Senior Data Privacy Software Developer

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Why join the Harvard John

A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences?

At the Harvard John

A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), we work within and beyond the disciplines of engineering and foundational science to address the most pressing issues of our time. Through teaching and collaborative research, SEAS discovers, designs, and creates novel technologies and approaches to societal challenges - in service to the world, the nation, and our community. We collaborate across academic areas at SEAS and the larger university, and with colleagues in academia, industry, government and public service organizations beyond Harvard.

By joining SEAS, you will be part of an inclusive community of dedicated problem-solvers who hold themselves - and one another - to the highest academic and professional standards. To learn more about us, please visit (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). .

Job Summary :

Reporting to the Vicky Joseph Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the Harvard John

A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the focus of this position is to develop the OpenDP Library, a modular toolkit of differential privacy routines. You will work with privacy researchers to understand algorithms, implement the underlying architecture, and create and document public APIs. You will also help facilitate the growth of an open-source ecosystem.

The OpenDP Project is a flourishing community effort to build trustworthy, open-source software tools for statistical analysis of sensitive private data, providing the rigorous protections of differential privacy for individuals represented in the data. Upcoming projects include integrating OpenDP with differentially private methods for training AI models and supporting use cases in industry, as well as those that enable research in public health and medicine.

Job Specific Responsibilities :

• Collaborate with researchers on the design, planning, and implementation of software libraries for privacy-preserving data analysis and machine learning.
• Acquire a deep understanding of privacy algorithms through literature review and regular discussions.
• Apply firm understanding of data analysis use cases to develop flexible solutions to users’ needs.
• Build software to implement core privacy functionality, utility routines, and test suites.
• Develop and maintain support infrastructure for an open-source software library.
• Work in a team of developers and researchers in collaboration with outside experts.
• Provide regular communications to PIs and stakeholders with project updates.
• Write code design and development guides for future contributors.
• Create documentation for users with a wide range of backgrounds and levels of understanding.
• Present on DP and OpenDP to contributors and potential adopters.
• Abide by and follow the Harvard University IT technical standards, policies, and Code of Conduct.

Working Conditions:

Work is performed in an office setting.

Physical Requirements:

There are no significant physical requirements.

Basic Qualifications:

• Minimum of five years’ post-secondary education or relevant work experience

Additional

Qualifications and Skills:

• Fluency in Python, and either Rust (preferred) or other compiled language.
• Familiarity with machine learning frameworks, preferably including federated learning.
• Post-secondary degree(s) in Computer Science, Statistics, Data Science, or related fields.
• Exposure to differential privacy.

Certificates and Licenses:

Completion of Harvard IT Academy specified foundational courses (or external equivalent) preferred.

• Standard Hours/
  
  Schedule:
  
  35 standard hours per week. Occasionally required to work outside of normal business hours and may be contacted during off hours.
• Visa Sponsorship Information: Harvard University is unable to provide visa…