tools
• Experienced in natural language processing and semantic web technologies such as ontologies
• Interested in research & innovation knowledge pathways from creation to exploitation, supporting research & innovation communities to help them to tackle global challenges
• Both proactive and self-driven - as well as team-oriented with a collaborative mindset
• Strong communicators able to communicate complex issues to different audiences
• Fluent in spoken and written English (the working language is English)
• Holder of a master’s degree within the natural or engineering sciences.

More specific data scientist skills which are favorable for a candidacy can be found below.

Job flexibility and working environment
The preferred location of work for the position is in Odense, Denmark. However, the position includes the option of working partially remote. International applicants are welcome, if they live in Denmark or if they want to relocate to Denmark. Employees living in Denmark will be required to work on site in Odense three days per week. Regardless of the location, there will be constant communication with other team members via online communication tools.

The chosen candidates will experience becoming part of a dedicated and highly competent team in a dynamic and collaborative working environment. The work will be especially close with colleagues from a small group of skilled and committed data scientist colleagues focusing on advanced data analysis, automation, and web development.

In SDU RIO, the chosen candidates will further interact with other teams incl. business developers as well as policy and strategy advisors. In the European project, there will be interactions with partners and stakeholders from all around Europe within the Mission Ocean ecosystem.

Application process and contract terms
The positions are full-time (37 hour/week) with anticipated placement as an Administrative Officer or Special Consultant, depending on the candidate’s experience and qualifications. The contract terms will be in accordance with the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations).

One of the positions offered is a permanent position and the other is a temporary contract for 12 months with potential prolongation.

The deadline for application is Sunday 20/10-2024.

The 1st round interviews are expected ultimo October and can be online.

The 2nd round interviews are expected on site in Odense in the first week of December.

Candidates invited for the second-round of interviews will be instructed to perform a coding task in Python in preparation of the second-round interview.

Expected job start is February 2025 or soon thereafter.

The application must be written entirely in English and include the following:

• A letter of motivation, including details on qualifications within the subject area.
• A curriculum vitae including information on education, previous employment, list of programming skills mastered by the applicant, project management experience and references.
• A copy of the Master’s certificate together with any relevant professional certificates.

Only applications submitted via the University of Southern Denmark’s application system from applicants with a European working permit are considered. Incomplete applications and applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

Application must include cover letter, CV and certificate. All documents in connection with the application should not contain CPR number (civil registration number) – in that case, the CPR number must be crossed out.

All attached files must be in Adobe PDF format. Cover letter and CV can contain max. 5 Mb.

We recommend that you read how to apply before you apply.

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Additional information
Further information about the positions can be obtained from SDU RIO team leader Esben N. Flindt (M: +45 4047 3773, E: [email protected].

Further information for international applicants about working in Denmark and at the University of Southern Denmark: https://www.sdu.dk/en/om-sdu/international-staff

Preferred data scientist Skills

• Qualitative Methods and Scientific Perspectives
• Problem-based project work
• Quantitative methods
• Data Treatment
• Anthropological Fieldwork
• Project planning
• Organization and Management
• Introduction to Data Processing
• IT Security, IT Ethics & Privacy
• Statistics
• Introduction to Human Informatics
• Data Mining and Machine Learning
• Multivariate Statistical Analysis
• Database Systems
• Applied Machine Learning
• Visualization
• Deep Learning
• Data Driven applications
• The Quality of Data from Social Encounters
• Thick Data Analysis
• Ethics and Design

DevOps & Web Developper Skills

• Azure DevOps
• Azure Pipelines
• Azure Container Apps
• Azure Container Registry
• Azure Communication Services
• having a general knowledge of Linux distributions.
• Being comfortable in the Docker ecosystem
• bash scripting
• Building and managing REST API's
• NextJS
• TailwindCSS

Placering: Odense, Denmark