Linux Systems Administrator

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; North Carolina; On-site; USD 105,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is seeking a Linux Systems Administrator to design, deploy, operate, and maintain computing services supporting advanced academic research, focusing on HTC and HPC. You will lead projects around storage, networking, containers, databases, and monitoring, collaborating with faculty and computing communities to deliver reliable, scalable infrastructure.

The role requires strong experience in Linux, automation (Ansible, Cobbler, SALT), observability

Qualifications

• Minimum education requirements per ad: Master’s with 1-2 years experience or Bachelor’s with 2-4 years.
• Experience managing HPC/HTC environments and InfiniBand clusters preferred.
• Familiarity with observability platforms and Linux in research settings.

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, operate, and maintain computing services for HTC/HPC.
• Lead infrastructure projects including storage, networking, containers, databases, and monitoring.
• Collaborate with faculty and researchers on computing needs.
• Ensure security and compliant OS operations.

Skills

HPC administration

Linux systems

Automation scripting

Collaborative communication

Education

Master's degree

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Cobbler

SALT

Ansible

Prometheus

Grafana

ELK/OpenSearch

Splunk

Job description

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is hiring a Linux Systems Administrator to design, deploy, operate, and maintain computing services that support advanced academic research, focusing on High Throughput Computing (HTC) and High Performance Computing (HPC). The role involves leading projects related to infrastructure including storage, networking, containers, databases, and monitoring systems while collaborating closely with faculty, researchers, and computing communities.

Highlights

• Lead and contribute to design, build, and operation of research computing services, including high-speed storage, networking, containers, databases, and orchestration tools.
• Manage Linux systems administration with expertise in enterprise and research computing environments, especially for HPC and HTC.
• Use automation/configuration-management tools such as Cobbler, SALT, or similar for system deployment and management.
• Monitor and maintain operational continuity through analysis of monitoring, logging, and alerting data.
• Communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders, including faculty and researchers.
• Lift and maneuver hardware up to 50 pounds and perform data center hardware maintenance tasks.
• Minimum education: Master’s with 1-2 years experience or Bachelor’s with 2-4 years experience, or a combination of education and experience.
• Preferred experience includes managing InfiniBand HPC clusters, multi-petabyte enterprise storage, infrastructure automation (Ansible, Cobbler, SALT), RHEL environment management, and familiarity with observability platforms (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK/Opensearch, Splunk).
• Responsible for maintaining secure, compliant OS operations and supporting controlled and regulated data environments.
• Salary range: $105,000 - $110,371 annually for a full-time permanent position.