Research Application Developer

Essential Duties

1. Develop or modify moderately complex software programming applications from specifications.2. Monitor, support, and troubleshoot IT infrastructure, ensuring adherence to standards and service level objectives.3. Analyze and prepare reports on performance metrics.4. Implement and support robust and secure IT solution.5. Draw on relationship and technical skills to act as technical liaison to internal and external stakeholders.6. Serve as a technical liaison; support & collaborate with internal and external stakeholders.7. Contribute to development & implementation of best practices.

Background Check Requirements

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.

Position Focus:

The Research Application Developer an integral member of the Yale School of Management (SOM) Behavioral Lab research staff, primary responsibility for developing research-specific applications to facilitate data collection for Marketing and Organizational Behavior faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students, translating study ideas into working code. Reports to Senior Associate Director, Initiative on Leadership & Organization with dual report to Manager for Application Development.

Executes all phases of application development process, including gathering requirements, designing readable code, carrying out unit testing, generating usable documentation, managing data storage & supports/maintains projects post-deployment. Develops front-end and back-end aspects of each application & ensures secure and accurate data collection from end users to database.

This position is responsible for project management of applications developed through third-party vendors. Gathers requirements, holds meetings with stakeholders & coordinates with supervisors to establish new projects. Manages vendor relationship through regular meetings, ensures that projects are delivered successfully with respect to budget & timeline. Responsible for maintaining final product delivered by vendor & works with vendor to resolve critical issues.

Essential Duties:

1. Develop and maintain study-specific applications, along with supplementary web services or processes, to accurately & securely collect various forms of response data from users. Consult regularly with Marketing and OB researchers to gather and validate requirements, utilizing existing knowledge of psychological experimentation & behavioral science. Translate gathered requirements into readable, well-documented code. Adhere to modern standards of ethical and secure data collection outlined by Yale Central Institutional Review Board (IRB). Manage all other aspects of application development, including creating design specifications, mapping out data flows & structures, managing data storage, performing unit testing, troubleshooting, deploying application & monitoring end user feedback. Troubleshoot and maintain existing projects, upgrade and modernize when necessary. Perform complex systems analysis & programming tasks requiring advanced techniques. Define system objectives & prepare systems design specifications to meet user requirements and satisfy interface demands. Provide routine daily maintenance, code review and updates of existing sites and applications of all sizes.
2. Manage technical projects for Marketing & OB researchers that are developed through third-party vendors, maintain & support final deliverables. Launch projects by gathering requirements, meet with stakeholders, interface with SOM departments, review potential bids & select a correct vendor for the task. Work with external vendors during the discovery and requirements gathering process to provide information about the needs of the requested application and background information about Behavioral Lab research operations. Coordinate with Yale SOM IT for compliance and integration. Ensure ongoing projects stay on budget and on time by regularly meeting with external vendors and reviewing progress. Maintain & support final deliverables provided by external vendors, including coordinating user acceptance testing (UAT) generating documentation for end users, resolving critical bugs, and managing and monitoring the application post-deployment.
3. Develop non-study-specific applications to support staff and lab operations when necessary.
4. Contribute technical knowledge and expertise to staff to help streamline and improve lab operations.

Preferred Education, Experience and Skills:

Master's degree & education in research psychology/related field. Knowledge of SQL under SQL Server, MySQL, Postgre; NoSQL solutions such as Redis, Memcached or equivalent. Experience with Java, PHP, Python, current software development platforms. Deployment knowledge of Jenkins, Ansible, CircleCL. Familiar with common statistical platforms, e.g., SPSS, Stata and R, advanced Excel.

Posting Disclaimer

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the particular position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through their hiring departments.

EEO Statement:

University policy is committed to affirmative action under law in employment of women, minority group members, individuals with disabilities, and protected veterans. Additionally, in accordance with Yale's Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment, and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual's sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.

Inquiries concerning Yale's Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment may be referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).

Required Skill/Ability 1:

Extensive proficiency with front-end development including UI/UX design, HTML5/CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery. Proficiency with server-side development including PHP and Node.js.

Required Skill/Ability 2:

Proficiency with relational databases (e.g. SQL) and non-relational databases (e.g. MongoDB). Ability to leverage knowledge of psychological experimentation and behavioral psychology to translate research ideas into working code.

Required Skill/Ability 3:

Solid analytical skills with ability to assess complex problems and translate them into a functioning solution. Exceptional communication skills; clear and quick responsiveness, ability to provide accurate progress updates, ability to communicate about programming with a non-technical audience. Professional demeanor and discretion.

Required Skill/Ability 4:

Ability to work collaboratively with researchers and staff. Ability to work independently. Ability to establish and maintain strong working relationships within the Behavioral Lab, SOM and broader Yale communities.

Required Skill/Ability 5:

Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, adjust priorities, and consistently meet deadlines. Proven commitment to diversity and inclusion, equity, and excellence.