Systems Administrator for Research IT

1000scholars; Greater London; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days’ leave per annum (pro-rata)

Season ticket loan

Development opportunities

Flexible working arrangements

Job summary

Queen Mary University of London is seeking a Systems Administrator for ITS Research to support the Linux-based HPC cluster, Research services (e.g., GitHub Enterprise) and virtual machines. The role requires strong Linux skills, HPC expertise and DevOps experience including Puppet and Git workflows.

The post holder will deploy, test, benchmark and document use of a range of research applications for use on the HPC cluster and support researchers across the university.

Qualifications

• Substantial knowledge and experience managing large Linux server installations in academic or enterprise environments.
• Demonstrable experience of managing a job scheduler on an HPC cluster.
• Experience with DevOps methodologies, automation, configuration management using Puppet and Git, and CI solutions.
• Ability to provision and test Open Source applications using source, scripts, containers or packages.

Responsibilities

• Provide support for operating systems, applications and services on ITS Research facilities, including the HPC cluster and related services.
• Deploy, test, benchmark and document use of research applications for the HPC cluster.
• Support Linux servers in an enterprise/academic setting and contribute to best practice documentation.

Skills

Linux

High Performance Computing (HPC)

Scripting

Git workflows

Tools

Puppet

Git

CI/CD tooling

Job description

About the Role

The primary duty of this role is to provide support for the operating systems, applications and services running on the ITS Research facilities. This covers the HPC cluster, various Research services (e.g. GitHub Enterprise) and virtual machines. Most of these servers run Rocky Linux. The post holder is required to possess substantial knowledge and experience of supporting large installations of Linux servers and open-source software in an academic or enterprise environment according to best practice.

About You

The Systems Administrator for ITS Research will primarily be utilising advanced technical skills in Linux, HPC, puppet, Git workflows, and scripting, as part of a progressive team, to provide a high quality service to Researchers performing world‑class research across the University. The post holder will be required to deploy, test, benchmark and document use of a range of research applications for use on the HPC cluster.

A good background in administering Linux servers in an Enterprise/Academic environment will be essential, plus at least one of the following:

• Demonstrable experience of managing a job scheduler on a High Performance Compute Cluster
• Experience of DevOps methodologies, including automation, configuration management using Puppet and Git, and continuous integration solutions
• Ability to provision and test a wide change of Open Source applications, using a variety of methods (source code, scripts, containers, packages).

Additional skills will be learned on the job, also making this an exciting opening for a skilled Linux administrator wishing to work in the stimulating area of High Performance Computing, Machine Learning (due to substantial investment in high‑end GPUs) and Containerisation.

About the Department

The Research Division of IT Services provide the computing facilities and resources to support the world‑class research performed at Queen Mary University of London. Supporting research performed across all three Faculties: Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Engineering, and the School of Medicine and Dentistry; the range of activity within the group is wide-ranging and ever-changing.

About Queen Mary

At Queen Mary University of London, we believe that a diversity of ideas helps us achieve the previously unthinkable.

Throughout our history, we’ve fostered social justice and improved lives through academic excellence. And we continue to live and breathe this spirit today, not because it’s simply ‘the right thing to do’ but for what it helps us achieve and the intellectual brilliance it delivers.

We continue to embrace diversity of thought and opinion in everything we do, in the belief that when views collide, disciplines interact, and perspectives intersect, truly original thought takes form.

Benefits

We offer competitive salaries, access to a generous pension scheme, 30 days’ leave per annum (pro-rata for part-time/fixed-term), a season ticket loan scheme and access to a comprehensive range of personal and professional development opportunities. In addition, we offer a range of work life balance and family friendly, inclusive employment policies, campus facilities and flexible working arrangements.

Queen Mary’s commitment to our diverse and inclusive community is embedded in our appointments processes. Reasonable adjustments will be made at each stage of the recruitment process for any candidate with a disability. We are open to considering applications from candidates wishing to work flexibly.

Valuing Diversity & Committed to Equality