Director for Digital Strategy and Library Technology

????School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States

Note: This position has been deemed critical by the School of Medicine and is exempt from the hiring freeze.

Stanford University School of Medicine is world-renowned for leading-edge education, research, patient care, and medical advancements. The Department of Educational Programs and Services (EPS) is home to departments and programs that are central to the educational mission of the Stanford University School of Medicine. We serve all populations of students and trainees who participate in the School's programs: Stanford MD, MS, MSPA, and PhD students; visiting MD students seeking clinical clerkships; postdoctoral scholars and medical fellows; and medical practitioners seeking further professional enrichment. Our goal is to provide a Stanford School of Medicine experience worthy of our students’ and trainees’ talents, aspirations, and dedication.

Department Information

Stanford University School of Medicine’s Lane Medical Library accelerates scientific discovery, clinical care, medical education and humanities through teaching, collaboration, and delivery of biomedical and historical resources. The library is a state-of-the-art medical library within the Medical Student Education group which supports Stanford Medical Center’s research, education, and patient care objectives. Lane Library supports its mission to accelerate scientific discovery in part by curating a collection of print and digital knowledge resources relevant to the in-depth research, graduate-level education, and clinical patient care performed by the Stanford Medicine community and its affiliated hospitals and clinics. We are proud of our rich history dating back to 1882.

Job Purpose

Provide strategic leadership and direction by applying technological innovation to develop technical solutions that address complex research challenges. Achieve mission and goals through the management of staff.

Reporting to the Associate Dean for Knowledge Management, Stanford Medicine is seeking a Research Computing Manager to lead day-to-day management of technical functions and provide strategic leadership for Lane Medical Library’s digital library of knowledge. Lane Medical Library provides 24/7 digital access to an extensive collection in clinical medicine, biomedicine, and public health to support biomedical education, research, and clinical care for Stanford School of Medicine and Hospitals.

The Director for Digital Strategy and Library Technology will provide technical leadership and strategic direction, expertise in AI solutions to transform how the medical library facilitates discovery, access, and use of biomedical knowledge. This position sits at the intersection of data science, information management, and health sciences research, embedding advanced AI/ML expertise into library services to accelerate evidence-based medicine by improving resource discoverability and accessibility within a complex research landscape and fast-paced clinical environment.

Excellent organization and communication skills are required to manage and direct the integration of quickly evolving technology into research, education, and clinical workflows, often requiring solutions that combine multiple computational tools and techniques in addition to collaboration outside of the library. Analysis of user feedback will inform proposals for new computational approaches, tooling and training to better meet researcher and learner needs. While a library or information science degree is not required, the successful candidate will combine highly specialized technical expertise and knowledge of AI/ML with excellent interpersonal skills, enabling effective and time sensitive collaboration to partner with faculty, clinicians, researchers, and library staff. The Director for Digital Strategy and Library Technology will join Lane’s senior leadership team and play a key role in positioning Lane Medical Library as a leader in responsible AI adoption within an academic health sciences and broader biomedical community.

This position will be based on the Stanford campus and will be considered for an option of telecommuting from the Bay Area (hybrid of working 2-3 days on-site), subject to operational need.

Core Duties

Researcher Engagement

Lead engagement with faculty and researchers to understand their strategic research goals and needs, identifying technical obstacles and solutions for highly complex research questions.

Advise on research computing efforts in support of research project goals.

Solutions Development

Oversee budget and schedule for complex projects in research computing and data analytics. Support research needs by overseeing teams engaged in projects and operations to design, implement, and support innovative technical solutions. Areas could include machine learning algorithms, text and image processing techniques, API programming, custom full-stack applications, automated web scraping, advanced workflows and crowdsourcing pipelines to inform research findings. Lead the development of workflow enhancements.

Manage adoption of new technologies and methodologies within the research community.

Oversee the implementation of robust data processing and analysis frameworks to support cutting-edge research for managing large, complex data sets.

Documentation/Training

Use advanced technical and professional knowledge to ensure the organization stays at the forefront of evolving technologies and methodologies in research computing, artificial intelligence, and data analysis.

Partnership/Collaboration

Develop and manage relationships with external technology partners and vendors, leveraging these partnerships to formulate the team’s capabilities and research support services.

Leadership

Lead and mentor team of technical staff, setting strategic direction and priorities to support faculty, researchers, and students in achieving their research goals.

Manage technical staff, including recruiting, hiring, developing, evaluating, and setting priorities. Adapt a customer service model for the team and communicate and deliver this model to key stakeholders and partners.

Foster an environment of innovation within the team, encouraging exploration of new tools, technologies, and methodologies to enhance research support capabilities.

Keep informed about relevant academic and industry developments, promoting a culture of continuous learning and adaptation.

Education & Experience (Required)

Master’s or PhD degree in computer science, data science, statistics, or a related field and 7 years of relevant experience, or combination of education and relevant experience. At least 3 years of leadership experience with complex research projects and supervisory experience preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (Required)

Demonstrated success in leading teams to apply data science, machine learning, and other advanced computing techniques to solve complex research problems.

Expertise in data science, machine learning methodologies, and tools, with a proven ability to apply these in a research context.

Strong programming skills, with proficiency in Python and experience with SQL and one or more general-purpose languages (e.g. Java, JavaScript, R).

Demonstrated experience preferred with data processing at scale, including a deep understanding of the appropriate tools and methodologies for various scenarios.

Familiarity with advanced text and image processing techniques, and experience developing and deploying full-stack applications and API integrations in a research setting.

Exceptional problem-solving skills, creativity in developing customized solutions, and the ability to foresee and navigate future technological challenges.

Strong leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to inspire, influence and motivate and mentor a diverse team, foster collaboration, effective working relationships and communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.

Commitment to continuous learning and staying abreast of the latest technologies and methodologies in research computing.

Service-oriented leadership style, with an emphasis on supporting and developing team members and facilitating the success of researchers with varying levels of technical expertise.

Demonstrated ability to manage and execute project budgets.

Exceptional customer relationship and consensus building skills.

Ability to identify and escalated complex issues quickly and make decisions that meet team objectives in a collaborative culture.

Desired Qualifications

Demonstrated expertise designing, deploying, and operating AI/ML solutions for information discovery and access including large language models, NLP, embeddings, vector/semantic search, RAG pipelines, knowledge graphs, and recommender systems.

Familiarity with traditional information retrieval and search engineering, including indexing pipelines, schema, relevance tuning, query expansion, learning-to-rank, and operation of enterprise search platforms (e.g. Solr, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch).

Practical experience with major cloud providers (GCP, AWS or Azure) particularly their AI/ML and data services.

Familiarity with infrastructure as code tools like Terraform to manage and provision cloud resources programmatically.

Understanding of ethical AI principles and their practical application in a research and clinical environment.

Familiarity with biomedical data standards and ontologies used in health sciences, such as MeSH (Medical Subject Headings), SNOMED CT, and data formats like PubMed/MEDLINE XML, FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources).

Experience with digital library technologies including discovery layers (e.g. Alma/Primo, Blacklight), link resolvers/OpenURL proxy servers (EZproxy).

Physical Requirements

Constantly perform desk-based computer tasks.

Frequently sit, grasp lightly/fine manipulation.

Occasionally stand/walk, writing by hand.

Rarely use a telephone, lift/carry/push/pull objects that weigh up to 10 pounds.

The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classification and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.

Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should contact Stanford University Human Resources by submitting a contact form.

Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please note: Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. All candidates must be eligible to work and live in the U.S.

Why Stanford is for You

Imagine a world without search engines or social platforms. Consider lives saved through first-ever organ transplants and research to cure illnesses. Stanford University has revolutionized the way we live and enrich the world. Supporting this mission is our diverse and dedicated 17,000 staff. We seek talent driven to impact the future of our legacy. Our culture and unique perks empower you with:

Freedom to grow. We offer career development programs, tuition reimbursement, or audit a course. Join a TedTalk, film screening, or listen to a renowned author or global leader speak.

A caring culture. We provide superb retirement plans, generous time-off, and family care resources.

A healthier you. Climb our rock wall or choose from hundreds of health or fitness classes at our world-class exercise facilities. We also provide excellent health care benefits.

Discovery and fun. Stroll through historic sculptures, trails, and museums.

Enviable resources. Enjoy free commuter programs, ridesharing incentives, discounts and more!

We pride ourselves in being a culture that encourages and empowers you.

Additional Information

Schedule: Full-time

Job Code: 4799

Employee Status: Regular

Grade: L

Requisition ID: 107656

Work Arrangement: Hybrid Eligible

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