Department

ISAC Data Research Center (DRC)

About the Department

The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures was founded in 1919 by James Henry Breasted with the financial support of John D. Rockefeller Jr., and was originally envisaged as a research laboratory for the investigation of the early human career that would trace humankind’s progress from the most ancient days of West Asia and North Africa. The goal of the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures is to be the world’s leading center for the study of the ancient civilizations of West Asia and North Africa by combining innovation in theory, methodology, and significant empirical discovery with the highest standards of rigorous scholarship.

Job Summary

The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC) at the University of Chicago seeks a Web Application Developer to lead the design, development, and maintenance of web-based tools and infrastructure supporting ISAC’s digital research initiatives. Based in the ISAC Data Research Center (DRC), this position is essential to implementing robust, sustainable, and user-focused web applications and data services for digital scholarship in archaeology, philology, and cultural heritage. The successful candidate will directly support high-profile initiatives including the Integrated Database, ISAC research datasets, Chicago Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation (C3HP), Center for Ancient Middle Eastern Landscapes (CAMEL), Diyala Project, and the modernization of ISAC’s digital presence, including its public-facing websites and data portals.

This is a hands-on development role focused on building and maintaining applications, infrastructure, and data-driven research tools, including support for projects exploring AI-assisted scholarship and data enrichment.

Responsibilities

Web Application and Software Development

Design, develop, and maintain custom web applications and digital tools that support research workflows and public access to ISAC’s collections and datasets.

Build user-friendly interfaces for data visualization, geospatial browsing, and interactive storytelling.

Ensure responsive design, accessibility, and performance across platforms and devices.

The developer will maintain and improve existing codebases, ensuring scalability and documentation for sustained use.

Project & Research Support

Provide technical expertise and hands-on support for ongoing and upcoming digital projects such as the Integrated Database, CAMEL Lab, CRANE, and Diyala Project.

Collaborate with ISAC researchers to implement technical solutions for digital projects involving text, images, maps, structured data, and emerging AI-supported methods for analysis and discovery.

Build reproducible, scalable workflows for data transformation, modeling, and long-term archiving.

Support version-controlled collaborative infrastructure (e.g., GitHub).

Data Integration & Technology Infrastructure Support

Manage ISAC’s research data services, including archaeological, spatial, and textual datasets, databases, and web platforms.

Integrate project data with external repositories and linked open data sources (e.g., Pleiades, Getty Vocabularies).

Maintain and extend ISAC’s web presence through dynamic data portals and CMS-driven content.

Implement and maintain metadata standards across projects (e.g., Dublin Core, EAD, GeoJSON, MODS).

Documentation, Training, and Outreach

Produce clear documentation, user guides, and training resources for researchers and project collaborators.

Provide workshops and consultations to ISAC faculty, staff, and students.

Participate in cross-campus and interdisciplinary digital scholarship communities.

Ensure all research data is well-documented and archived in accordance with FAIR principles.

Supports and maintains existing applications. Works with web developers and responds to requests from users.

Performs code testing on components and works to ensure that appropriate implementation standards are met. Evaluates design alternatives for development cost and solutions using various methods.

Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Experience:

Demonstrated fluency in full-stack development, including modern frameworks, backend scripting, and database integration.

Interest in long-term preservation, open-source tools, and reproducible research.

Familiarity with AI-assisted indexing, classification, or entity recognition in cultural heritage datasets is a plus.

Strong collaborative, analytical, organizational, and communication skills.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

JavaScript (Node, React, Vue) and PHP.

SQL, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, Solr, and ElasticSearch.

ArcGIS, QGIS, Leaflet, and D3.js.

REST APIs.

Apache.

Docker.

HTML, CSS, XML, XSLT, TEI, and IIIF.

Experience with and willingness to explore AI and machine learning frameworks as applied to digital collections and research tools.

Working Conditions

This position is based on the University of Chicago campus in Hyde Park. Work occurs in a hybrid environment with time split across offices, labs, and digital platforms. Occasional lifting of materials (up to 30 lbs) and participation in outreach or instructional events may be required.

Application Documents

Resume (required)

Cover Letter (required)

Professional References (three required)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Information Technology

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Pay Rate Type

Salary

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FLSA Status

Exempt

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Pay Range

$65,000.00 - $80,000.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

 

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

 

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