IT048 High Performance Computing Services Support

Space and Earth Science Data Analysis; Greenbelt (MD); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Space and Earth Science Data Analysis is looking for a System Administrator for the Integrated Modeling Computing Center (IMCC) in Greenbelt, Maryland. The candidate will support high-performance computing operations, providing both user support and security management for critical infrastructure.

The ideal candidate has a strong Linux background, experience with Agile methodologies, and excellent problem-solving skills. A MS degree and at least 5 years of relevant experience are mandatory.

Qualifications

• Advanced, production-level expertise in enterprise Linux distributions.
• Hands-on experience deploying and maintaining enterprise applications.
• Robust foundation in core security frameworks.
• Experience operating within modern Agile frameworks.
• Proficiency with virtualization platforms.

Responsibilities

• Administer and operate critical infrastructure supporting HPC operations.
• Provide specialized technical assistance and troubleshooting for research challenges.
• Implement security updates and coordinate system patches.
• Perform routine diagnostics and maintenance for high availability.
• Manage and maintain web infrastructure.

Skills

Expert Linux System Administration

Infrastructure Services Management

Systems Security Alignment

Agile Methodologies

Web Server Management

Virtualization Expertise

Education

MS degree

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Jupyterhub

Apache

Nginx

OpenStack

Kubernetes

Job description

IT048 High Performance Computing Services Support

This job description is for a System Administrator to administer and operate the supporting infrastructure required for the operations of the Integrated Modeling Computing Center (IMCC), formerly known as the NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS). The IMCC will directly support the Integrated Modeling Virtual Institute (IMVI) to meet the Earth science modeling needs for NASA. The following describes the core duties and responsibilities and technical skills. Ideal candidates should have excellent communication skills, problem solving, and the ability to work efficiently within a highly performing team environment.

Core Duties & Responsibilities

• Supporting Infrastructure Administration: Administer and operate critical infrastructure that supports HPC operations, including, but not limited to, applications such as Jira, Confluence, Jupyterhub, monitoring services, time and DNS hosts.
• User Support: Provide specialized, tiered technical assistance ranging from software provisioning and workflow optimization to advanced, expert-level troubleshooting for complex research challenges.
• Security and Compliance: Implement security updates, coordinate systematic Operating System patches, and mitigate vulnerabilities across supported infrastructure without compromising system stability.
• System Maintenance: Perform routine diagnostics, maintenance, and rapid‑response resolution for supported services and applications to ensure high availability and performance.
• Web Support: Manage and maintain web infrastructure, including web server administration, content deployment, and ensuring the availability and security of web-based services.
• Virtualization Support: Manage, configure, and maintain virtualized environments, including hypervisor management, virtual machine deployment, and resource optimization.

Required Technical Skills and Qualifications

• Expert Linux System Administration: Advanced, production-level expertise in enterprise Linux distributions (RHEL, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, or Ubuntu Server), incorporating expert‑level command‑line proficiency, kernel tuning, and automated shell scripting (Bash, Python).
• Infrastructure Services Management: Hands‑on experience deploying, configuring, and maintaining enterprise applications (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Jupyterhub), monitoring services, and core network services (DNS, NTP).
• Systems Security Alignment: Robust foundation in core security frameworks, including firewalls, identity management (LDAP/Active Directory), access control lists (ACLs), SSH hardening, and continuous patch management cycles.
• Agile Methodologies: Experience operating within modern Agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban), leveraging iterative workflows, participating in sprint reviews, and utilizing collaborative project boards (Jira, Gitlab) to track milestones.
• Web Server Management: Experience in deploying, configuring, and maintaining web server technologies (e.g., Apache, Nginx, or similar) to support organizational web services.
• Virtualization Expertise: Proficiency with virtualization platforms (e.g., OpenStack or Kubernetes) and experience in virtual machine life‑cycle management and optimization.
• A MS degree and 5+ years’ experience in relevant work areas.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Tier 1 or Tier 2 Investigation through NASA.