Senior HPC Systems Administrator

1000scholars; Oxford; On-site; GBP 49,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Oxford seeks a full-time Senior HPC Systems Administrator to lead the development, deployment, and optimization of the lab's HPC infrastructure for AI research in the BOLD Lab.

You will design and maintain CPU/GPU clusters, high-performance storage, and networking, collaborating with researchers, software engineers, industry partners, and IT teams to ensure scalable, secure, and robust systems.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Extensive experience managing HPC infrastructure in research or technical environments.
• Strong Linux systems administration expertise.
• Experience with GPU servers and high-performance networking technologies.
• Experience with scripting and automation (Bash, Python).
• Knowledge of storage systems and backup/archive procedures.
• Strong troubleshooting and systems integration skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a research environment.

Responsibilities

• Designing, building, and maintaining HPC clusters and related infrastructure.
• Managing Linux compute and storage environments.
• Supporting GPU-enabled research computing systems.
• Maintaining high-performance storage and backup solutions.
• Monitoring system performance, security, and availability.
• Supporting and mentoring researchers, software engineers, and postgraduate students.
• Developing documentation, training materials, and operational best practices.
• Collaborating with departmental and university-wide research IT teams.
• Evaluating and deploying new technologies to support evolving research requirements.

Skills

HPC infrastructure

Linux systems administration

GPU computing

Scripting & automation

High-performance networking

Storage & backup

Documentation & training

Collaboration skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Engineering

Tools

SLURM or scheduling systems

Containerisation

Cloud platforms

BeeGFS/Lustre

Job description

Location: Central Oxford

We are seeking a full-time Senior HPC Systems Administrator to join the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford, working within the newly established The British Open-ended Learning and Discovery (BOLD) Lab, a major new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funded initiative that will establish a world-leading AI research laboratory at the University of Oxford.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced systems professional to lead the development, administration, and strategic evolution of the labs high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure supporting cutting-edge fundamental AI research, with three initial research pillars: Beyond backpropagation, human centric AI learning and discovery, and embodied learning.

The successful candidate will take a leading role in the design, deployment, maintenance, and optimisation of large-scale HPC systems, including CPU and GPU clusters, high-performance storage, and advanced networking technologies. The postholder will work closely with academic researchers, software engineers, industry partners, and departmental IT teams to ensure robust, scalable, and secure computational infrastructure capable of supporting world-leading research in machine learning and visual computing.

You will possess extensive experience in Linux systems administration and HPC environments, together with strong technical expertise in cluster management, storage systems, networking, scripting, and infrastructure automation. Experience with GPU computing environments, containerisation technologies, cloud platforms, and scientific software environments will be highly desirable. The role also requires excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

The role includes responsibility for:

• Designing, building, and maintaining HPC clusters and associated infrastructure
• Managing Linux compute and storage environments
• Supporting GPU-enabled research computing systems
• Maintaining high-performance storage and backup solutions
• Monitoring system performance, security, and availability
• Supporting and mentoring researchers, software engineers, and postgraduate students
• Developing documentation, training materials, and operational best practices
• Collaborating with departmental and university-wide research IT teams
• Evaluating and deploying new technologies to support evolving research requirements

The successful candidate will work under the direction of the departmental HPC Infrastructure Architect, with approximately 20% of their time allocated to broader departmental infrastructure activities.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline
• Extensive experience managing HPC infrastructure in research or technical environments
• Strong Linux systems administration expertise
• Experience with GPU servers and high-performance networking technologies
• Experience with scripting and automation (e.g. Bash, Python)
• Knowledge of storage systems and backup/archive procedures
• Strong troubleshooting and systems integration skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a research environment

Desirable Skills

• Experience with SLURM or other job scheduling systems
• Experience with containerisation and virtualisation technologies
• Knowledge of cloud computing platforms
• Familiarity with scientific computing tools and AI/ML research workflows
• Experience supporting research software or academic computing environments
• Knowledge of high-performance file systems such as BeeGFS or Lustre

The Department holds an Athena Swan Bronze Award, recognising its commitment to advancing gender equality and supporting an inclusive working environment.

• High Performance Computing (HPC)
• Linux Systems Administration
• GPU Computing
• Cloud & Container Technologies
• Computer Vision & AI Infrastructure

£49,119 to £55,031 per annum. Grade 8