Computational Scientist- HPC/AI Generalist

University of Chicago; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 103,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Chicago RCC seeks a Computational Scientist to develop software for data acquisition, ingestion, and integration across multi-institutional projects. You will help build user interfaces and scalable backend services to accelerate scientific output.

You will collaborate with faculty to apply HPC, AI, and cloud resources, advising on optimal RCC utilization and maintaining technical documentation and training materials.

Qualifications

• Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
• Minimum requirements include 2–5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
• PhD in a relevant field (preferred).
• Proficiency in one or more compiled programming languages and HPC environments.

Responsibilities

• Partner with faculty and research groups to develop computational solutions that advance their research.
• Advise on effective use of RCC resources, HPC systems, AI technologies, and cloud platforms.
• Support researchers’ use of AI/ML tools, including AI coding assistants and model APIs.
• Develop and maintain scientific software and computational workflows on RCC systems.
• Profile, troubleshoot, and port scientific applications to maximize performance on CPU/GPU/memory I/O.

Skills

C++

Python

Linux

HPC

Slurm

Docker

Git

PyTorch

TensorFlow

OpenAI API

Hugging Face

NumPy

SciPy

pandas

Education

Bachelor's degree

PhD in a relevant field

Tools

Apptainer/Singularity

Job description

Department

Provost Research Computing Center

About the Department

The University of Chicago Research Computing Center (RCC), a unit within the Office of Research, provides advanced research computing resources and expertise to support computational and data-intensive research across the University. RCC enables research through centrally managed high-performance computing (HPC), storage, visualization, and AI infrastructure, along with scientific consulting, user support, education, and training. RCC also helps researchers leverage local, national, and cloud-based computational resources.

The Office of Research oversees sponsored research administration, research development, and contract management across the University.

Job Summary

The job develops software to support the data acquisition, ingestion, and integration for research projects. Assists in the development of user interfaces and scalable back-end services to automate and accelerate the scientific output of multi-institutional research projects.

The Research Computing Center (RCC) is seeking a highly motivated Computational Scientist to work closely with faculty and researchers at The University of Chicago. The person in this position will serve as a multi-disciplinary technical expert in supporting and advising faculty on using High-Performance Computing (HPC), AI, and related technologies for their research. The successful candidate will join a team of Computational Scientists who are playing a key role in scientific computing support at the University of Chicago.

This is a hybrid position requiring 3 days onsite.

Responsibilities

• Partner with faculty and research groups as a domain expert to develop and implement computational solutions that advance their research.

• Advise on the effective use of RCC resources, HPC systems, AI technologies, and cloud platforms.

• Support researchers’ use of AI and machine learning tools, including AI coding assistants and agents (e.g., Claude Code), model APIs (e.g., Anthropic, OpenAI), and open-weight models hosted on RCC systems.

• Develop, maintain, optimize, and support scientific software, computational workflows, and research computing environments on RCC systems.

• Troubleshoot, profile, optimize, and port scientific applications to maximize performance across CPU, GPU, memory, storage, and I/O.

• Contribute technical expertise to faculty projects through the RCC Consultant Partnership Program and other collaborative initiatives.

• Contribute computational expertise to grant proposals, including scoping the AI, HPC, cloud, and storage resources committed to the project.

• Develop and maintain technical documentation and knowledge base resources.

• Contribute to the continuous improvement of RCC systems, services, operational practices, and user support processes.

• Solves user problems promptly and professionally. Proactively recommend appropriate RCC technologies and services.

• Stay current with advances in AI, HPC, GPU computing, and cloud technologies, and evaluate emerging tools for adoption at the RCC.

• Develops and presents technical training materials and web-based documentation. Ensures timely systems support and updates. Assists in conducting information security assessments and risk analysis of computing environment.

• Evaluates past and present technologies to help develop new tools. Ensures all the new tools have been through quality control reviews.

• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications

—

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• PhD in a relevant field.

Technical Skills or Knowledge

• Proficiency in one or more compiled programming languages (e.g., C++, C, Julia, or Fortran).

• Proficiency in Python or another scientific scripting language.

• Experience working in Linux/UNIX environments and with high-performance computing (HPC) systems.

• Experience with HPC job schedulers (e.g., Slurm).

• Experience installing, optimizing, profiling, and supporting scientific software and workloads on HPC systems.

• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with faculty and multidisciplinary teams.

• Familiarity with scientific computing libraries such as NumPy, SciPy, pandas, xarray, and scikit-learn.

• Experience with containers and development tools such as Docker, Apptainer/Singularity, and Git.

• Experience with AI/ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.

• Experience with LLM APIs and tooling (e.g., Anthropic, OpenAI, Hugging Face), AI coding assistants.

• Experience serving or benchmarking models on GPU clusters.

Preferred Competencies

• Ability to translate researchers’ scientific goals into computational requirements.

• Ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative team.

• Demonstrated ability to evaluate and apply emerging technologies in research computing.

Application Documents

• C/V or resume (required)

• Cover letter (preferred)

The University of Chicago uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions.

Job Family

Research

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Pay Rate Type

Salary

FLSA Status

Exempt

Pay Range

$85,000.00 - $102,500.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University’s Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, and its relevance to the position.

The University of Chicago’s Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.