Director for Digital Strategy and Library Technology
Stanford University School of Medicine is seeking a Director of Digital Strategy and Library Technology to lead day‑to‑day management of technical functions and provide strategic leadership for Lane Medical Library’s digital library of knowledge. The role involves strategic leadership, AI and machine learning application, and integration of technology to support research, education, and clinical care.
Job Purpose
Provide strategic leadership and direction by applying technological innovation to develop technical solutions that address complex research challenges. Achieve mission and goals through the management of staff.
Core Duties
- Researcher Engagement: Lead engagement with faculty and researchers to understand their strategic research goals and needs, identifying technical obstacles and solutions for highly complex research questions. Advise on research computing efforts in support of research project goals.
- Solutions Development: Oversee budget and schedule for complex projects in research computing and data analytics. Design, implement, and support innovative technical solutions, including machine learning algorithms, text and image processing techniques, API programming, custom full‑stack applications, automated web scraping, advanced workflows and crowdsourcing pipelines. Manage adoption of new technologies and methodologies within the research community. Oversee implementation of robust data processing and analysis frameworks to support cutting‑edge research.
- Documentation and Training: Use advanced technical and professional knowledge to keep the organization at the forefront of evolving technologies and methodologies in research computing, artificial intelligence, and data analysis.
- Partnership and Collaboration: Develop and manage relationships with external technology partners and vendors, leveraging these partnerships to formulate team capabilities and research support services.
- Leadership: Lead and mentor a team of technical staff, set strategic direction and priorities, manage recruitment, hiring, development, evaluation, and priority setting. Foster an environment of innovation, encourage exploration of new tools, technologies, and methodologies, and promote continuous learning and adaptation.
Education & Experience
Master’s or PhD degree in computer science, data science, statistics, or a related field and 7 years of relevant experience, or combination of education and relevant experience. At least 3 years of leadership experience with complex research projects and supervisory experience preferred.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Demonstrated success in leading teams to apply data science, machine learning, and other advanced computing techniques to solve complex research problems.
- Expertise in data science, machine learning methodologies, and tools, with a proven ability to apply these in a research context.
- Strong programming skills, proficiency in Python and experience with SQL and one or more general-purpose languages (e.g., Java, JavaScript, R).
- Experience with data processing at scale, including deep understanding of appropriate tools and methodologies.
- Familiarity with advanced text and image processing techniques, and experience developing and deploying full-stack applications and API integrations.
- Exceptional problem‑solving skills, creativity, and the ability to foresee and navigate future technological challenges.
- Strong leadership and interpersonal skills, ability to inspire, influence, motivate, and mentor a diverse team, foster collaboration, and communicate effectively with stakeholders.
- Commitment to continuous learning and staying abreast of the latest technologies and methodologies in research computing.
- Service‑oriented leadership style, emphasis on supporting and developing team members, and facilitating researcher success.
- Demonstrated ability to manage and execute project budgets.
- Exceptional customer‑relationship and consensus‑building skills.
- Ability to identify and address complex issues quickly and make collaborative decisions that meet team objectives.
Desired Qualifications
- Experience designing, deploying, and operating AI/ML solutions for information discovery and access including large language models, NLP, embeddings, vector/semantic search, RAG pipelines, knowledge graphs, and recommender systems.
- Knowledge of traditional information retrieval and search engineering, including indexing pipelines, schema, relevance tuning, query expansion, learning-to-rank, and operation of enterprise search platforms (e.g., Solr, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch).
- Practical experience with major cloud providers (GCP, AWS, or Azure) particularly their AI/ML and data services.
- Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform.
- Understanding of ethical AI principles and their practical application in research and clinical environments.
- Familiarity with biomedical data standards and ontologies (MeSH, SNOMED CT, PubMed/MEDLINE XML, FHIR).
- Experience with digital library technologies, discovery layers, link resolvers/OpenURL proxy servers.
Physical Requirements
- Constantly perform desk‑based computer tasks.
- Frequently sit, grasp lightly/fine manipulation.
- Occasionally stand/walk, write by hand.
- Rarely use a telephone, lift/carry objects up to 10 lb.
- University will provide reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities.
Working Conditions
- May work extended hours, evenings, and weekends.
- Travel on campus.
Work Standards
- All interpersonal skills, promote safety culture, and comply with all university policies.
Compensation
Pay range: $208,736 – $230,800 per annum. Additional benefits include a comprehensive rewards package as described on the Cardinal at Work website.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Additional Information
- Schedule: Full‑time
- Job Code: 4799
- Employee Status: Regular
- Grade: L
- Requisition ID:
- Work Arrangement: Hybrid Eligible