Director, Scientific Computing
Position Summary:
The Director of Scientific Computing provides technical leadership and directs ITS
resources dedicated to research computing systems (non-administrative). In
collaboration with Assistant Dean for Scientific Computing, this position will work to build
consensus on technology needs for scientific community, especially high performance
computing, storage, networking, software as a service (SaaS), custom development, and
cost modeling. This position is the primary technical ITS liaison with the Assistant Dean
for Scientific Computing and the greater scientific community in all areas of scientific
computing services, even those not directly reporting to him or her. This position will
operate as part of the Infrastructure and Operations organization, and is expected to
represent all of ITS, finds or creates harmony between groups to support seamless
architectural, design, and process standards balanced with an agile, fast-pace necessary
to meet the dynamic requirements of the Weill Cornell research community. Partnering
with the Assistant Dean for Scientific Computing, the Director will collaborate with (but
are not limited to) the Center for Advanced Computing, the CTSC Bioinformatics Core, the
Center for Health Informatics and Policy, Institute for Computational Biomedicine [ICB],
Sidra, and the new Tech Campus. Assisting with planning for key initiatives such as the
Cancer Center, Institute for Precision Medicine, Tri-Institutional Drug Discovery Institute,
and similar cores, centers, and institutes to be defined, is central to this role.
Position Activities
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Assists the Assistant Dean Scientific Computing and consults with and serves as an
interface with research faculty and Departments and appropriate committees for
the purpose of insuring coordination in systems planning, development and
implementation between the appropriate internal and external scientific and
technology organizations. Participates in national and international collaborations
and acts as a Weill Cornell representative to relevant consortia. Coordinates high
performance computing services including HPC clusters, Cloud and other research
computing and storage services, research networking, and custom development
within ITS and its shared service partners such as CAC, NYGC, WCMC-Q, and the
CTSC. Serves as the primary liaison for related activities and the overall integration
of research computing services with college and hospital electronic health
information.
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Responsible for overall planning, budget development, and implementation of
research computing technologies and services. Builds and maintains a world class
team of highly technical engineers responsible for executing research computing
initiatives.
Develops trusted partnership with Ast Dean for Scientific Computing as well as
other faculty, WCMC leadership, and staff in order to proactively identify and
translate needs into IT services. Adept at navigating complex relationships and
organizational structures, and finding common ground across multiple
constituencies.
Partners with the Assistant Dean for Scientific Computing to ensure technical
services are aligned with academic priorities. Participates in faculty-driven
workgroups to plan and oversee services for computationally intensive research
in clinical, basic, and translational research. Serves as staff liaison to other
institutional committees as designated.
Collaborates with IT teams to develop service level agreements (SLA’s),
operating level agreements (OLA’s), and annual budget and staffing proposals for
research computing services.
Provides consulting support to departments, faculty, and other academic clients
on high performance computing resources, design, and build options, which can
include: porting, parallelization, tuning, using software libraries, storage
management, and optimization.
Plays an integral role in assessing, prioritizing, and continuously improving
technical support services provided to research-focused faculty members and
labs. With the goal of continuous improvement, regularly benchmarks WCMC
services against external peer groups.
Directs development of a research computing systems architecture that delivers
on the prioritized requirements of researchers and College partners. This
includes but is not limited to technical requirements gathering, design and
execution, budgeting, vendor management and negotiation, staff supervision,
policy and procedure development and enforcement. Conducts ongoing
technology assessment of research information systems and products, related to
identifying and meeting research needs and potential external collaborations.
Performs other related duties as assigned.
Minimum Requirements
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Masters level education in computer science, information systems,
management, or relevant basic science field.
Comprehensive, working knowledge of research computing, including HPC,
storage, advanced networking design, data sharing, virtualization, and local,
regional, national, and international biomedical research organizations (e.g.,
Broad Institute, NY Genome Center).
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In depth understanding of the development and execution of research protocols,
accounting and provenance tracking of related data and best practices for
ensuring compliance and security.
Managerial and team-leading experience in an academic setting (or similar)
involving the use of high performance computing systems. Demonstrated
service orientation with a history of success executing on projects in a matrix
organization and without regard to role power.
Must have demonstrable experience in the design, development and execution
of scientific workflows. Must be able to work with faculty researchers to
understand their research processes and translate that information into required
computational, data analysis and network resources in order for the research to
be done efficiently and at a pace that does not lag behind the acquisition or
creation of new data.
Five plus years of relevant work experience.
Highly Desired Requirements
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Doctoral level education.
Managerial experience in an academic setting involving the use of research
information systems.
In depth knowledge and experience in computer use in medical colleges,
research laboratories, and/or academic hospitals.
Experience with clinical research protocols.
Skill and Abilities
 Extensive knowledge of current information technology and applications related
to research administration.
 Experience developing policies and procedures, project management, and the
supervision of systems installations.
 Must possess strong collaborative program development skills in order to
develop innovative informatics tools, software and services.
 Knowledge of RFP and grant development.
 Strong data analysis skills. Able to identify process problems and correct them
through policy, procedures and software checking.
 Must possess strong program development skills in order to develop innovative
services and tools. Must be able to analyze and assess needs in research
administration.
 Excellent written and verbal communication skills are essential to provide
technical, medical and educational leadership to all staff. Must be able to
communicate effectively the capabilities and limitations of information
technologies. Demonstrated skill at leading and motivating high performing
teams.
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Strong organizational skills. Track record of successfully managing complex
projects involving vendors, software developers, IT staff, and research
stakeholders.
Must have demonstrated capabilities in developing collaborative approach to
program development. Establishes policies and procedures, supervises
installation of programs.
Mission Driven
• We are guided by our goals of excellence in medical and scientific education, health care
delivery and biomedical research.
• We have professional commitment and loyalty to our organization.
Vision
• We are forward thinking and are flexible and adaptive to the changes in our environment.
• We embrace change, and use it to our advantage.
Integrity
• We are committed to doing what is right, even if it is not easy.
• We are ethical in all our business dealings.
Excellence
• We seek continuous improvement and always strive for superior performance.
• We strive to advance the reputation of WCMC/WCMC-Q and are committed to upholding
standards of excellence that support our reputation.
Service
• We are committed to serving the needs and preferences of our patients, students, faculty and
staff.
• We strive to exceed the expectations of our customers with every interaction.
Teamwork
• We measure our individual success by the success of our overall work group.
• We are committed to demonstrating courtesy, kindness and respect to our co-workers.
Accountability
• We take ownership of our work and maintain the highest personal standards.
• We are results-oriented and evidence-based in our approach.
Weill Cornell Medical College is an employer and educator recognized for valuing AA/EEO,
Protected Veterans, and Individuals with Disabilities.
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Founded in 1898, and affiliated with what is now New York-Presbyterian Hospital since 1927,
Weill Cornell Medical College is among the top-ranked clinical and medical research centers in the
country. In addition to offering degrees in medicine, Cornell also has Ph.D. programs in biomedical
research and education at the Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and with neighboring
Rockefeller University and the Sloan-Kettering Institute, has established a joint MD-PhD. program
for students to intensify their pursuit of Cornell's triple mission of education, research, and patient
care.
Weill Cornell Medical College's educational mission emphasizes the importance of combining a
strong foundation in the medical sciences with extensive clinical training in patient care. By
promoting a true social commitment, stimulating creativity, and fostering independent thought
and study, Weill Cornell Medical College continues to cultivate the best of tomorrow's leaders in
the field of medicine.