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Posted Job Title
Senior HPC Systems Administrator, SAS Computing
Job Profile Title
Systems Administrator Senior
Job Description Summary
The Linux Infrastructure Services (LIS) group at the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) is seeking a passionate and skilled Senior HPC Systems Administrator. Join our team and collaborate with world-renowned researchers tackling questions about the human brain, the upper atmosphere, ocean biogeochemistry, social program impacts, and more. Under the guidance of the HPC team leadership, you will ensure the smooth operation of our HPC research services using technologies like GPU's, CPU's, Slurm, conda, infiniband, and many other components of a modern, shared HPC environment. This position is hybrid-eligible.
Job Description
The School of Arts and Sciences is the heart of Penn's academic enterprise, home to hundreds of faculty and thousands of students engaged in innovative research and teaching across the liberal arts and sciences. SAS Computing provides comprehensive IT support for Penn's world-class research, teaching and learning, and administrative activities. Our team works closely with faculty and staff to deliver innovative, forward-looking technology solutions that meet a wide range of needs. With a dedicated group of professionals known for strong collaboration and teamwork, SAS Computing translates technical expertise into practical support that advances the academic mission of the School.
Job Responsibilities/Duties:
Serve as a Sr. Systems Administrator managing complex Linux systems. This role involves supporting our research computing clusters,, databases, and web servers. In addition to the School-based HPC services, this role will involve supporting SAS researchers who use Penn's new PARCC (Penn Advanced Research Computing Center) centralized HPC services, including both CPU and GPU cutting-edge technologies.
Under the direction of the HPC team leadership, maintain, configure, and provide automation support for high-performance computing solutions in our datacenters and the cloud. Engage with researchers to understand how HPC can enhance and transform their work. Proactively pursue efficient and collaborative solutions to requests, partnering with faculty and local computing support providers across the school. The systems managed by our group often support high-profile projects.
Responsibilities include:
Deploy and manage Linux systems
Develop shell and python scripts
Configure, manage, and optimize job scheduling software (SLURM)
Install and configure free and licensed software
Monitor systems and services
Perform routine systems maintenance
Manage data and configuration backups
Coordinate hardware repairs
Oversee ordering and installation of hardware
Recommend and track software and hardware changes
Automate systems configuration tasks and deployments
Provide technical consulting and end-user Linux support
Support web services
Assist first-tier support staff with end-users issues on our systems
Maintain expert-level knowledge of HPC technologies
Propose and implement improvements to our HPC services
Provide support for SAS researchers using Penn's PARCC central HPC cluster and partner with the PARCC team to meet the needs of SAS faculty
This position also participates in the linux systems administration on-call rotations, which includes on-prem and cloud (AWS) services.