Principal AI Systems Engineer - Highrise AI

LinuxCareers; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Highrise AI is seeking a principal-level AI Systems Engineer to design, deploy, and operate large-scale AI compute clusters and supporting infrastructure in a GPU-native environment.

You will lead deployment of Linux, virtualization, storage, and identity management services, and own automation with Ansible, Terraform, and Python. Strong troubleshooting and incident response skills are essential.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of hands-on experience engineering and operating enterprise, cloud, HPC, or large-scale data center infrastructure.
• Expert-level Linux systems administration, troubleshooting, automation, and infrastructure integration experience.
• Strong experience with enterprise x86 platforms, virtualization technologies, and automated bare-metal provisioning solutions.
• Hands-on experience deploying and supporting high-performance or distributed storage platforms, preferably WEKA or VAST Data.
• Experience with infrastructure automation using Python, Bash, Ansible, Terraform, or equivalent technologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead deployment and configuration of x86 servers, Linux OS, virtualization platforms, and core infrastructure services like DNS, DHCP, NTP, IPAM, and DCIM.
• Deploy, configure, and optimize high-performance distributed storage platforms and verify GPU integration.
• Implement identity management, security infrastructure, and infrastructure-as-code automation using Ansible, Terraform, and Python.
• Lead systems integration testing, operational acceptance testing, and production validation prior to cluster deployment.
• Serve as Tier 3 escalation for complex incidents, perform advanced troubleshooting and develop diagnostic automation.

Skills

Linux admin

Automation

Python scripting

Terraform

Ansible

virtualization

Storage platforms

Root cause analysis

Troubleshooting

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering/IT

Tools

VMware

KVM

Proxmox

WEKA

VAST Data

DNS

DHCP

Job description

Highrise AI is a GPU-native infrastructure platform serving modern AI workloads. This role is a principal-level, hands-on AI Systems Engineer responsible for designing, deploying, integrating, and operating large-scale AI compute cluster infrastructure, including general-purpose compute, virtualization, storage, identity management, and security platforms.

What You'll Do

• Lead deployment and configuration of x86 servers, Linux operating systems, virtualization platforms (VMware, KVM, Proxmox), and core infrastructure services including DNS, DHCP, NTP, IPAM, and DCIM solutions
• Deploy, configure, and optimize high-performance distributed storage platforms including WEKA and VAST Data, managing file, object, and block storage services with validation of availability, performance, and GPU integration
• Implement identity and access management services (Active Directory, LDAP, SSO, SAML/OIDC, RBAC), security infrastructure, and infrastructure-as-code automation using Ansible, Terraform, and Python
• Lead systems integration testing, operational acceptance testing, and production validation prior to cluster deployment, including availability, redundancy, failover, and recovery procedures
• Serve as Tier 3 technical escalation for complex production incidents involving systems, virtualization, storage, and infrastructure; perform advanced troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and develop diagnostic automation

What You Need

• 10+ years of hands-on experience engineering and operating enterprise, cloud, HPC, or large-scale data center infrastructure
• Expert-level Linux systems administration, troubleshooting, automation, and infrastructure integration experience
• Strong experience with enterprise x86 platforms, virtualization technologies, and automated bare-metal provisioning solutions
• Hands-on experience deploying and supporting high-performance or distributed storage platforms, preferably WEKA or VAST Data
• Experience with infrastructure automation using Python, Bash, Ansible, Terraform, or equivalent technologies
• Strong understanding of DNS, DHCP, IPAM, identity management (Active Directory, LDAP, SSO, RBAC), and core infrastructure services
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, information technology, or related discipline, or equivalent practical experience

Nice to Have

• Experience supporting AI/HPC clusters, GPU infrastructure, or large-scale distributed computing environments
• Familiarity with security infrastructure, compliance requirements, monitoring, and enterprise authentication systems