Research IT Architect

Why Work at BYU       As the flagship higher education institution of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young University (BYU) strives to be among the exceptional universities in the world. At BYU, we are devoted to our faith and to our students. We take an active role in the University's Mission: "To assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life.”  Our unique mission, deeply rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, provides countless ways to serve and make an impact. This, along with our remarkable culture of belonging, weekly devotionals, and endless opportunities for learning and growth—all situated within a beautiful and historic campus—make it hard to imagine a more inspiring place to work.  Brigham Young University strongly prefers to hire faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Research IT Architect   The Office of Information Technology   (OIT)   — Academic Solutions provides technology and consulting services that support the academic and research missions of the university. Faculty and student researchers across campus have varied technology needs, including storage, computation, databases, SaaS platforms, integrations, data workflows, and related technical services.   The Research IT Architect helps faculty   and   t heir   student research assistants   identify   practical, supportable technology solutions for research and academic needs. The employee   meets with   users to understand goals and constraints, translates those needs into technical requirements, recommends   appropriate existing   enterprise offerings when possible, and works with OIT teams to design and document solutions.   The position also helps OIT understand emerging research technology needs across campus, including recurring requests, common pain points, service gaps, and opportunities to improve university technology services.   The ideal candidate has broad IT experience,   strong communication   skills, sound technical judgment, and the ability to work with faculty and student researchers with varied technical backgrounds. This person should enjoy learning   new technologies , clarifying ambiguous needs, designing practical solutions, and helping research and academic work move forward at the university.   What you'll be doing in this position   This position requires a dedicated individual who works well with faculty, student researchers, and technology teams. The employee must be proactive, organized, and able to move complex or ambiguous requests toward   clear   next   steps. Responsibilities include the following:   Research and Academic Technology Architecture   Meet with faculty and student research assistants to understand research technology needs and related academic technology needs   Analyze business, technical, and workflow requirements   Identify   appropriate solution   approaches using existing enterprise offerings whenever possible   Design architectures for needs involving storage, computation, databases, SaaS platforms, integrations, and related services   Document architectures according to established standards, including architecture diagrams, requirements, constraints, assumptions, and relevant decision points   Define and communicate solution scope, dependencies, and implementation needs to appropriate OIT teams   Evaluate when a request can be satisfied with standard services and when a more specialized review or custom design effort may be necessary   Consultation, Coordination, and Customer Advocacy   Serve as a primary point of contact for faculty seeking guidance on research technology needs   Consult with users of varied technical abilities to clarify goals, constraints, and expectations   Direct users to appropriate existing services, support teams, and technical resources   Work with other OIT groups to communicate needs and   facilitate   progress toward implementation   Track solution progress sufficiently to remain an effective advocate for the user and to help remove misunderstandings or barriers   Follow up periodically with users to   determine   whether implemented solutions continue to meet their needs   Manage expectations for niche, highly specialized, or infeasible requests, including communicating when requests cannot   reasonably be   supported   Service Gap Identification and Organizational Awareness   Identify   patterns and trends in faculty research technology needs across colleges and departments   Keep management informed of recurring requests, unmet needs, emerging technology patterns, and opportunities for service improvement   Help OIT maintain awareness of campus research needs by serving as a key source of information about user demand, common pain points, and evolving requirements   Technology Research and Solution Evaluation   Research existing and emerging technologies relevant to faculty research and related academic needs   Perform initial investigation of vendor and SaaS solutions as needed   Assist   in evaluating whether requested technologies align with university standards, current offerings, and operational feasibility   Maintain awareness of enterprise technology capabilities and changes in available services   The employee is also expected to proactively learn new skills through available documentation, university resources, professional development, training opportunities, and collaboration with other technology professionals.   What qualifies you for this role Required Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience. Preferred Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field plus two years of relevant experience. Or an equivalent combination of education and relev