Computational Physicist

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); Gaithersburg (MD); On-site; USD 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

NIST is seeking a Computational Physicist to support computing infrastructure across the Material Measurement Laboratory. This role enhances performance and reproducibility of materials science workflows, deploying CPU/GPU resources and administering CTCMS projects in alignment with IT policies.

The position emphasizes operational HPC administration, data migration, and collaboration with researchers to meet lab needs under direct-hire authority for essential shortages.

Qualifications

• Physics degree or equivalent with 24 semester hours in physics.
• 1 year of specialized experience at GS-9 level in Linux administration and HPC operations.
• Combination of education and experience as allowed by OPM standards.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational administration and technical support for HPC infrastructure across MML.
• Support deployment, configuration, and maintenance of CPU and GPU resources.
• Administer CTCMS projects and ensure IT policy alignment.
• Facilitate data migration activities and data management.
• Collaborate with senior staff to tailor HPC resources to research needs.

Skills

Linux system administration

HPC cluster operations

Resource management

Education

Physics degree with 24 semester hours in physics

Job description

Summary

NIST is seeking a Computational Physicist to support computing infrastructure across the Material Measurement Laboratory. This role enhances the performance and reproducibility of materials science workflows, and involves deploying CPU/GPU resources, administering CTCMS projects, migrating data, and ensuring IT policy alignment. This notice is issued under direct-hire authority to recruit new talent to occupations for which NIST has a severe shortage of candidates.

Summary

NIST is seeking a Computational Physicist to support computing infrastructure across the Material Measurement Laboratory. This role enhances the performance and reproducibility of materials science workflows, and involves deploying CPU/GPU resources, administering CTCMS projects, migrating data, and ensuring IT policy alignment. This notice is issued under direct-hire authority to recruit new talent to occupations for which NIST has a severe shortage of candidates.

Duties

The primary purpose of this position is to provide operational administration and technical support for high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure across the Material Measurement Laboratory (MML). The Computational Physicist works closely with senior staff and researchers to optimize computing environments, implement performance-enhancing strategies, and maintain alignment with institutional IT policies. Major duties include: HPC Infrastructure Support: Assisting in the deployment, configuration, and maintenance of both CPU and GPU high-performance computing resources across the laboratory. Operational Administration: Serving as an operational administrator for the NIST Center for Theoretical and Computational Materials Science (CTCMS) to provide technical support for computational projects. Workflow Optimization: Implementing and testing technical strategies aimed at improving the performance and reproducibility of computational materials science workflows. Data and System Management: Providing technical assistance for the operation of data management systems, including executing data migration activities to new computing platforms. Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborating directly with senior staff to ensure all HPC infrastructure and resources are configured to meet the specific research needs of MML scientists. Policy Compliance: Maintaining the technical alignment of all managed computational and data systems with NIST-wide IT and security policies.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: Degree: physics; or related degree that included at least 24 semester hours in physics. OR Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major in physics totaling at least 24 semester hours, plus appropriate experience or additional education. AND In addition to the basic requirements: Applicants must also have 1 year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 (ZP-II at NIST) level. Specialized experience is defined as experience in Linux system administration, HPC cluster operations and resource management. OR 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. OR A combination of graduate education and specialized experience as defined in the additional requirements. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. The qualification requirements in this vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. If requesting reconsideration of your qualification determination, please refer to the following site: Applicant Reconsideration