Assistant Student Developer
Position Overview
Jump in with the Biodiversity Institute Specify Software team (https://github.com/specify/specify7) to take on various programming projects as part of an engaged, supportive, and friendly workgroup of professional software engineers, students, and museum scientists. We are a software engineering and support group within the KU Natural History Museum with the mission to provide database software for the world’s biological and geological museums to document and catalog the plant and animal species and geology of planet Earth.
Software projects will be varied and designed to first take advantage of existing skills and experience. They will build career-valuable expertise. You will learn modern, practical, data science methods and software engineering techniques in this position by creating code that has a real-world, environmental research impact. Tasks might include migrating data from older databases to the Specify schema, designing new features, or coding associated with web application user interface design, security, descriptive database statistics, or for API-based integrations. No previous biological research or museum experience is needed. We will bring you up to speed with biodiversity informatics as a data community. You will receive personalized mentoring from experienced programmers and have opportunities to work on user-facing features and capabilities. Our student team members have consistently raved about their experience working with us, and we believe that if you are a smart, creative, and detail-oriented individual with a drive to succeed, you will find this to be fulfilling and enjoyable. Working with us will definitely lead to professional growth with new marketable software engineering skills and resume upgrades.
Software projects will be varied and designed to first take advantage of existing skills and experience. They will build career-valuable expertise. You will learn modern, practical, data science methods and software engineering techniques in this position by creating code that has a real-world, environmental research impact. Tasks might include migrating data from older databases to the Specify schema, designing new features, or coding associated with web application user interface design, security, descriptive database statistics, or for API-based integrations. No previous biological research or museum experience is needed. We will bring you up to speed with biodiversity informatics as a data community. You will receive personalized mentoring from experienced programmers and have opportunities to work on user-facing features and capabilities. Our student team members have consistently raved about their experience working with us, and we believe that if you are a smart, creative, and detail-oriented individual with a drive to succeed, you will find this to be fulfilling and enjoyable. Working with us will definitely lead to professional growth with new marketable software engineering skills and resume upgrades.
Job Description
30% - Develop expertise with Specify software and how natural history museums manage data, to attain an understanding of the principles and methods of modern scientific data management, including testing the user interface for predictability and functions for data consistency.
30% - Create and track software issues using a variety of channels including GitHub and Slack.
25% - Write and maintain unit tests to ensure data integrity and system reliability.
10% - Examine software issues reported by researchers and attempt to clarify or resolve them.
5% - Write technical documentation on different aspects of the use and implementation of the software.
30% - Create and track software issues using a variety of channels including GitHub and Slack.
25% - Write and maintain unit tests to ensure data integrity and system reliability.
10% - Examine software issues reported by researchers and attempt to clarify or resolve them.
5% - Write technical documentation on different aspects of the use and implementation of the software.
Required Qualifications
- Must be an undergraduate student in good standing at the University of Kansas.
- Must have junior developer level competency with two or more software languages, ideally including Python or TypeScript, as evidenced by application materials.
- Must have some exposure to software development, as evidenced by application materials.
- Must be focused, perceptive, and attentive to detail, as evidenced by application materials.
- Must have experience solving problems and debugging code, as evidenced by application materials.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate work issues clearly and freely, as evidenced by application materials.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with research computing in any science or technology field, as evidenced by application materials.
- Experience with open-source software development with web apps using Linux, macOS, or Windows workstations, as evidenced by application materials.
- Experience using software engineering tools and methods, as evidenced by application materials.
- Experience with the setup and use of relational data management tools, SQL scripts, and programming languages with database systems, as evidenced by application materials.
- Experience creating pull requests using GitHub, as evidenced by application materials.
- Experience writing unit tests, as evidenced by application materials.
Position Requirements
During the semester term of the appointment, the student hourly must be enrolled in no fewer than 6 credit hours. For summer periods the student hourly must: (1) have been enrolled in no less than 6 hours in the past spring semester or (2) be pre-enrolled in the upcoming fall semester in no less than 6 hours or (3) be enrolled in summer session or (4) be admitted to study in the upcoming fall semester. Student Hourlies may be undergraduate or graduate students. (Exceptions granted for GRA/GTA/GA appointments DO NOT apply to Student Hourly appointments).
Employment Conditions
(1) Student employees are not eligible for remote work arrangements unless an exception is approved by the unit leadership and HR.
(2) This is an hourly/non-exempt position. A student employee cannot hold an hourly/non-exempt position and a salaried/exempt graduate or undergraduate position (GRA/GTA/GA/RUA/RGA) concurrently.
(3) We are seeking a candidate who can commit for the summer at ideally 30 hours per week or more if desired. Starting in the new semester, candidates must be available to work a minimum of 14 hours per week during the Fall and Spring semesters, and have the ability to commit to a weekly schedule (around coursework obligations) which can be flexible and adjusted as needed, during the hours of 8 AM–5 PM, Monday through Friday. Must be available starting Spring 2026, and through Summer 2026, with the potential to continue through graduation. Planned vacations and breaks from campus are acceptable.
(2) This is an hourly/non-exempt position. A student employee cannot hold an hourly/non-exempt position and a salaried/exempt graduate or undergraduate position (GRA/GTA/GA/RUA/RGA) concurrently.
(3) We are seeking a candidate who can commit for the summer at ideally 30 hours per week or more if desired. Starting in the new semester, candidates must be available to work a minimum of 14 hours per week during the Fall and Spring semesters, and have the ability to commit to a weekly schedule (around coursework obligations) which can be flexible and adjusted as needed, during the hours of 8 AM–5 PM, Monday through Friday. Must be available starting Spring 2026, and through Summer 2026, with the potential to continue through graduation. Planned vacations and breaks from campus are acceptable.
Additional Candidate Instructions
Required Application Materials
- Resume
- Cover Letter addressing how the qualifications are met
Contact Information to Applicants
Caroline Denis
caroline.denis@ku.edu
caroline.denis@ku.edu
Advertised Salary Range
$15.00 - $16.00 per hour
Anticipated Start Date
Thursday April 9, 2026