DoIT - Division of Information Technology Unix Infrastructure

UMBC is a midsized R1 research institution with approximately $150 million in research expenditures annually and with about 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The division of IT reports directly to the President and is seen as a strategic partner in meeting institutional goals. Structurally, Jack Suess is our VP and CIO with 6 departments reporting to him including Business Analytics, CyberSecurity, Business Systems, Instructional Technology and Enterprise Infrastructure services, which is where this position would reside. 

The Specialist, High Performance Computing (HPC) Administrator is part of a team that is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the research computing infrastructure managed by the Division of Information Technology.

The Specialist role is targeting system administrators with one to three years of Linux systems administration experience who will work with more experienced team members in supporting a complex high performance computing environment.
The position will utilize modern system administration techniques such as orchestration, automation, and containerization to build software, deploy updates, provision new systems, manage configuration states, and troubleshoot existing deployments. Systems will exist in physical, virtual, and cloud environments.
Technologies this position will work with:

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• NVIDIA Bright Cluster Manager (or variant)
• CEPH & parallel filesystems
• Infiniband networking
• NFS and SMB based file systems on-premises and in the public cloud
• VMWare and hypervisor management
• Slurm job management application
• GPU & specialized hardware for Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning
• Server-class hardware and remote management

The HPC administrators are responsible for working closely with the Assistant Director for Research Computing and the Associate Director of Research and Enterprise Computing, as well as researchers and teammates, to ensure the best possible environment to support research at UMBC. This position will test different technologies, build modern and cutting-edge software, and ensure the reliability of the IT resources used by a large cohort of UMBC faculty and students.

The incumbent is expected to work in a self-directed manner, identify tasks and projects that should be accomplished to maintain or enhance service, and work with others (DoIT and other university staff) to accomplish tasks under minimal direct supervision. The incumbent may, at times, be expected to provide instruction and mentorship to student staff. The incumbent is expected to use independent judgment to resolve customer support tickets in a timely manner with appropriate communication and follow through completion.

UMBC offers competitive compensation.  This role starts at $78,000 and has over 4 weeks of vacation for regular full time roles. Tuition remission is also available.

What is it like to work at UMBC?  Check out Glassdoor or Indeed.

For 15 years in a row UMBC has been recognized as a Great College to Work For! 

A hybrid telework schedule is available. 

• Meetings and discussions with faculty, students, and other researchers around current issues being faced and solutions to the best utilization of resources
• Work within a ticket management system (I.E.: RT) to resolve service impacting problems within the established SLA timelines, communicating well with end-users and co-workers throughout the process
• Provide excellent customer service skills and demonstrate the ability to work with all levels within the organization, assuring prompt and effective responses to customer needs
• Utilize standard communication, reporting, and documentation tools to effectively and efficiently communicate with the team and document technical solutions
• Help develop project plans, effectively create/update issues, and keep team leads and management informed of changes, impediments, and updates
• Hands-on provisioning/upgrading of services, operating systems, upgrading hardware and configuration management
• Performance optimization and monitoring
• Build and maintain libraries, software, and tools needed by researchers to work on the clusters and other facilities

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or related STEM degree
• One year of experience working on an enterprise UNIX system, with some direct experience with system configuration and administration.

Experience with one or more of the following technologies:

• Automation
• User/Group Management
• Storage Systems
• GPU programming and GPU support
• Networking

High Performance Computing (HPC) knowledge around cluster builds, software, parallel computing, workload management, and cluster management. Knowledge with CUDA Programming Workflows, GPU programming, and GPU support. Experience with LDAP, Bright Cluster Manager, and a workload manager (e.g., slurm, torque, PBS).

Education Preferred: Advanced degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related STEM degree

A background check will be required. 

Upload a cover letter and a resume.  

UMBC offers a rich benefits package.

Regular and grant funded regular positions (Full benefits summary click here):

Generous Leave which includes accruing:

• 22 Days of Annual Leave  
• 15 Days of Sick Leave  
• 15 Holidays
• 3 Personal Days

Tuition Remission:

• 8 credit hours per semester
• Tuition remission at UMBC for eligible dependents after two years of FT employment

Additional Benefits:

• Life and disability insurance
• Retirement plans (including the choice of joining the pension plan)
• Professional development opportunities
• Wellness opportunities
• & Much more

Salary: $78,000 - $88,000 depending on qualifications and experience.

The salary of the finalist(s) selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, internal equity, budget, prior experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business considerations.

The above salary range represents the University’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

If you require a reasonable accommodation for a disability for any part of the employment process, please contact the Human Resources Department at 410-455-2337 or MD TTY Relay Service 1-800-735-2258 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.