(update: The position is now filled. Thanks for your interest!)

Project: You'll help to build a prototype smart-home monitoring platform. It will be used in a series of upcoming research/scientific experiments.

Broadly speaking, the prototype platform consists of the following pieces:

• Python script running on dozens of low-power sensor nodes which reads data from a filesystem and sends it to an EC2 node using rsync

• Python script running on a small number of load-balanced EC2 nodes which reads data from the filesystem and sends it to S3

• Automated configuration script (using Ansible Docker, Capistrano, Salt, etc.) that is capable of doing the following:

  • sets up an elastic load balancer (ELB)
  • spins up a new EC2 instance, configures it, and adds it to the ELB
  • stops an EC2 instance and removes it from the load balancer

Skills:

• You'll need to be familiar with Python, and the use of requirements.txt to specify dependencies.

• You'll need to be comfortable working with file I/O and handling the numerous corner cases that may arise: what if a file hasn't been finished writing? What if you can't acquire a lock? and so on.

• You'll need to be able to set up an EC2 instance in a reliable, automated way. If you have to ssh in afterwards to finish setting things up, you did it wrong.

• You need to know how to add or remove instances from a load balancer, and how to set the load balancer up to begin with. You'll also need to make that part automated.

• You should understand how S3's API works, because you'll be sending a lot of data there.

Schedule: We'll work together two consecutive days per week. We'll pick the same days every week for consistency. I'll be readily available for questions via group chat during US Eastern Time.

Expectations:

• English is a language you're fluent in.
• You're comfortable with remote work.
• You're comfortable with Git, rebasing, leaving commit messages, and merging.
• You can make commits daily.

Start date: As soon as possible.

Compensation: Pay is US$500 per day. We'll work out payment arrangements once the project starts but my preferred method is electronic direct deposit.

Getting in touch:

PM me here. I'm looking to make a pick in the next few business days.