HPC Lead

Syngenta Group; Bracknell; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Bonus scheme

Private medical & life insurance

31.5 days annual holiday

International/global environment

Job summary

Syngenta Crop Protection seeks an HPC Lead to manage high-performance computing infrastructure for R&D scientists. You will oversee clusters, GPUs, storage and notebook environments, enabling researchers with reliable compute access for complex experiments.

Collaborate with engineers, product leaders and scientists to translate needs into practical HPC solutions, while setting high standards for security, documentation and AI-assisted engineering.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience in HPC cluster management.
• Demonstrable experience in NVIDIA GPU architecture and provisioning.
• Demonstrable experience in MPI, storage and job scheduling.
• Demonstrable experience in modern orchestration and Kubernetes-native HPC.
• Demonstrable experience in HPC vendor and investment strategy.
• Demonstrable experience in scientific-computing workload fluency.
• Demonstrable experience in AI-assisted engineering for automation.
• Proven experience leading and mentoring engineering teams to drive technical excellence.
• Strong background in infrastructure-as-code and configuration management tools.
• Experience with HPC performance monitoring, profiling and optimisation techniques.
• Knowledge of security protocols, compliance standards and disaster recovery procedures for HPC.
• Strong communication skills and ability to influence across stakeholders.
• Fluent English, written and spoken.

Responsibilities

• Lead and apply deep expertise in HPC cluster management to deliver scalable outcomes.
• Lead NVIDIA GPU architecture provisioning to deliver scalable outcomes.
• Lead MPI, storage and job scheduling to deliver scalable outcomes.
• Lead modern orchestration and Kubernetes-native HPC to deliver scalable outcomes.
• Lead HPC vendor and investment strategy to balance cost and performance.
• Lead scientific-computing workload fluency to deliver scalable outcomes.
• Collaborate across engineering, product and scientific teams to translate needs into solutions.
• Set a high bar for quality, documentation and AI-assisted engineering.
• Monitor system performance, identify bottlenecks, and optimize resources.
• Establish security and disaster recovery procedures for reliability.
• Manage HPC budgets, evaluate vendor solutions and procurement decisions.
• Lead and develop engineering team members, fostering continuous learning.
• Create documentation and training materials for scientists and engineers.

Skills

HPC cluster management

NVIDIA GPU architecture

MPI, storage & job scheduling

Kubernetes-native HPC

HPC vendor & investment strategy

scientific-computing workload fluency

AI-assisted engineering

team leadership & mentoring

infrastructure-as-code

HPC performance monitoring

security & disaster recovery

clear communication

Fluent English

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

HPC libraries

Kubernetes

Job description

Syngenta Crop Protection is a leader in agricultural innovation, bringing breakthrough technologies and solutions that enable farmers to grow productively and sustainably. We offer a leading portfolio of crop protection solutions for plant and soil health, as well as digital solutions that transform the decision-making capabilities of farmers. Our 17,900 employees serve to advance agriculture in more than 90 countries around the world. Syngenta Crop Protection is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, and is part of the Syngenta Group.

Our employees reflect the diversity of our customers, the markets where we operate and the communities which we serve. No matter what your position, you will have a vital role in safely feeding the world and taking care of our planet. Join us and help shape the future of agriculture.

Job Description

We are looking for a HPC Lead to manage high-performance computing infrastructure for R&D scientists, including clusters, GPUs, storage and notebook environments. This is an opportunity to work at the intersection of advanced technology and agricultural R&D, partnering with engineers, product leaders and scientific stakeholders on capabilities with real-world impact. Give scientists dependable access to the compute capacity needed to advance complex research.

What You’ll Do

• Lead and apply deep expertise in HPC cluster management to deliver durable, scalable outcomes.
• Lead and apply deep expertise in NVIDIA GPU architecture and provisioning to deliver durable, scalable outcomes.
• Lead and apply deep expertise in MPI, storage and job scheduling to deliver durable, scalable outcomes.
• Lead and apply deep expertise in modern orchestration and Kubernetes-native HPC to deliver durable, scalable outcomes.
• Lead and apply deep expertise in HPC vendor and investment strategy to deliver durable, scalable outcomes.
• Lead and apply deep expertise in scientific-computing workload fluency to deliver durable, scalable outcomes.
• Collaborate across engineering, product and scientific teams to translate complex needs into practical solutions.
• Set a high bar for quality, documentation and thoughtful use of AI-assisted engineering.
• Monitor system performance, identify bottlenecks, and implement optimization strategies to maximize computational efficiency and resource utilisation.
• Establish and enforce security protocols, compliance standards, and disaster recovery procedures to ensure system reliability and data protection.
• Manage HPC infrastructure budgets, evaluate vendor solutions, and make strategic procurement decisions that balance cost, performance and organisational needs.
• Lead, mentor and develop engineering team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning and technical excellence.
• Create comprehensive documentation, training materials and best practices guides to enable scientists and engineers to effectively utilise HPC resources.

Qualifications

**What You Bring**

• Demonstrable experience in HPC cluster management
• Demonstrable experience in NVIDIA GPU architecture and provisioning
• Demonstrable experience in MPI, storage and job scheduling
• Demonstrable experience in modern orchestration and Kubernetes-native HPC
• Demonstrable experience in HPC vendor and investment strategy
• Demonstrable experience in scientific-computing workload fluency
• Demonstrable experience in AI-assisted engineering for automation
• Proven experience leading and mentoring engineering teams to drive technical excellence
• Strong background in infrastructure-as-code and configuration management tools
• Experience with HPC performance monitoring, profiling and optimisation techniques
• Knowledge of security protocols, compliance standards and disaster recovery procedures for high-performance computing environments
• Strong communication skills and the ability to influence across technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Fluent English, written and spoken

**Bonus Points**

• Experience in agriculture, life sciences, scientific computing or a regulated enterprise environment
• Experience building platforms, products or services used by multiple internal teams
• Experience working in distributed, international engineering organisations
• Familiarity with popular scientific computing frameworks and libraries (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, HPC libraries)
• Background in budget management and strategic procurement for technology infrastructure

Additional Information

Jealott's Hill International Research Centre UK is situated in pleasant semi-rural surroundings between Bracknell and Maidenhead and is the place of work for approximately 800 Syngenta scientists and support staff.Jealott’s Hill is one of the main global research and development sites and key activities include research into discovery of new active ingredients, new formulation technologies, product safety and technical support of our product range.

What we offer

• Extensive benefits package including a generous pension scheme, bonus scheme, private medical & life insurance.
• Up to 31.5 days annual holiday.
• We offer a position which contributes to valuable and impactful work in a stimulating and international environment.
• The opportunity to develop and apply your science within the chemical industry.
• The chance to work as part of a global team to address the current and future needs of the agricultural sector.
• Learning culture and wide range of training options.
• Syngenta has been ranked as atop 5 employer and number 1 in agriculture by Science Journal.

Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, colour, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. Learn more about our D&I initiatives here: