Linux / HPC Administrator - Initila 3-Month Contract with Possible Extension

NCS; Canberra; On-site; AUD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

NCS Australia is seeking a Linux/HPC Administrator to join a high‑performing team supporting large‑scale Linux‑based HPC infrastructure. The role focuses on administration, optimization and ensuring high availability of HPC clusters.

You will collaborate with researchers and engineers, manage Slurm scheduling, capacity planning, patching, automation and incident resolution, and contribute to security and compliance within our operational standards.

Qualifications

• Proven HPC platform experience.
• Hands-on Slurm for job scheduling and resource management.
• Experience with GPU-enabled HPC environments.
• Bash/Python scripting for automation.
• familiarity with BCM for cluster management.

Responsibilities

• Administer and support Linux-based HPC environments.
• Manage and optimise HPC clusters and infrastructure.
• Configure, maintain and troubleshoot Slurm.
• Monitor performance, plan capacity and perform tuning.
• Support patching, upgrades, automation and configuration management.
• Ensure system security and compliance with standards.
• Collaborate with infrastructure, networking, storage and apps teams.
• Support backup, recovery and business continuity processes.
• Investigate and resolve complex incidents and performance issues.
• Contribute to automation and continuous improvement initiatives.

Skills

HPC

Slurm Workload Manager

Linux administration

Scripting (Bash/Python)

Bright Cluster Manager

GPU-enabled HPC

Cloud HPC exposure

Networking basics

Tools

Slurm

Bright Cluster Manager (BCM)

Singularity/Apptainer

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Linux / HPC Administrator - Initila 3-Month Contract with Possible Extension

• Contract
• Department: Digital Resilience

At NCS Australia, we believe in doing technology services better. Our commitment to quality, focus on people, and willingness to challenge traditional thinking set us apart. Our team brings this belief to life by partnering with our clients and communities to make tomorrow together.

We are committed to creating an environment that prioritises innovation, collaboration, and purposeful work. Our diverse team is empowered to make a meaningful impact with curiosity, creativity and resilience to shape better outcomes. Join us and accept the challenge of creating a better tomorrow.

We are seeking an experienced Linux / HPC Administrator to join a high-performing team supporting critical High Performance Computing (HPC) environments. This role will be responsible for the administration, optimisation, and support of large-scale Linux-based HPC infrastructure, ensuring high availability, performance, and operational excellence.

Working closely with engineers, researchers, and stakeholders, you will play a key role in maintaining and enhancing HPC platforms while supporting workload scheduling, capacity management, and system resilience.

Key Responsibilities

• Administer and support Linux-based HPC environments.
• Manage and optimise HPC clusters and associated infrastructure.
• Configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Slurm Workload Manager.
• Perform system monitoring, performance tuning, and capacity planning.
• Support system patching, upgrades, automation, and configuration management.
• Ensure system availability, security, and compliance with operational standards.
• Collaborate with infrastructure, networking, storage, and application teams.
• Support backup, recovery, and business continuity processes.
• Investigate and resolve complex operational incidents and performance issues.
• Contribute to automation and continuous improvement initiatives.

Required Skills & Experience

• Proven experience supporting High Performance Computing (HPC) platforms.
• Hands‑on experience with Slurm Workload Manager for job scheduling and resource management.
• Experience with BCM (Bright Cluster Manager) or equivalent HPC cluster management solutions.
• Strong understanding of compute, storage, and networking concepts within HPC environments.
• Experience with Bash, Python, or other scripting languages for automation.
• Knowledge of system monitoring, troubleshooting, and performance optimisation.
• Experience with infrastructure automation and configuration management tools is highly regarded.
• Experience with GPU-enabled HPC environments.
• Exposure to cloud‑based HPC solutions.
• Knowledge of container technologies such as Singularity, Apptainer, or Docker.
• Experience supporting scientific, engineering, research, or data‑intensive computing environments.

Other important stuff:

At NCS Australia, you'll be part of a team that values your growth and development. Our comprehensive global learning and development program will equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed. Plus, you'll be mentored by some of the industry's best, and have access to a worldwide network of career opportunities.

We are in the process of refreshing our employee benefits, so don’t forget to ask our Talent Acquisition Team about what’s on offer.

To be eligible for a position with us, applicants will need to have valid work rights for Australia and be willing to undergo a comprehensive background checking process, including probity and police checks.

As we navigate through our business integration process, we will continue to issue contracts under our existing entities of ARQ, Dialog, CatapultBI, ICEMEDIA, Eighty20, Riley or AccessHQ.

Visit our website https://www.ncs.co/en-au/ for more information.

Agencies:

We’ve got this. We request that you do not contact NCS employees outside of the Talent Acquisition team. NCS exclusively accepts resumes from agencies on our preferred supplier panel through the NCS Agency Portal. Agencies that submit resumes must have a valid fee agreement and be assigned to the particular requisition by the Talent Acquisition team. Any resumes that are submitted outside of this process will become the sole property of NCS. If a candidate is hired outside of this process, no fee or payment will be given.

Why NCS?

This is a place for people who like to get stuck in, bring ideas to life and make things happen. You'll work alongside experienced people who care about what they do, contribute to meaningful work and have the support to keep learning and grow your career. Whether you want to deepen your expertise, explore something new or take your career in a different direction, there's room to make it your own. We value Adventure, Excellence, Integrity, Ownership and Unity - bringing curiosity, collaboration and accountability to the way we work with our clients and each other.

We celebrate diversity and inclusion

We value different perspectives, experiences and strengths our people bring. We're committed to an inclusive workplace where everyone has the opportunity to contribute, grow and succeed, and to providing equal employment opportunities and reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

Applicants will need valid Australian work rights and may be required to undergo relevant background, probity and police checks.

Agencies:

NCS accepts candidate submissions only from agencies on our preferred supplier panel through the NCS Agency Portal.

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