Senior researcher
A senior researcher or a faculty member is sought for a position in Structural Engineering to support the
development and implementation of a new nonstructural component fragility and consequence database
for performance-based hazard assessments of buildings. NIST has recently developed a relational
database focusing on nonstructural elements in buildings, NED (Nonstructural Element Database), which
collects information from experimental, analytical, and historic performance observations into seismic
fragilities and consequence models to support building-specific seismic performance research and
assessments, refactoring and expanding upon the FEMA P-58 database as the standard of practice for
seismic risk assessment. Currently, the project is still in its active development and does not yet have
consequence models or data from historical events, but it has collected over 2500 experimental data
points and compiled a fragility data set that includes and expands upon the full FEMA P-58 nonstructural
database. NIST will supplement its capacities with input from PREP Fellow experts in the areas of
component damage consequence modeling and database schema design. The PREP Fellow will work with
NIST researchers to develop and implement a new consequence model data schema and consequence
estimation procedures within the NED database. The work, to be completed in collaboration with NIST
researchers and other external contractors, will be comprised of the following five major tasks: (1) review,
refactoring and forward developing of the current database architecture and data schema, (2)
development of a general consequence model database architecture and schema, and (3) implementation
of new consequence models into the database, (4) back-end and front-end software development, and
(5) documentation of developments and tools and dissemination in technical reports and professional
conferences.
Nonstructural Element Database Development
- U.S. citizenship is preferred.
- A Ph.D.in Civil Engineering with a focus on Structural Engineering or a related field.
- An excellent record of research, publications, and strong communication skills.
- A strong background in engineering, natural hazards, and probabilistic risk assessment including
uncertainty quantification. - More than 7 years of experience in software development.
- Experience in the development, application, and implementation of the FEMA P-58 performance-
based assessment framework and associated fragility database. - Experience in developing and deploying Python tools and libraries.
- Experience in SQL database development and the Django Python package.
- Experience developing and managing git repositories and deploying software to web-based platforms.
- Experience in designing, implementing and managing code quality assurance plans and test suites,
including unit tests, continues integration tests, linting and style conformance checks, and
benchmarking tests. - The ability to work both independently and as part of a larger, multi-disciplinary team to achieve
project objectives and meet project deadlines and reporting requirements.
Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Review the current design and data schema of the NED database, paying specific attention to
missing data representations, duplicity in data design, points of unclarity, and capability to scale
with new data and meet future use cases. - Conceptualize and design a robust and scalable data schema to integrate consequence models
into the NED architecture. - Work closely with NIST researchers and external collaborators to iterate and improve upon the
database design as well as support the implementation of the database. - Direct development of the database tool and supporting database management software.
- Direct development and deployment of web-based front-end software tools to support direct
user interaction with the database. - Contributing to the publication of a NIST report and data repository documenting the database.