Lead HPC Architect for Research Computing

Santa Clara University; Santa Clara (CA); Hybrid; USD 115,200 - 129,600; Full time

Job summary

Santa Clara University invites applications for a Research Computing Engineer to lead SCU's HPC strategy and operations. You will partner with researchers to translate complex workflows into scalable solutions and guide long‑term infrastructure evolution.

The role emphasizes leadership, automation, and training, with on‑site support a regular requirement and a hybrid model to balance strategic tasks with campus needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a highly quantitative field required.
• Advanced degree strongly preferred.
• 8–10 years IT operations and system design experience, ideally in academic or research settings.
• 5+ years leading multi-node HPC cluster environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic HPC roadmap and capacity planning for SCU HPC infrastructure.
• Own the full-cycle consultation process with researchers and faculty to translate requirements into scalable solutions.
• Architect and implement proactive infrastructure enhancements for AI/ML, Data Science, and GPU workloads.
• Evaluate and drive adoption of emerging technologies and external integrations with national academic resources.
• Provide high-level technical leadership and support across departments.
• Design SOPs and automated onboarding/workflow processes.
• Develop lifecycle management for scientific software deployment and data management.
• Establish performance metrics and reporting frameworks for HPC utilization.
• Lead training programs, workshops, and documentation to foster self-sustaining research culture.

Skills

Linux admin

Bash/Python

Ansible

HPC expertise

CI/CD

Security leadership

Communication

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a highly quantitative field

Tools

Slurm

Docker

Apptainer

BeeGFS

Lustre

Environment modules

Git

Job description

Santa Clara University invites applications for a Research Computing Engineer to lead SCU's HPC strategy and operations. You will partner with researchers to translate complex workflows into scalable solutions and guide long‑term infrastructure evolution.

The role emphasizes leadership, automation, and training, with on‑site support a regular requirement and a hybrid model to balance strategic tasks with campus needs.