Head engineer

Job description

A full-time, one-year position is available for a Head engineer at The Department of Special Needs Education (https://www.uv.uio.no/isp/english/about/oslo-spesialpedagogikk-og-laeringslab/research-and-support/index.html) (ISP). We are seeking a full stack developer with genuine interest for children's development (a part time position e.g. 50 % over a period of two years may be possible).

ISP is one of four departments at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo. The department focuses on basic and applied research and education of bachelor-, master- and doctoral level candidates within the field of special needs education in Norway, including the areas of speech and language pathology.

The position is connected to a project funded by The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training (Udir) developing a digital language teaching tool for children with special education needs in kindergarten.

The person employed will collaborate with researchers from ISP, receive technical guidance from the department's Oslo SpesialPedagogikk- og LæringsLab (https://www.uv.uio.no/isp/om/oslo-spesialpedagogikk-og-laeringslab/)(Oslo SpeLL) and support from Engagelab (https://www.uv.uio.no/iped/om/engagelab/). Engagelab supports educational researchers with design, development, experiments, and evaluation. The unit consists of ICT developers, designers, and researchers. 

The work is project based and involves collaboration and communication with experts within language development in children, practitioners, students, and fellow developers in the lab. The project will adapt DSL+, a digital language app that includes direct work with words combined with play-based and interactive activities. 

The work will be based on the source code developed in a previous research project, which evidenced that the app has a positive effect on children's language. The source code needs maintenance, which involves e.g. updating new versions of underlying libraries (new functionality and security updates), and other tasks that will improve robustness and scalability of the code. 

Work tasks

Developing, maintaining, and scaling an app for children with special education needs. This will involve, among other tasks:

• Partaking in the development of the digital materials and tasks for daily stimulation organized in a 15-week course
• Making the app available for Apple tablets from the Apple App Store
• Developing a start page that allows preschool staff to customize sessions for the children support uploading of books, audio, images, and animations
• Maintaining information security in all phases of interventions; deployment, network traffic, storage, and analysis of research data
• Manage development processes

Qualifications requirements

• Relevant university education, with a minimum of a bachelor's degree. Several years of relevant experience can compensate for the lack of higher education
• Experience with web development using JavaScript and modern frameworks
• Experience in translating requirements, needs, and interaction design into high-quality code
• You have application development experience in the web arena. This includes 'full stack' JavaScript experience including the use of libraries, frameworks, and environments (e.g., VueJS, Node.js)
• You should be capable of translating requirements, needs, and interaction design into implementation and high-quality code, and have a solid familiarity with version control systems, IDEs, and workflow tools
• Ability to work under time and budget constraints
• Good written and oral communications skills in Norwegian and English language

Personal skills

• Have excellent collaboration skills
• Be flexible and organized
• Be responsible, pro-active, and able to work independently

Personal suitability will be emphasized.

We offer

• A thriving community with opportunities for growth, learning, and professional development
• Salary NOK 615 700 - 679 700 per annum depending on qualifications in a position as Head Engineer, position code 1087
• Attractive welfare benefits (https://www.uio.no/english/for-employees/employment/welfare/index.html), in addition to Oslo's family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities
• Opportunity for exercise during work hours

How to apply

The application must include:

• Cover letter where you clearly state your motivation
• CV
• Copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only) and diplomas
• List of reference persons: 2 - 3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and phone number)

We encourage you to use the free text field when filling out your CV in JobbNorge, with a brief summary of the tasks and experience you have from previous positions, what you have achieved, and other relevant information. This helps us get a good picture of you and your qualifications. The application with attachments must be submitted via JobbNorge. Diplomas/certificates must be in Norwegian/Scandinavian languages or English. 

Formal regulations

Interviews with the best qualified candidates will be arranged.

According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

At UiO, we have a personnel policy goal of achieving a balanced gender composition and recruiting individuals with an immigrant background.

Additionally, UiO aims for our employees to reflect the diversity of the population as much as possible. If you have gaps in your CV, a disability, or an immigrant background, we encourage you to indicate this when applying for a position with us. This gives you the opportunity to receive positive special consideration, and we always invite at least one qualified candidate from each of these groups to an interview.