AI Systems Administration Specialist

argonne; Lemont (IL); Hybrid; USD 86,299 - 166,070; Full time

Job summary

Argonne National Laboratory's Argonne Leadership Computing Facility seeks a Systems Administration Specialist to support the AI Testbed for evaluating AI/ML hardware and software for science. You will work with scientists to install, configure, and maintain AI platforms, ensuring stable, scalable operation and timely issue resolution.

The role requires UNIX/Linux expertise, scripting, and configuration management experience.

Qualifications

• Experience in UNIX/Linux sysadmin, OS install/upgrade, services, and troubleshooting.
• Proficiency with Salt, Ansible or similar CM tools.
• Experience with Git and modern version control.
• Strong problem-solving, documentation, and teamwork.

Responsibilities

• Administer AI Testbed hardware and software for HPC/AI workloads.
• Install and manage diverse AI/ML software on mixed OS environments.
• Collaborate with researchers and other teams to maintain testbed availability.
• Provide guidance on environment setup and performance optimization.
• Perform rack and server handling in a datacenter, including lifting up to 20 pounds.

Skills

UNIX systems administration

Linux

OS installation and upgrading

package management

troubleshooting

Salt / Ansible

Git

Python scripting

Documentation

Team collaboration

Datacenter operations

Physical labor

IPv4 networking

U.S. citizenship proof

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

Kubernetes management

CI/CD tooling

Job description

The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) is home to one of the world's pioneering exascale supercomputers, Aurora. With its extraordinary computing speed and advanced artificial intelligence capabilities, Aurora is set to revolutionize scientific research. ALCF is dedicated to supporting high‑performance computing (HPC) and adjacent services that are crucial to the research workflow. The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) is seeking a skilled Systems Administration Specialist to join their team to support the AI Testbed, which is tasked with the evaluation of emerging hardware and software platforms for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for science.

In this role you can expect to:

• Work directly with first‑class systems alongside scientific staff and research colleagues within the division.
• Serve as a systems administrator working on Argonne’s AI Testbed, you will work with teams to install and manage a diverse array of AI and machine learning related hardware and software.
• Work directly with other subject matter experts to ensure the sustainability and availability of the testbed infrastructure.
• Support machines in a mixed operating system environment and work efficiently with other operations groups.
• Have researchers rely on your guidance when it comes to the environment so you will have a direct impact in keeping research productive.
• Work in a hybrid environment with 2+ days onsite in Lemont, Illinois; with the ability to work fully onsite if preferred by the applicant.

Position Requirements

Required skills and qualifications:

• Experience in UNIX systems administration, especially Linux, with an emphasis on OS installation and upgrading, package building and management, common services and applications, and troubleshooting
• Experience with Salt, Ansible or similar configuration management tools
• Experience with Git, or other modern version control platforms
• Effective problem‑solving skills
• Working knowledge of scripting languages, particularly Python
• Ability to write concise documentation
• Ability to work effectively as a member of a team
• Flexibility in handling assignments and working on several projects simultaneously
• Knowledge and understanding of how to safely operate within a datacenter, including tasks such as mounting and unmounting server hardware
• Ability to handle physical labor of installing racks and servers in a datacenter including lifting up to 20 pounds independently and upwards with additional help from others
• Understanding of IPv4 networking
• Ability to model Argonne’s core values: impact, safety, respect, integrity and teamwork
• To perform the essential functions of this position successful applicants must provide proof of U.S. citizenship, which is required to comply with federal regulations and contract.

Preferred skills and qualifications:

• Knowledge of AI/ML systems architecture and workflows (Groq, Cerebras, Graphcore, SambaNova)
• Working knowledge of Kubernetes management
• Knowledge of scientific applications
• Knowledge of high‑performance networking technologies such as Infiniband and Slingshot
• Knowledge of Storage Area Networking and storage arrays, such as NetApp.
• Knowledge of parallel and distributed file systems such as Lustre, and their associated hardware
• Knowledge of high‑performance computing techniques, graphics, and visualization
• Experience with software packaging, building software from source, and dynamic linking
• Understanding of MPI, and implementations
• Ability to gather site requirements and represent them to design and development teams to find appropriate solutions across multiple sites
• Ability to independently assess requirements, identify tasks, and coordinate with peers to accomplish goals
• Experience implementing CI or CD workflows

Salary and Level

• PT3: Bachelor's degree and 4+ years of experience, or a Master's degree and 2+ years of experience, or equivalent. Expected pay range: $86,299 – $134,626.
• PT4: Bachelor's degree and 6+ years of experience, or a Master's degree and 4+ years of experience, or equivalent. Expected pay range: $106,455 – $166,070.

Job Details

Job Family: Professional Technical (PT)

Job Profile: Systems Integration Admin/Support 3

Worker Type: Regular

Time Type: Full time (expected hiring range: $86,299.00 – $134,626.05)

As an equal employment opportunity employer, and in accordance with our core values of impact, safety, respect, integrity and teamwork, Argonne National Laboratory is committed to a safe and welcoming workplace that fosters collaborative scientific discovery and innovation. Argonne encourages everyone to apply for employment. Argonne is committed to nondiscrimination and considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by law.

Argonne employees, and certain guest researchers and contractors, are subject to particular restrictions related to participation in Foreign Government Sponsored or Affiliated Activities, as defined and detailed in United States Department of Energy Order 486.1A. You will be asked to disclose any such participation in the application phase for review by Argonne's Legal Department. All Argonne offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes an assessment of criminal conviction history conducted on an individualized and case‑by‑case basis. Please be advised that Argonne positions require upon hire (or may require in the future) for the individual to obtain a government access authorization that involves additional background check requirements. Failure to obtain or maintain such government access authorization could result in the withdrawal of a job offer or future termination of employment.