HPC Systems Administrator I or II

Summary

The University of Utah's Center for High Performance Computing (CHPC) is seeking an HPC Systems Administrator I or II to join their collaborative team. The role involves supporting cluster and workload orchestration systems, focusing on compute clusters, networking, and storage connectivity, while providing user support and engaging in skill development.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the provisioning, configuration, and maintenance of Linux cluster nodes (CPU and GPU) and drivers required for hardware functionality and storage connectivity
• Write and follow structured procedure to troubleshoot hardware failures on cluster nodes (including accelerators/GPUs). Work with vendors to request RMAs and coordinate component replacements
• Support basic host-side connectivity and driver configuration for high-speed networks (Infiniband and RoCE v2) under the direction of senior engineers
• Maintain and contribute to communal technical documentation. Ensure system health tracking logs and hardware lifecycle records are kept current to support team-wide visibility and historical analysis
• Utilize HPC community tools to check and validate system health. Collaborate with the CHPC monitoring team to implement metrics and visualization using tools like Grafana
• Provide professional, clear, and timely communication while troubleshooting issues to ensure researcher success
• Act as a first point of contact for researcher support tickets specifically related to HPC system hardware and batch/scheduling systems
• Participate in the documentation of system configurations, deployment processes, and support procedures. Contribute to user-facing documentation to ensure accurate knowledge transfer
• Participate in structured training and mentorship to learn:
• Participate in structured training to learn advanced batch scheduling (Slurm), parallel file systems (Lustre), and security compliance (HIPAA, NIST 800-171)
• As part of our commitment to innovation, you will have opportunities to assist senior staff in exploring and piloting emerging workload orchestration modes beyond traditional batch, such as Kubernetes (K8s), Flux, or Slinky

Skills

• 1 year of higher education can be substituted for 1 year of directly related work experience (Example: bachelor's degree = 4 years of directly related work experience)
• Systems Administrator, I: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 2 years of directly related work experience or a master's (or equivalency) degree
• Systems Administrator, II: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 4 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 2 years of directly related work experience
• Recent graduates with strong academic or project-based Linux experience are encouraged to apply
• Linux Proficiency: Demonstrated ability to navigate the Linux command line (file system navigation, text editing, permissions, package management)
• Scripting Fundamentals: Basic proficiency in a scripting language (Bash or Python) to automate simple administrative tasks
• Networking Fundamentals: Understanding of basic networking concepts (IP addressing, SSH, ports, firewalls)
• Analytical Problem-Solving: Ability to troubleshoot technical issues and resolve challenges through a mix of critical thinking and following detailed instructions in a complex environment
• Hardware Management: Familiarity with out-of-band management protocols (IPMI, Redfish) or vendor-specific tools (e.g., Dell iDRAC, HP iLO, Lenovo XClarity)
• Linux Internals: Familiarity with Linux cgroups or container technologies (Apptainer/Docker)
• Config Management: Experience with Ansible
• HPC Context: Prior exposure to High Performance Computing environments
• Version Control: Experience with Git

Qualifications

Must Haves

• 1 year of higher education can be substituted for 1 year of directly related work experience (Example: bachelor's degree = 4 years of directly related work experience)
• Systems Administrator, I: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 2 years of directly related work experience or a master's (or equivalency) degree
• Systems Administrator, II: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 4 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 2 years of directly related work experience
• Recent graduates with strong academic or project-based Linux experience are encouraged to apply
• Linux Proficiency: Demonstrated ability to navigate the Linux command line (file system navigation, text editing, permissions, package management)
• Scripting Fundamentals: Basic proficiency in a scripting language (Bash or Python) to automate simple administrative tasks
• Networking Fundamentals: Understanding of basic networking concepts (IP addressing, SSH, ports, firewalls)
• Analytical Problem-Solving: Ability to troubleshoot technical issues and resolve challenges through a mix of critical thinking and following detailed instructions in a complex environment

Nice to Haves

• Hardware Management: Familiarity with out-of-band management protocols (IPMI, Redfish) or vendor-specific tools (e.g., Dell iDRAC, HP iLO, Lenovo XClarity)
• Linux Internals: Familiarity with Linux cgroups or container technologies (Apptainer/Docker)
• Config Management: Experience with Ansible
• HPC Context: Prior exposure to High Performance Computing environments
• Version Control: Experience with Git

Benefits

• The University is a participating employer with Utah Retirement Systems (“URS”). Eligible new hires with prior URS service, may elect to enroll in URS if they make the election before they become eligible for retirement (usually the first day of work).