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Digital Preservation Analyst Developer

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Digital Preservation Analyst Developer Digital Preservation Analyst Developer The National Archives Job Purpose Are you seeking to develop a career in a world leading institution using your skills and experience to influence an entire field of computer science? Building on our award winning experience in the preservation of digital records, we are developing a new Digital Records Infrastructure (DRI) to sustain our rapidly increasing digital collection. At the heart of this system are our internationally acclaimed PRONOM and DROID tools. Significant analysis and development will be needed to enhance the PRONOM / DROID toolkit as records in new file formats come to the archives for preservation. To be successful in this role you will need to draw on your experience in computer science analysis and development to deliver practical, pragmatic enhancements to these tools and systems that focus the processes of file format identification, validation, and property extraction; you will need to direct the work of others to do the same. We are seeking to recruit an analyst developer to lead this work on the PRONOM / DROID toolkit for use inside DRI and elsewhere around the world. The focus of work on PRONOM will be to deliver a new version based on the open linked data paradigm to enhance our ability to collaborate with other archives internationally. The focus of the DROID work will be to enhance the ability to identify text based file formats; other work to develop small “plug –in tools” for the DRI to validate and extract properties from a variety of file formats and developing an overall roadmap for the toolkit will make up the bulk of the remaining work. The role will also provide day-to-day detailed technical advice to the rest of the Digital Preservation team as required. Underpinning the delivery and development of the toolkit will be focused and detailed technical analysis often in the areas of bit and byte manipulation. The analysis and conclusions will inform policy and practice at The National Archives, the wider archive sector and across government. The National Archives has a reputation in this field of international academic significance to which you will contribute. Your successful analysis may result in publication in peer reviewed academic publications. Reports to: Head of Digital Preservation Role and Responsibilities In this role you will: * Work with the Head of Digital Preservation to define a realistic, achievable roadmap and vision to sustain and develop the PRONOM / DROID toolkit for use inside DRI and elsewhere *Work with the Digital Preservation Business Manager using both Prince2 and Agile project management frameworks to deliver a portfolio of projects, systems, and tools to realise the roadmap for the PRONOM / DROID toolkit; this will include the management of external contracts *Conduct necessary analysis, and develop tools and components, for the PRONOM / DROID toolkit using Java, Python, XML, XSLT and other appropriate languages on both Linux and Windows platforms *Develop this operational software using The National Archives development environment, working with others to develop and promote appropriate software development standards to ensure product quality *Work with the DAI team to support the tools and systems created *Conduct, direct and publish research or analysis into the issues of archiving of different digital file formats, and recommend solutions to enable the successful archiving of those formats in the DRI and other systems *Conduct evaluation and testing of software and hardware products to establish suitability for use in the DRI and other digital preservation environments; this will include working with external suppliers of digital preservation technology *Provide day-to-day detailed technical advice to the Digital Preservation team *Develop and maintain your computer science and software development skills and expertise, in particular learning to use new tools and languages *Develop and maintain a high degree of knowledge and understanding of digital information archival methods *Support other research projects at The National Archives and beyond as required *Require an SC-level Security Clearance Person Specification Essential: * Degree level qualification in Computing, IT, or other scientific or engineering discipline or equivalent experience that demonstrates an understanding of computing science and IT theory and practice * Demonstrable experience in analysis and software development using a broad range of IT systems, languages and tools, with a focus on low-level bit and byte manipulation * Demonstrable experience of leading, planning and delivering a portfolio of technical development work as a part of a team including project managers and other experts * Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical ideas in a simple and concise way to others with less technical knowledge * The ability to demonstrate two or more of the following: - Experience of developing operationally deployed software - Experience of development on Linux & Windows operating systems - Experience of development using Python, PHP, Java, C++ or similar - Experience of using tools such as Subversion, Git, or Jenkins - Experience of working with PRINCE2 or AGILE methodologies - Experience of data forensics or digital data recovery techniques - Experience of research or analysis in the field of digital preservation *The ability to demonstrate one or more of the following: - Understanding of the principles of digital preservation - Understanding of the processing of data or application file formats - Understanding of Web 2.0 technologies - Understanding of Open Linked Data, supporting tools and technologies - Understanding of email technologies * Demonstrable ability to work under pressure and to achieve defined goals * Demonstrable ability to work productively as part of a team maintaining key working relationships both within an organisation and externally Desirable: * Experience of use of digital archiving tools and methodologies · * Understanding of the issues of long-term storage of complex data * Understanding of database technologies * Understanding or experience of a wide range of operating systems To apply for this post please click on the link below http://ig24.i-grasp.com/fe/tpl_nationalarchives01.asp?s=PyAxDIfSqHTyVvHqn&jobid=64413,9852215965&key=27602790&c=693557402371&pagestamp=dbzfqtchkstrhfjkyr Supporting Statement Please explain how you meet each point in the person specification. You may draw on knowledge, skills, abilities, experience gained from paid work, domestic responsibilities, education, leisure interests and voluntary activities. Please note selection for interview will largely be based on the information you provide in this section. Please write on separate sheets, but remember to put your name and post applied for on each sheet. For Further Information Please contact the Recruitment Team on 020 8392 5203. Closing Date Friday 25th January 2013 at midnight Interviews To be confirmed Location: Kew, West London Category: Other Duration: Type of Contract: Permanent Hours: Full Time added: Jan. 8, 2013 deadline: Jan. 25, 2013 More information: http://ig24.i-grasp.com/fe/tpl_nationalarchives01.asp?s=PyAxDIfSqHTyVvHqn&jobid=64413,9852215965&key=27602790&c=693557402371&pagestamp=dbzfqtchkstrhfjkyr.
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