System Engineer for a Cloud-like HPC Infrastructure

Immigration Policy Lab; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid work

25 days annual leave

Dental benefits

Healthcare insurance

NS mark certification

Job summary

The Singapore-ETH Centre is seeking a System Engineer for a Cloud-like HPC Infrastructure to join the AIS Instrumentation Gym. You will manage end-to-end research platform services, enabling AI4S workflows across distributed sites including NUS, NTU, NSCC, and CSCS.

You will implement data mobility, tiered storage, and federated reproducibility while working with IaC (Ansible, Terraform/OpenTofu) and container orchestration (Kubernetes).

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in computer engineering or related field.
• Knowledge of microservice architecture.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and GitLab CI.
• Experience developing Ansible configurations.
• Knowledge of Kubernetes and OpenCHAMI.
• Experience with Terraform/OpenTofu.
• Experience with distributed research infrastructure.
• Understanding HPC workflows and data retention in multi-tenant environments.

Responsibilities

• Manage the HPC backbone for the AIS Instrumentation Gym as end-to-end platform.
• Implement data mobility protocols across sites.
• Manage data retention with tiered storage.
• Support federated reproducibility via cross-site workflows.
• Manage core IT infra using IaC tools.
• Install and manage OpenCHAMI and Kubernetes.
• Administer multi-tenant vClusters and dynamic vService creation.

Skills

Microservice architecture

CI/CD pipelines

Ansible configurations

ArgoCD

Kubernetes

OpenCHAMI

Terraform/OpenTofu

Distributed research infra

HPC workflows

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Tools

GitLab CI

HashiCorp Vault

ArgoCD

Terraform

Job description

System Engineer for a Cloud-like HPC Infrastructure

100%, Singapore, fixed-term

The Singapore-ETH Centre was established in 2010 by ETH Zurich - The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF), as part of the NRF’s CREATE campus. As ETH Zurich's only research centre outside of Switzerland, the centre has strengthened the research capacity of ETH Zurich to develop sustainable solutions to global challenges in Switzerland, Singapore and the surrounding regions.

Set in Asia, in a rapidly urbanising region, the Singapore-ETH Centre aims to provide practical solutions to some of the most pressing challenges on urban sustainability, resilience and health through its programmes: Future Cities Lab Global (FCL Global) and Future Health Technologies (FHT).

The centre serves as an intellectual hub for research, bringing together principal investigators and researchers from diverse disciplines and backgrounds. To promote the exchange of ideas and expertise, our researchers actively collaborate with universities and research institutes and engage with industry and government agencies to translate knowledge to practical solutions to real-world problems.

Project background

The AIS Instrumentation Gym is a multi-tier ML platform being built by both the National University of Singapore and the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC) for shared scientific instruments (e.g., electron microscopy, X-ray imaging, and light microscopy). It supports researchers across three compute scales: laptop-based prototyping (S-Gym), single-GPU workstations (M-Gym), and multi-node HPC at the National Supercomputing Centre Singapore (L-Gym).

The Gym's purpose is to close the gap between high-dimensional scientific data and hypothesis generation. It does this by turning raw imaging data into learned, interpretable representations that scientists can explore as navigable landscapes: making patterns, anomalies, and structure legible at scales human intuition can no longer reach unaided.

As an ecosystem, the Gym brings together domain scientists, ML researchers, and systems builders around a common platform. We are now hiring full-time engineers and researchers to build, validate, and scale it.

Job description

As a System Engineer for a Cloud-like HPC Infrastructure you will:

• Manage the HPC backbone for the AIS Instrumentation Gym, serving as a one-stop, end-to-end research platform for AI4S workflows.
• Implement integrated data mobility protocols to ensure seamless, secure data movement between distributed research sites (e.g., NUS, NTU, NSCC, CSCS).
• Manage sustainable data retention policies, implementing tiered storage solutions that balance fast-access for active training with archival for long-term reproducibility.
• Support federated reproducibility by developing workflows that allow dataset cloning/forking across multiple HPC locations to reduce duplication of effort.
• Manage and provision the core IT infrastructure using IaC tools (Ansible, Terraform/OpenTofu).
• Install and manage the system management platform (OpenCHAMI) and container orchestration system (Kubernetes).
• Administer the management plane to support multi-tenant vClusters and dynamic vService creation.

Position requires quarterly travel to Switzerland to synchronise with the core Swiss team. Join us to operate a HPC infrastructure at the bleeding edge of innovation, driving impact within a world-class tech stack.

Profile

Must-haves:

• A bachelor’s degree or higher in computer engineering, computer science, a relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• You should have a knowledge of:

1. Microservice architecture
2. Automation tools and framework, including CI/CD processes and ecosystem (e.g., Gitlab CI, HashiCorp Vault)
3. Developing Ansible configurations
4. Versioning systems and CI/CD workflows such as ArgoCD
5. Kubernetes
6. Learn OpenCHAMI
7. IaC tools like Terraform/OpenTofu
8. Experience with distributed or federated research infrastructure (e.g., cross-site data transfer, secure multi-site authentication).
9. Understanding of HPC workflows and data retention policies in a multi-tenant research environment.

Preferred:

• Experience with data-centric HPC workloads and cross-site research infrastructure.
• Familiarity with the research lifecycle (data cleaning, provenance tracking, and model lifecycle management).
• Personal qualities:

1. Self-motivated and proactive team player
2. Strong communication skills or interest in developing them
3. Strong problem-solving mindset with tolerance for uncertainty and change
4. Understands user needs and works collaboratively to address them
5. Adaptive and willing to learn new technologies with and from others
6. Comfortable tackling complex or ambiguous problems
7. Comfortable admitting when you don’t know, reaching out and leveraging the right expertise when needed

• Project management and methodology:

1. Experience with working in self-organised teams
2. Familiarity with Agile methodology
3. Experience with test-driven development is a plus

We offer

• Accredited with 5 Tripartite Standards by Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) Singapore.
• A diverse workplace with 32 nationalities, offering ample opportunities for mutual learning.
• Positive and inclusive working environment
• 25 days of annual leave for fixed-term contracts
• 1 day of Birthday Leave
• Annual dental benefits
• Committed to being a supportive employer as you prioritize your physical and mental wellness
• Comprehensive healthcare insurance coverage
• Flexible hybrid work arrangement (up to 2 days per week from home)
• Abundant networking opportunities across various disciplines
• Accredited with NS mark certification

The Singapore-ETH Centre is an equal opportunity and family-friendly employer. All candidates will be evaluated on their merits and qualifications, without regards to gender, race, age or religion.

We value diversity and sustainability

In line with our values, ETH Zurich encourages an inclusive culture. We promote equality of opportunity, value diversity and nurture a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all our staff and students are respected. Visit our Equal Opportunities and Diversity website to find out how we ensure a fair and open environment that allows everyone to grow and flourish. Sustainability is a core value for us – we are consistently working towards a climate-neutral future.

Curious? So are we.

Work location: 1 Create Way, CREATE Tower, Singapore 138602 (NUS University Town)

Contract Duration: 2 Years

Salary: Remuneration will be commensurate with the candidate's qualifications and relevant experience.

Further information about The Singapore-ETH Centre can be found on our website.