Posted to IASSIST on: 2026-08-24
Employer: MIT
Employer URL: https://mit.edu/
Description
Research Data Librarian
The Research Data Librarian, as part of the MIT Libraries Research Data Services (RDS) department, collaborates with colleagues within the Libraries and across MIT to partner with the MIT research community to increase the impact of research through appropriate management of data and other research outputs, and to support responsible sharing and research reproducibility. Reporting to the program head of Data Management Services, the research data librarian provides expertise in high quality and innovative data management practices and advises on steps toward data stewardship and curation involving storage and repositories, with a focus on computation-intensive and AI-ready databases, all with the aim of supporting open scholarship and reproducible research.
Data is at the heart of MIT’s mission. The focus of the position will be on building new, and sustaining or expanding existing, collaborative efforts towards responsibly open, equitable, and reproducible research, including curricular development and delivery, maintaining and improving resources and guides, coordinating events, and providing expertise for the MIT research community, particularly departments, labs, centers, and institutes (DLCIs).
RESPONSIBILITIES
Outreach, Teaching, and Consultation (60%)
- Provides outreach, education, and resources in-person and digitally to MIT communities on comprehensive data management practices and ongoing developments.
- Advises on the changing landscape of research, including requirements of funders and professional bodies, technical and technology challenges, and considerations of data protection, information governance, copyright and IP, and licensing.
- Contributes to the library and DMS program’s web presence for greater internal and external awareness and information.
- Participates in research and grant projects by establishing partnership and workflows to manage priorities.
Partnerships and Collaboration (25%)
- Works with the DMS team to further develop services by coordinating instructional development and delivery with liaisons and Institute partners and developing infrastructure with library technology and collections colleagues and Institute
- Supports and participates in the work of the Data Management Services program by leading projects and contributing to ongoing development and maintenance of services and resources.
- Collaborates with other campus service entities on the development of guidelines and policies for data management and data collection development to meet the needs of the teaching and research community.
- Serves as representative for services, groups, and products. Advocates for data needs on appropriate committees and working groups.
Assessment and Process Improvement (15%)
- Monitors and tracks usage, feedback, and user needs and advances collaborative work with other campus service entities to introduce and improve services and infrastructure for data management.
- Participates actively in program, departmental, and system-wide reporting and initiatives, serve on committees and task forces, and communicate actively with fellow professionals through research, writing or presentations, and/or professional service activities.
- Analyzes and interprets quantitative statistics about our data services and collections, for use in decision-making and strategic directions.
REQUIREMENTS
- MLS/MLIS from an ALA-accredited institution, or comparable academic credentials and experience relevant to data management.
- A foundation of understanding of, and commitment to, the roles of libraries in providing research data management services.
- Demonstrated commitment to building and advancing diversity and inclusion in data use, management, and preservation as well as fostering inclusive services, with an understanding of the work of data services as an equity and social justice imperative.
- Understanding of grant and award funding agencies’ requirements regarding data management, preservation, and access.
- Familiarity with standards, tools, identifiers, and protocols for data sharing and reproducible research.
- An understanding of Open Research and Scholarship, its drivers, and major partners and contributors.
- Highly developed communication skills, both oral and written, with experience in developing and delivering data-related workshops to classes and groups.
- Demonstrated team performance skills, a service-mindset approach, and a collaborative approach to problem solving and working across organizational boundaries in service of user needs.
We expect candidates to be stronger in some qualifications listed above than others; we are committed to helping our future colleague expand their skills, as well as learning from their areas of strength.
Preferred
- Experience advising researchers managing primary research data of a variety of formats (spreadsheet files, databases, warehouses, and repositories).
- Exposure to computation-intensive and data-rich/data-intensive research workflows and data management strategies.
- Experience or in-depth knowledge of research-related regulatory standards as they may apply to research data management.
- Knowledge of key data structures, data provisioning, and other management processes relevant to systems that support high volume or AI-ready research datasets (including data mining, common data formats, machine learning, data retrieval).
- Familiarity with preservation principles and practices.
- Extensive time and project management skills.
Salary
$79,050 - $106,420
Job Location
Cambridge, MA
More info/apply URL: https://libraries.mit.edu/app/uploads/sites/19/2026/08/VAC-Research-Data-Librarian.pdf
Archived on: 2026-09-04