HPC Systems Engineer

Ursa Major; Longmont (CO); Hybrid; USD 108,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO

Paid parental and adoptive leave

Medical, dental and vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Tax-advantaged accounts (HSA/FSA)

Job summary

Ursa Major is seeking an HPC Systems Engineer to expand and optimize its High-Performance Computing infrastructure. You will own the Linux-based HPC clusters across Colorado and Ohio, accelerating propulsion analysis workloads and enabling scalable CFD/FEA tasks.

You will automate provisioning, harden security, and collaborate with IT/DevOps to maintain robust enterprise Linux environments, supporting engineering teams and ensuring compliance with NIST/CMMC frameworks.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of Linux systems engineering experience.
• Experience with enterprise Linux distributions (RHEL/ Rocky Linux/ Ubuntu).
• Experience building, managing, or scaling HPC clusters and schedulers (Slurm, PBS).
• Proficiency in Python, Bash, and Ansible or Terraform for automation.
• Knowledge of system hardening, vulnerability patching, and security controls in DoD or NIST contexts.

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, expand, and optimize Linux-based HPC clusters and storage.
• Administer job schedulers (Slurm, PBS) for fair-share scheduling and low latency.
• Collaborate with engineering to integrate ANSYS, Abaqus, and GPU workloads.
• Manage high-throughput storage (BeeGFS, NFS) and InfiniBand networks.
• Act as primary systems engineer for enterprise Linux and core IT infrastructure.
• Automate provisioning and configuration with Ansible, Python, Bash, Terraform.
• Integrate Linux head nodes with identity platforms (Entra ID, SSSD) for RBAC.
• Maintain system hardening, patching, and compliance alignment (NIST SP 800-171, CMMC).
• Deploy monitoring (Prometheus, Grafana) and maintain SOPs/SSPs.

Skills

Linux systems engineering

HPC cluster management

Python

Bash

Ansible

Terraform

Security/compliance awareness

Tools

Slurm

PBS

MPI

BeeGFS

NFS

InfiniBand

NVIDIA CUDA

Job description

The future of aerospace and defense starts here.

Ursa Major was founded to revolutionize how America and its allies access and apply high-performance propulsion, from hypersonics to solid rocket motors, satellite maneuvering and launch. We design and deliver propulsion and defense systems that solve the most urgent and critical national security demands.

The journey to space starts with the engines.

Ursa Major is bringing a new model to propulsion and defense technology: one where performance and access are no longer constrained by legacy systems. We design, build, and deploy advanced propulsion systems that power national security missions, hypersonic capabilities, and the future of space access.

Our mission requires an extraordinary team; one that will mold tomorrow’s critical technologies while deploying today’s best. We are an intrinsically motivated team with a passion for solving complex technical problems and empowering each other every day, knowing that there is always room for growth.

About The Role

As a critical member of our Digital Operations team reporting to the IT Manager, the HPC Systems Engineer holds a dual mandate: driving the continuous expansion of our High-Performance Computing (HPC) simulation clusters while serving as IT’s core Enterprise Linux Subject Matter Expert.

By taking ownership of our HPC infrastructure, you will directly liberate engineering bandwidth and accelerate propulsion design cycles enabling our solids, liquids, thermal, and structural analysis teams to run complex CFD/FEA workloads faster and at greater scale. Simultaneously, you will partner with IT, DevOps, and Zero-Trust Networking to architect, automate, and harden our enterprise Linux servers across our Colorado and Ohio facilities.

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, expand, and optimize Linux-based HPC clusters, storage systems, and compute nodes supporting mission‑critical propulsion analysis.
• Administer job schedulers and resource managers (e.g., Slurm, PBS) to ensure fair-share scheduling, efficient queue utilization, and minimal job latency for engineering users.
• Partner directly with solids, liquids, thermal, and CFD analysis engineers to integrate, benchmark, and optimize commercial and open‑source simulation suites (e.g., ANSYS, Abaqus) and GPU‑accelerated workloads (NVIDIA CUDA).
• Manage high‑throughput storage solutions (e.g., BeeGFS, NVMe‑oF, NFS) and high-speed network fabrics (InfiniBand / 100GbE) to eliminate data bottlenecks during large‑scale parallel processing.
• Act as the primary systems engineer and Level 2/3 escalation point for enterprise Linux systems, hypervisors, and core IT infrastructure.
• Automate system provisioning, configuration management, patching, and user onboarding using Ansible, Python, Bash, Terraform, and automated kickstart routines.
• Integrate Linux servers and HPC head nodes with enterprise identity platforms (Entra ID, SSSD) for centralized authentication and role‑based access control (RBAC).
• Implement and maintain system hardening, access controls, patching, and vulnerability management aligned with NIST SP 800‑171, CMMC Level 2, and ITAR/CUI data protection requirements.
• Deploy metrics, alerting, and telemetry frameworks (e.g., PRTG, Prometheus, Grafana) to proactively monitor node health, cluster temperature, memory usage, and hardware failures.
• Maintain clean architectural diagrams, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and system security plans (SSPs) for all Linux and HPC environments.

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years of dedicated experience in Linux systems engineering and infrastructure administration.
• Hands‑on mastery of enterprise Linux distributions (RHEL, Rocky Linux, or Ubuntu Server) including kernel tuning, storage management (LVM, ZFS), and network configuration.
• Demonstrated experience building, managing, or scaling HPC clusters, job schedulers (Slurm, PBS), and distributed MPI/GPU environments.
• Strong proficiency in Python, Bash, and Ansible or Terraform for infrastructure automation.
• Practical understanding of system hardening, vulnerability patching, and security controls in CMMC, NIST SP 800‑171, DoD, or similar regulated compliance frameworks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity supporting engineering simulation platforms (ANSYS Fluent/Mechanical, Siemens STAR‑CCM+, Abaqus, or MATLAB).
• Experience configuring InfiniBand/RoCE fabrics, high-performance parallel file systems, and NVIDIA GPU clusters.
• Experience with enterprise hypervisor clusters (e.g. VMware vSphere).
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Security Clearance.

Compensation, Location & Classification

• Primary Location: Hybrid (Longmont, CO office)
• On‑Site Presence: Periodic support at our Berthoud, CO facility and data center colocation in the Denver Tech Center (DTC).
• Remote Support: Ongoing support for Ohio facilities.

Colorado law requires us to tell you the base compensation range of this role, which is $108,000 - $135,000, determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. What we can’t quantify for you are the exciting challenges, supportive team, and amazing culture we enjoy.

Classification: Full-time Exempt

Benefits Include: (Please note, Interns are not eligible for benefits)

• Unlimited PTO - Vacation, Sick, Personal, and Bereavement
• Paid Parental and Adoptive Leave
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Tax Advantage Accounts (HSA/FSA)
• Employer Paid Short and Long Term Disability, Basic Life, AD&D
• Additional Benefit Options Including Voluntary Life and Emergency Medical Transport
• EAP Program
• Retirement Savings Plan - 401k with Company Match

NOTE:

Research suggests that women and BIPOC individuals may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who believes they have the skills and the drive necessary to succeed here to apply for this role.

Must be a U.S. Person (this includes U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents).

Eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance.

We’re an equal-opportunity employer. You will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.

No outside recruiters, please.