Application Programmer (Hybrid may be requested)

The University of California, Merced is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience. The budgeted salary or hourly range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $83,000 - $99,000.

Initial applicant review will begin on or around March 8th, 2023. Posting will remain open until filled.

Remote/Hybrid eligibility: This positions offers a Hybrid work schedule.

The University of California, Merced, is the newest of the University of California system's 10 campuses and the first American research university built in the 21st century. With more than 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students, UC Merced offers an environment that combines a commitment to diversity, inclusion, collaboration, and professional development. With bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs, strong research and academic partnerships, and community involvement, the UC Merced campus is continually evolving and requires talented, knowledgeable, and dynamic educators, researchers, management and staff.

Ranked among the best public universities in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, UC Merced is uniquely equipped to provide educational opportunities for highly qualified students from the San Joaquin Valley and throughout California. The campus enjoys a special connection with nearby Yosemite National Park, is on the cutting edge of sustainability in construction and design and supports the economic development of Merced and the region.

In Fall 2016, UC Merced broke ground on a $1.3 billion public-private partnership that is unprecedented in higher education. The Merced 2020 Project nearly doubled the physical capacity of the campus, enhancing academic distinction, student success and research excellence. In 2018, UC Merced opened the Downtown Campus Center, a $33 million, three-story administrative building located in the heart of Merced.

To set the course of UC Merced's evolution, in 2021 UC Merced will enact its first-ever 10-year strategic plan. This plan will guide how the values of equity and justice influence our pathway toward earning Carnegie R1 research status, growing enrollment, upholding our identity as a minority-serving institution, and operationalizing how commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion are enacted within each campus unit. UC Merced is expected to engage in sophisticated thinking, planning, and implementation of actions that effectively diversify the professoriate and staff, improve campus climate for all campus constituency groups, and strengthen our equity, diversity, and inclusion infrastructure and capacity.

As a member of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships (OFAS) and under the supervision of the Assistant Director of Systems for the Office of Financial Aid, the Programmer Analyst 3 applies programming skills as a seasoned, experienced software professional, preferably with experience working in the field of higher education. The programmer will participate as a member of a programming team and will take the lead on the analysis, design, development, and implementation of solutions to mission-critical systems which supports the delivery of Financial Aid services to undergraduate and graduate students at the University of California, Merced. The Programmer Analyst works on programming assignments and projects ranging from medium-sized projects or participating on lager projects with moderate scope and complexity both within the Office of Financial Aid and in collaboration with IT and other departments within Student Affairs. This position applies an understanding of Financial Aid and of our highly sensitive data to processes and technical solutions supporting staff as well as applications and processes which interface with industry agencies. This position requires an aptitude in several programming languages as well as an ability to learn new languages and systems as additional programs are adopted by OFAS, Student Affairs and/or SIS/IT. The Programmer Analyst works with functional users to analyze business processes and translates business requirements and needs into accurate reports and sophisticated technical processes and solutions. The collaboration between end users will provide the programmer with opportunities to suggest technical solutions with the development of tools and applications to implement and support business needs. In addition, this position requires extensive report writing in Cognos which requires an understanding of the table structures behind our systems. The position routinely tests and troubleshoots upgrades across multiple mission critical systems. The candidate will be expected to work independently and within a highly collaborative team with little programming supervision and as such, excellent analytical and technical skills are required. Solid programming habits according to best practices are required as processes are frequently updated and modified throughout the year. The position also serves as a backup or mirror to the second programmer, allowing projects to continue without interruption; for this reason, the position requires an awareness at all times of all project scopes within the office as well as an understanding of all of our systems in order to assist with development, testing and migrating projects to production environments. A programmer in this position can be expected to work on many projects at the same time with different end users having various levels of technical knowledge while juggling priorities based on user needs as well as deadlines within the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Plans, designs, evaluates, develop, modify, debugs, and deploys complex programming for functional areas and mission critical systems. Systems include analyzing existing Banner functionality and processes to develop logic for complex solutions and devises complex algorithms. Writes complex financial aid algorithmic packaging rules, period based algorithmic budgeting rules, tracking rules, and other financial aid related rules in Banner. Performs complex data analysis and tests / debugs in various platforms including but not limited to Banner, Automic, Cognos, ColdFusion and OnBase. Analyzes the design and structure of complex data sources while accurately building solutions critical to the administration of financial aid. Performs complex data reports, performance and integration testing and builds interfaces for a variety of internal and external constituents. Experienced with batch posting large volumes of critical data to systems of records after extensive testing of processes in our test environments. Writes complex financial aid algorithmic packaging rules, period based algorithmic budgeting rules, tracking rules, and other financial aid related rules in Banner. Maintains an understanding of our existing systems with the ability to make adjustments where needed to incorporate new regulatory requirements and changes. Assist programmers in the Student Information Systems (SIS) department with parts of projects which directly affect our systems. Assistance could range from assisting with identifying our needs to programing solutions to troubleshooting down systems.

• Develops and executes moderately complex test plans for custom projects as well as upgrades to mission critical systems. Assists with the migration and setup of applications to new environments such as moving standalone servers to cloud supported virtual servers while assisting with troubleshooting setup and network problems. Follows working conditions and best practices in DEV, TEST, and Prod environments. Monitors and employs source code control techniques and configuration management using Gitlab and Bitbucket.

• Collaborates with stakeholders on the creation of software specifications, helping end users to conceptualize their projects within the scope of our tools, applications and processes. This requires an extensive understanding of our processes, particularly automated process, in order to assess the impact of changes and update to functioning systems. Writes functional and detailed technical specifications for end users and as well as provides regular communication on using an issue tracking product (Jira). Creates documentation for processes and update documentation to keep it current with in-place programming and processes. Recommends and implements changes in development according to system standards and changes in both the technical industry as well as in financial aid. Stays current with best practices for handling PII data and building secure tools managing large volumes of highly sensitive data.

• Develops databases used in the support of web applications and forms developed in ColdFusion for use by students and staff. Develops tools for use by staff for routine tasks to increase productivity and accuracy. Identifies areas where technical solutions could offer solutions to manual work, saving staff time and increasing accuracy.

• Understands and applies industry practices, community standards and department policies and procedures relating to work assignments as well as campus and system-wide policies. Interacts with senior level management on projects, reports, and upgrades.

• Assist end users with set up and troubleshooting systems unique to OFAS and not covered by IT support. Trains users in the use of existing systems or in the adoption of new systems. Position requires the ability to research solutions to problems and to understand new functionality as it is delivered by products used in mission critical systems.

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree in related area from accredited institution and three years of equivalent experience and training in applications programming or like field. (Required)

CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• Intermediate knowledge of Financial Aid management applications such as Banner with extensive knowledge of Banner's databases and objects.

• Advanced skills associated with software design, modification, implementation, troubleshooting, testing and deployment.

• Demonstrated ability to understand functional end user needs and how systems can support those needs. Demonstrated ability to develop conversion and system implementation plans for departmental projects as well as in collaboration with multiple stakeholders on larger projects across other departments.

• Demonstrated ability to interface with management on a regular basis both as programmers on projects as well as to help management to define their needs.

• Demonstrated ability to contribute technical narrative to grant proposals. Assists with identifying data to be used by IRDS as well as by faculty for various proposals.

• Thorough experience with identification and use of code libraries and open-source forums.

• Experience with planning for deployment and creation of feedback mechanisms.

• Demonstrated software repository skills. Demonstrated testing and test planning skills.

• Thorough experience with common programming tools. Demonstrated ability to follow software specifications.

• Demonstrated effective communication and interpersonal skills.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate technical information to technical and non-technical personnel at various levels in the organization.

• Self-motivated and works independently and as part of a team. Able to learn effectively and meet deadlines. Ability to take the initiative on projects and implement them with little to no supervision as well as being able to work closely with project participants collaborating on highly detailed criteria and goal setting.

• Demonstrated broad problem-solving skills and sophisticated analytical skills.

• At least 3 years extensive programming in HTML, Java, SQL, PLSQL, CSS, PHP and ColdFusion with demonstrated ability to learn new languages.

Background check and fingerprinting will be required.

How to Apply:
An online application is required for each position to apply.The University of California, Merced is aware that some web-based application processes may be cumbersome for differently abled applicants. Where appropriate, alternative accommodations will be provided. For applicants with disabilities who need additional assistance using TAM, or reasonable accommodations during the interview or search process, please contact ucmjobs@ucmerced.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity:
The University of California, Merced is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer advancing inclusive excellence. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, pregnancy, or status as a disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran, or other protected categories covered by the UC Nondiscrimination and Affirmative Action Policy. UC Merced intentionally promotes and maintains a discrimination- and harassment-free workplace by demonstrating it neither condones nor tolerates employment practices that discriminate against or harass any person or specific group of persons on the basis listed above. We seek candidates who will support our vision to cultivate a vibrant, equity-minded, inclusive excellence university community. When applying to UC Merced, we strongly encourage you to reflect on our Principles of Community and our 2021 strategic plan.

Vaccination Program Policy:

As a condition of employment, you will be required to comply with the University of California SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Vaccination Program Policy. All Covered Individuals under the policy must provide proof of Full Vaccination or, if applicable, submit a request for Exception (based on Medical Exemption, Disability, and/or Religious Objection) or Deferral (based on pregnancy) no later than the applicable deadline. For new University of California employees, the applicable deadline is 14 days after their first date of employment.

Smoke and Tobacco Free Policy:
The University of California, Merced is a smoke and tobacco free workplace. Information and the Smoke and Tobacco Free policy is available at http://smokefree.ucmerced.edu.

E-Verify:
All employers who receive Federal contracts and grants are required to comply with E-Verify, an Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA). E-Verify electronically verifies employment eligibility by comparing information provided on the I-9 form to records in the DHS and SSA databases. Certain positions funded by federal contracts/subcontracts requires UC Merced to notify job applicants that an E-Verify check will be conducted and the successful candidate must pass the E-Verify check.

Pay, Benefits & Work Schedule:
For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University of California visit: http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/

This position is eligible for the UC Merced Employee Referral Program (ERP). If you were referred by a UC Merced employee, please identify that employee by name in your application as follows:

Step 5 of 7 (on the application) Referrals

How did you hear about the job? (select) "other"

Additional information? (select) "other"

Specific Referral Source? (write in) first and last name of referring employee

Referring employee MUST be named on application for eligibility.