Lead, Linux Scientific Workstations & Platform Engineering

kaust (king abdullah university of science and technology); Saudi Arabia; On-site; SAR 350,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

KAUST seeks a Research User Computing Platforms Lead to provide hands-on technical leadership for the Linux scientific workstation platform, with architecture, provisioning, automation, security, and lifecycle management responsibilities. The role also guides Windows and macOS engineers ensuring aligned service delivery across platforms.

The candidate will drive infrastructure-as-code, patching, and compliance, while partnering with researchers and IT teams to deliver secure, high-performance

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, IT, engineering or related field.
• Master’s degree preferred in a relevant technical or management discipline.
• RHCE, LPIC, Puppet Certified or equivalent configuration-management certs.
• Networking or security certs like CCNA/Aruba; ITIL; CISSP/CISM/Security+ preferred.

Responsibilities

• Set architecture and technical direction for KAUST Linux scientific workstation fleet.
• Establish infrastructure-as-code, GitOps, automation and engineering standards.
• Lead provisioning, patching, secrets management, observability, and lifecycle ops.
• Oversee security/compliance baselines including NIST 800-171 and CIS Benchmarks.
• Mentor and develop the Linux workstation platform team and cross-platform engineers.
• Collaborate with faculty, researchers, vendors, and IT teams to translate needs into platform capabilities.
• Provide regular updates to senior IT leadership on platform direction and investments.

Skills

Linux systems

Configuration management

GitOps

Puppet

Ansible

Endpoint engineering

Infrastructure as code

Leadership

Linux workstation fleet

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

RHCE

LPIC

Puppet Certified

CCNA/Aruba

ITIL

CISSP/CISM/CompTIA Security+

Job description

KAUST seeks a Research User Computing Platforms Lead to provide hands-on technical leadership for the Linux scientific workstation platform, with architecture, provisioning, automation, security, and lifecycle management responsibilities. The role also guides Windows and macOS engineers ensuring aligned service delivery across platforms.

The candidate will drive infrastructure-as-code, patching, and compliance, while partnering with researchers and IT teams to deliver secure, high-performance