Chief Technology Officer and Director for Software

Description

NSF's NOIRLab is the preeminent US national center for ground-based, nighttime optical and infrared astronomy. NOIRLab is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) which operates as a matrix organization, providing services across a range of programs: Gemini, Rubin, MSO (CTIO and KPNO), and CSDC; with facilities in three geographic locations: Arizona, Chile and Hawai'i. The mission of NOIRLab is to enable breakthrough discoveries in astrophysics by developing and operating state-of-the-art ground-based observatories and providing data products and services for a diverse and inclusive community.

The Chief Technology Officer and Director for Software (CTO-DS) provides senior technical leadership, management, and strategy for NOIRLab's activities in software engineering, scientific computing and information technology (IT), and scientific data management systems. A member of the NOIRLab Leadership Team (LT), the CTO-DS will serve as the head of a new Data Management and Software (DMS) division at NOIRLab. DMS will be a Level 1 component of NOIRLab, responsible for delivering coordinated solutions to the software and data management needs of NOIRLab's programs, services, directorate, and cross-cutting initiatives. The CTO-DS will lead the organizational design and implementation of the DMS division, working closely with senior NOIRLab leadership and with the current leaders of the software- and data-focused technical teams across NOIRLab and Rubin Observatory Construction.

The goals for DMS are to:

• Establish an integrated organizational framework for the development, deployment, maintenance, and evolution of software engineering and data-management competencies at NOIRLab, capitalizing on the opportunity of the Lab's overall scale to create a global center of excellence in this area.

• Deliver high-quality software and data management solutions to NOIRLab's scientific programs and matrix services, leveraging investments and experience from individual programs and services for the benefit of others.

• Enable progress towards a more integrated, standardized, and scientifically empowering set of data management services and platforms for the global astronomy user community.

• Provide unified technical leadership, strategy, and technology selection to ensure standardization and interoperability of software systems and professionals across NOIRLab.

• Coordinate NOIRLab's activities of research and development into emerging software, computing, and data-management technologies.

• Support the recruitment, retention, and long-term professional development of software engineering staff across NOIRLab.

• Provide a unified framework for coordination and collaboration with peer centers and institutions on topics of data management and software.

• Ensure that NOIRLab's core IT systems and processes are modern, well-coordinated, and aligned with the Lab's scientific, technical, business-process, and cybersecurity needs.

Essential Functions:

As the leader of the design and implementation of DMS, the CTO-DS will:

• Work as a member of the NOIRLab LT to ensure that the design and implementation of DMS is responsive to the scientific and programmatic goals of NSF, NOIRLab and its constituent programs and services, the astronomical user community, and other key stakeholders.

• Formulate an organizational structure to provide functional and technical management of software engineering staff, either directly or through their technical team leaders.

• Develop a plan for potential reorganization of NOIRLab IT to ensure appropriate support for modern scientific software, computing, and data-management systems and methodologies (e.g. DevOps, CI/CD, SRE) while continuing to deliver essential business IT support and effective cybersecurity.

• Work with the LT and with AURA and NOIRLab financial and administrative staff to design and implement a cost model for DMS within NOIRLab.

• Manage the transition of software engineering staff from NOIRLab Engineering and scientist-programmers from Research Science Services to DMS.

• Maintain initial continuity of established software and data management teams across the transition into the new DMS organization, while identifying and pursuing opportunities to evolve these teams over time into more cross-cutting capacities.

• Ensure a successful transition of Rubin Data Management staff into the NOIRLab DMS organization, fully realizing the benefits of Rubin's software culture and competencies for the broader NOIRLab software and data mission.

As the head of NOIRLab DMS once it is implemented, the CTO-DS will:

• Serve as the overall technical leader and manager of software engineering, data management, and scientific computing systems staff and scope-of-work across NOIRLab, delegating as appropriate to next-level managers within DMS.

• Serve as NOIRLab's senior technical leader for software, data management, and scientific computing, maintaining a comprehensive understanding of the needs in these areas across the NOIRLab portfolio, and escalating important operational and strategic issues to the LT as needed.

• Work with NOIRLab's program and service directors to ensure that their groups' software and data-management development and operational needs are met, in the context of long-range planning, annual planning, and in-year adjustment of priorities and efforts.

• In collaboration with the LT and the NOIRLab Portfolio Management Office, implement and oversee a system for prioritization, project definition, effort estimation, work breakdown, budgeting, tracking, and reporting of NOIRLab's software and data-management activities, using both agile and traditional project-management approaches as appropriate within the context of NOIRLab's annual planning and operations cycle.

• Ensure accountability of DMS software teams to deliver results for NOIRLab as a whole, including through the effective delegation of responsibility and authority within DMS.

• Establish and promulgate uniform best practices for software development and software systems operation within NOIRLab.

• Plan and manage the evolution of NOIRLab's software teams and DMS internal structure over time to meet the evolving needs of the NOIRLab portfolio.

• In collaboration with Human Resources, lead the recruitment, retention, and professional development of data-management and software engineering staff at NOIRLab, taking a strategic approach to the development of the workforce as a whole.

• Formulate Lab-wide strategy and standards for software development and technology selection, taking into account the Lab's programmatic needs and long-range scientific strategy, as well as the evolving landscape of software and computing. Promote directed R&D and technology maturation activities as appropriate.

• Promote and model a culture of respect, inclusion, diversity, excellence, and continuous improvement within DMS.

• Serve.