Storage Expert (m/f/d)

GES.F.WISS.DATENVERARBEITUNG MBH GOETTINGEN; Niedersachsen; On-site; EUR 50,000 - 73,000; Part time

Job summary

The GWDG is seeking a Storage Expert to join its interdisciplinary HPC team in the Computing group (AG C) in Göttingen. The role offers a 39-hour week, TVöD E13 pay scale, and a part-time option with a limited-term contract through 31 December 2029.

A doctorate may be possible, with long-term collaboration prospects. The successful candidate will design and optimize AI/HPC storage, implement data management strategies, and collaborate with researchers to ensure secure, scalable, and

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, or a related field.
• Experience in HPC storage and AI data engineering.
• Proven experience with high-performance storage technologies (Lustre, GPFS, Ceph, NFS, S3-compatible).
• Strong knowledge of AI/ML data pipelines, including data ingestion, preprocessing, and model training workflows.
• Hands-on experience with containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes) and orchestration tools in HPC/AI environments.
• Familiarity with cloud storage platforms.
• Experience in data lifecycle management, data versioning, and metadata management.
• Solid understanding of data security, privacy (GDPR), and compliance in AI applications.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders.
• Very good German skills (C1)
• Very good English skills (C1)
• Willingness to travel on business.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and optimize high-performance storage solutions for AI and HPC workloads.
• Research scalable, cost-effective storage architectures for AI training and HPC simulations.
• Develop and deploy data management strategies for large-scale AI datasets, including lifecycle management, versioning, backup and security (GDPR).
• Investigate and prototype AI-optimised storage systems using NVMe, SSD caching, and distributed storage (Ceph, MinIO, Lustre).
• Support SMEs in evaluating and selecting HPC and AI storage solutions.
• Collaborate with data scientists and engineers to meet storage needs for model training, inference, and real-time processing.
• Develop best-practice guidelines and toolkits for SMEs to manage AI/HPC data securely and efficiently.
• Provide technical advisory and training on data storage, performance monitoring, and data governance.
• Monitor and benchmark storage performance for low latency, high throughput, and cost-efficiency.

Skills

HPC systems

Storage infra

AI data engineering

Lustre/GPFS/Ceph

Docker/Kubernetes

Cloud storage

Data lifecycle mgmt

GDPR compliance

Analytical skills

Communication skills

German C1

English C1

Travel willingness

Education

Master's degree

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Ceph

Lustre

GPFS

NFS

S3-compatible storage

Job description

The GWDG is seeking a Storage Expert (m/f/d) to join an interdisciplinary team of HPC experts in the working group 'Computing' (AG C) with a regular working week of 39 hours (100%). Remuneration is in accordance with the collective agreement for the German public service (federal government); depending on qualifications, the position will be grade TVöD E 13. The position is suitable for part-time work and initially limited till 31rd December 2029. The GWDG strives for long-term cooperation. If interested, there is the possibility of a doctorate.

The Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Göttingen (GWDG) is the university computing centre for the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen and a computing and IT competence centre for the Max Planck Society. The provision of high-performance HPC systems has been one of its tasks for over 40 years. In 2020, the University of Göttingen / GWDG was accepted as one of eight computing centres in the National High-Performance Computing (NHR) network. The GWDG operates the HLRN-IV system 'Emmy', one of the most powerful computers in the world.

As a national supercomputing centre, the GWDG offers technical support to researchers and students from various science domains using sophisticated computer codes, including earth system science, life science, and engineering. We also participate in both national and international research projects. At the same time, we aim to improve our close collaboration with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), and specialised computing centres including the German Climate Computing Centre (DKRZ) and the Institute for Advanced Simulation Jülich (IAS-JSC).

As part of our AI Service Center for Sensitive and Critical Infrastructure (KISSKI) we have created a number of AI-based services that offer high levels of security and privacy due to being processed on our own hardware. The position will be located within the subproject 'KISSKI-EvoKS' and closely collaborate with customers from SMEs and Startups to develop prototypes and workflows that lead to PoCs and Blueprints. Those customers will come predominantly from sectors with high data protection requirements.

The GWDG together with the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science and the Campus Institute Data Science (CIDAS) of the University of Göttingen provides a stimulating research environment in Scientific Computing, with an opportunity to conduct research in the intersection of applied computer science, High-Performance Computing, AI, and Machine Learning.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and optimize high-performance storage solutions tailored for AI and HPC workloads
• Conduct research on scalable, cost-effective storage architectures suitable for AI training and HPC simulations in resource-constrained environments
• Develop and deploy data management strategies for large-scale AI datasets, including data lifecycle management, versioning, backup, and security (e.g., GDPR-compliant data handling)
• Investigate and prototype AI-optimised storage systems leveraging technologies such as NVMe, SSD caching, and distributed storage (e.g., Ceph, MinIO, Lustre)
• Support SMEs in evaluating and selecting appropriate HPC and AI storage solutions
• Collaborate with data scientists and engineers to ensure storage systems meet the demands of AI model training, inference, and real-time processing
• Develop best practice guidelines and toolkits for SMEs to manage AI/HPC data efficiently and security
• Provide technical advisory and training to SME teams on data storage, performance monitoring, and data governance
• Monitor and benchmark storage performance, ensuring low latency, high throughput, and cost-efficiency for AI/HPC applications

Requirements

• Master's degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, or a related field
• Experience in HPC systems, storage infrastructure, and AI data engineering
• Proven experience with high-performance storage technologies (e.g., Lustre, GPFS, Ceph, NFS, S3-compatible storage)
• Strong knowledge of AI/ML data pipelines, including data ingestion, preprocessing, and model training workflows
• Hands‑on experience with containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes) and orchestration tools in HPC/AI environments
• Familiarity with cloud storage platforms
• Experience in data lifecycle management, data versioning, and metadata management
• Solid understanding of data security, privacy (GDPR), and compliance in AI applications
• Excellent analytical and problem‑solving skills
• Excellent communication skills and ability to translate technical concepts for non‑technical stakeholders
• Very good German skills (C1)
• Very good English skills (C1)
• Willingness to travel on business

Desirable

• Experience in research or innovation projects related to HPC, A