Associate Director, Research Services OR Director, Research Services

Associate Director or Director of Research Services

Information Technology Services (ITS) at the University of Iowa is seeking an Associate Director or Director of Research Services to help shape how technology supports research across the university.

In this role, you'll lead the team that connects Iowa's research community with critical research computing services—including high-performance computing, research storage, Linux-based infrastructure, and other specialized platforms researchers rely on to advance their work. Your team will lead consultation, communication, training, engagement, and service management, helping researchers understand, access, and make the most of these resources.

You'll have the opportunity to build and strengthen how we engage with researchers, developing strategies, structures, and processes that make research computing services more responsive, accessible, and aligned with evolving research needs. Working closely with the technical teams responsible for Iowa's research computing infrastructure, you'll help translate researcher needs into strong, sustainable services that support the university's research mission.

There is an expectation that the individual in this position will maintain effective, civil, and respectful working relationships with the University of Iowa campus community and uphold the University's commitment to creating a welcoming and respectful environment for all.

This position is not eligible for University sponsorship for employment authorization.

ITS values work life balance and strives to provide flexible work options where possible. This position is eligible for on-site or hybrid work arrangements within the state of Iowa, and will require a work arrangement form to be completed upon the start of employment. Per policy, work arrangements will be reviewed annually, and must comply with the remote work program and related policies and employee travel policy when working at a remote location.

For a detailed job description of either position, please email Melanie Bell at melanie-bell.

Associate Director

• Bachelor's degree in a field relevant to the position, or an equivalent combination of education and additional related experience.
• Experience (typically 5 years or more) with progressively responsible IT experience, preferably related to research computing.
• Experience (at least 2 years) successfully leading a technical team or organization.
• Familiarity with academic research and research computing environments, including HPC, research storage, and collaboration tools.
• Strong customer service orientation.
• Excellent people skills and ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with technical and non-technical staff from a variety of backgrounds.
• Experience successfully managing complex projects and initiatives with cross-functional teams, with competing deadlines.
• Ability to communicate with, establish, and build healthy working relationships and partnerships with colleagues, faculty, staff, students, vendors, the public, regulatory/governmental agencies, etc.
• Demonstrated experience managing, developing, and retaining staff.
• Demonstrated track record of being a positive change agent, including role modeling change readiness; addressing resistance; building resiliency and successfully guiding others through the structural, cultural, and process aspects of organizational change.
• U.S.A. citizenship, permanent residency, or protected person status is required for International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) compliance.

Desirable

Qualifications:

• Experience with budget management.
• Experience implementing and managing high-complexity campus-scale IT projects and services.
• Demonstrated dedication to delivering high-quality services.
• Experience with one or more of the following: GPU computing, containerization, and cloud-HPC hybrid models.
• Experience supporting grant-funded infrastructure programs.
• Familiarity with grant submissions to academic research funding organizations such as NSF, NIH, NASA, DOE, Mac Arthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation.
• Experience supporting technology in a higher education environment.

Director

• Bachelor's degree…