Alma Platform Manager - Library Systems Engineer

Overview

Join our team as an Alma Platform Manager and support the National Agricultural Library (NAL), a division of USDA's Agricultural Research Service, by keeping its Ex Libris Alma Library Services Platform and automated Python data pipelines running smoothly and securely. You will administer Alma system configuration, execute changes under a formal governance process, and maintain the Python workflows that power cataloging, indexing, and AGRICOLA production, ensuring NAL's core systems stay stable, compliant, and modern.

FWI is expanding rapidly and has been recognized as a 2024 and 2025 Top Workplace by the Washington Post, offering excellent growth opportunities in a collaborative environment.

**Position is contingent upon contract award**

Work Schedule and Location:

Remote: This full-time remote position will work Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm EST.

Responsibilities

• Configure, secure, and maintain the Alma platform — roles, permissions, profiles, integrations, normalization rules, and SSO/authentication behavior
• Monitor Alma jobs across ingest, indexing, publishing, and preservation workflows, and resolve disruptions as they arise
• Maintain and enhance Python pipelines supporting automated ingest, transformation, indexing, and system synchronization, including secure credential handling
• Execute the full change management lifecycle — impact analysis, sandbox testing, deployment, validation, rollback planning, and documentation — under a formal Change Control Board (CCB) process
• Participate in Agile ceremonies (sprint planning, standups, retrospectives) while ensuring all Alma/automation-related work stays aligned with governance and change-freeze requirements
• Support troubleshooting of metadata, ingest, indexing, and preservation-sync issues in partnership with library and IT teams
• Maintain operational continuity: backups, recovery procedures, restore testing, and a release/freeze calendar with advance notifications
• Produce recurring status, metrics, and change-log reporting, and package documentation for governance and audit review

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Information Science, Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, Library/Information Science, or a related technical field
• Four (4) years of related experience
• Experience administering the Ex Libris Alma Library Services Platform, including roles, permissions, metadata configuration, job monitoring, and troubleshooting
• Experience with Python-based workflow automation, ingestion/transformation scripting, and integrations with external systems
• Experience diagnosing data flow, indexing, and schema issues in relational or cloud databases
• Experience participating in Agile/Scrum teams (planning, standups, retrospectives, work decomposition) and applying change-governance artifacts (change control, change lifecycle documentation, freeze/sandbox procedures)
• Familiarity with metadata standards (e.g., MARC21, Dublin Core, RDA, MODS) and Alma's metadata tooling (normalization rules, templates, mapping tables)
• Ability to translate governance requirements into compliant system configurations
• Strong written documentation skills (e.g., Confluence) and ability to collaborate across teams, divisions, and external vendors
• Ability to maintain security controls, audit-log review, and credential handling for system integrations
• Familiarity with configuration management, version control, and configuration-drift detection/remediation
• Must be able to pass a federal background investigation and complete required security training prior to facility/system access

Desired:

• Hands-on experience with disaster recovery and backup/restore validation for library or enterprise data platforms
• Experience coordinating release/freeze calendars with vendor (e.g., Ex Libris) release cycles
• Prior experience supporting a federal or large institutional library system
• Experience presenting operational metrics (MTTR, job success/failure rates, incident trends) to governance bodies

Why Join Our Team

At FWI, we place the highest importance on creating an exceptional employee experience. You'll have opportunities to achieve your career aspirations through internal promotions, professional development, and other recognition and rewards programs. Join our team and take advantage of the many benefits we offer, including:

• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Long-term and Short-term Disability Insurance
• Life Insurance
• 401(k) Plan
• Holiday Pay
• Paid Time Off

FWI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/vets.

Pay Range

Negotiable