Senior Applications and Data Solutions Developer, Penn Arts and Sciences

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Senior Applications and Data Solutions Developer, Penn Arts and Sciences

Job Profile Title

Application Developer Senior

Job Description Summary

Our group seeks a versatile and creative problem solver who can work with non-technical clients to understand complex operational needs and develop practical technology solutions. This broad role spans application development, institutional data reporting, administration and improvement of an existing portfolio of platforms and services, and the development of automated and self-service tools, requiring the ability to move comfortably between projects, technologies, and problem domains while working independently and collaboratively.

Job Description

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. The School of Arts and Sciences forms the foundation of the scholarly excellence that has established Penn as one of the world's leading research universities. We teach students across all twelve Penn schools, and our academic departments span the reach from anthropology and biology to sociology and South Asian studies. http://www.sas.upenn.edu/

Institutional Research and Application Development (IRAD) is a team of developers and data analysts within SAS Computing. We partner with the School’s three academic divisions — the College, the Graduate Division, and the College of Liberal and Professional Studies — as well as the Dean’s Office, Faculty Affairs, and the Office of Advancement, on the systems, applications, and data they rely on to operate.

We build and maintain custom web applications, provide expertise on institutional data through analysis, reporting, data visualization, and business intelligence technologies, and administer and integrate vendor and configurable platforms. Our work frequently involves helping clients understand complex problems and identifying the most practical technology solution, whether that involves developing something new, improving an existing system, integrating institutional data, or creating automated and self-service tools.

We strive to create innovative ways to improve operations and enable more informed decision-making. Our work connects directly to the academic mission of the School, in an environment that supports professional growth and a flexible work/life balance.

Job Responsibilities/Duties:

Analyze complex operational problems in partnership with clients across the School, evaluate alternative approaches, and recommend practical, sustainable solutions. Solutions may involve new development, configuration of existing platforms, reporting and data integration, self-service tools, or changes to process. Prepare the requirements, specifications, and plans needed to carry the work forward.

Design, build, enhance, and maintain technology solutions supporting the College, the Graduate Division, LPS, the Dean’s Office, Faculty Affairs, and the Office of Advancement. The position works directly with clients to understand their operations, identify problems and opportunities, and translate business needs into practical technical solutions. Solutions may include custom-developed web applications, data-driven and self-service tools, automated workflows, or configurable, vendor-provided, and low-code platforms.

Develop and maintain data pipelines, reporting, data visualizations, and self-service tools that enable clients to access and use institutional data effectively. Extract, transform, and integrate data from multiple institutional source systems, including student, admissions, instruction, enrollment, employment, survey, and development and alumni relations data. Develop automated solutions that reduce manual preparation and support School governance, program review, and other institutional reporting processes.

Administer, support, enhance, and troubleshoot a diverse portfolio of internally developed applications and vendor-provided platforms maintained by IRAD. Configure systems, maintain integrations with institutional data sources, coordinate with vendors and University partners including Information Systems and Computing (ISC), resolve operational issues, and identify opportunities to improve, modernize, or streamline existing services.

Maintain working knowledge of applications, data, reporting, and services supported across IRAD to provide backup coverage and continuity of operations. Document applications, data processes, technical decisions, and operational procedures so that systems and services remain transparent, supportable, and maintainable by others. Ensure appropriate use of University data and adherence to applicable security, privacy, and data governance standards.

Occasional or weekend and/or evening hours would be required based on business needs.

Qualifications:

Required: A Bachelor’s Degree and 3 to 5 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is required. The position requires progressively responsible experience developing and supporting data-driven applications, databases, reporting, or other enterprise technology solutions. Demonstrated ability to analyze complex operational problems, work directly with non-technical stakeholders to understand and define needs, and translate those needs into practical technical solutions.

Strong experience with relational databases and complex SQL, along with experience developing web applications using PHP or comparable server-side technologies, and experience with reporting and analytics solutions, data integrations, or automated workflows. Demonstrated experience working across multiple systems and technologies, including extracting, transforming, and integrating data from diverse sources. Strong communication, customer service, collaboration, and project planning and organizational skills are required.

The successful candidate must be intellectually curious, flexible, and comfortable working across a diverse portfolio of applications, platforms, data, and reporting needs. The ability to independently investigate unfamiliar systems and technologies, decompose complex problems, evaluate alternative approaches, and develop sustainable solutions is essential. The position requires the ability to context switch between projects, work both independently and collaboratively, and build effective relationships with technical peers and divisional clients.

Preferred: Knowledge of one or more of the following is desirable: Oracle, MySQL, PL/SQL, Oracle Application Express (APEX) or similar