DevSecOps Research Computing Software Engineer

The Pennsylvania State University; United States; On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

The Pennsylvania State University’s Applied Research Laboratory in Reston, VA seeks a Research Computing Software Engineer to build, configure, and advance high-performance computing environments to support DoW Modeling & Simulation. You will collaborate with researchers to develop software solutions and design, code, test, and optimize infrastructure as code to enable automated deployments.

You will work with researchers and systems engineers to ensure software tools function smoothly,

Qualifications

• Ability to integrate software with HPC environments and cloud platforms.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automation of scripts.
• Proficiency in writing clean, well-documented code.
• Eligibility for access to classified information at the Secret level or higher.

Responsibilities

• Develop, deploy, enhance, and maintain software applications, infrastructure-as-code, and tools for research computing needs.
• Write clean, well-documented code and automation scripts, including Ansible.
• Integrate software with HPC systems and cloud platforms.
• Collaborate with researchers and systems engineers to ensure tool functionality.
• Analyze and optimize software performance for computational research workloads.
• Identify bottlenecks and provide technical support for software issues.
• Stay updated on software engineering advances, AI, and LLMs.
• Lead or participate in software development projects; may supervise staff.

Skills

HPC

CI/CD pipelines

Ansible

Infrastructure automation

Python scripting

Cloud platforms

Tools

HPC systems

Cloud platforms

Job description

POSITION SPECIFICS We are searching for a Research Computing Software Engineer to join our Reston, VA location of the Digital Engineering Department at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State. You will work to build, configure, and advance high-performance computing (HPC) environments to support DoW (Department of War) Modeling & Simulation. You will work with researchers to develop and maintain software solutions to support the computational and data analysis needs of the DoW, and design, code, test, and optimize our Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to enhance research capabilities and automated our deployments. ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply. You will:

• Develop, deploy, enhance, and maintain software applications, infrastructure-as-code, and tools to support research computing needs
• Write clean, well-documented, and maintainable code using largely infrastructure automation scripts and tooling to include Ansible
• Integrate software solutions with existing research computing infrastructure, including high-performance computing (HPC) systems and cloud platforms
• Collaborate with systems engineers and researchers to ensure seamless integration and functionality of software tools within the research environment
• Analyze and optimize the performance of software applications, ensuring they meet the high demands of computational research
• Identify and address performance bottlenecks, memory usage issues, and other technical challenges
• Provide technical support and troubleshooting for software issues, assisting researchers in overcoming obstacles
• Stay up to date with advancements in software engineering and computational research technologies including enhancing our efforts to leverage AI and LLMs
• Propose and implement new features, improvements, and updates to enhance the functionality and usability of software tools
• Lead or participate in software development projects, including planning, development, testing, and deployment phases
• May supervise staff members, including hiring, development, and performance management

Required Skills/Experience areas include: Ability to integrate software solutions with existing research computing infrastructure, including high‑performance computing (HPC) environments and cloud platforms through CI/CD pipelines and automation of scripts. Skill in analyzing and optimizing software performance to meet the demands of computational research workloads. Capability to develop, deploy, enhance, and maintain software applications and tools that support research computing activities. Proficiency in writing clean, well‑documented, and maintainable code or scripts. Current eligibility for access to classified information at the Secret level or higher and may be subject to a government background investigation to upgrade clearance eligibility.