Principal Computational Engineer

ALSAC; Memphis (TN); On-site; USD 114,000 - 216,000; Full time

Job summary

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital seeks a Principal Computational Engineer to lead advanced computing environments and software ecosystems for researchers. You will partner with researchers, data scientists, and engineers to define and execute institutional research computing strategy.

The role focuses on HPC, cloud, AI/ML platforms, and data management, guiding architectural decisions and mentoring teams while ensuring secure, scalable solutions aligned with the mission.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree required; PhD preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in scientific/computational applications.
• Experience delivering complex projects and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Provide long-term, sustainable technical vision and strategy for IS efforts supporting research.
• Lead definition and execution of IS technology strategy aligned with needs.
• Oversee planning, analysis, and implementation of computational solutions.
• Guide architecture decisions and mentor engineering teams.
• Engage with regulatory and institutional stakeholders to protect data.
• Develop team members through training and cross-training.

Skills

HPC systems

OpenMP

MPI

Pthreads

UNIX/Linux scripting

Algorithm design

Parallel computing

Data processing

Education

Master’s degree in computer science, data science, information science, mathematics, or a related field of study

PhD preferred

Tools

Slurm

LSF

Kubernetes

Job description

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is seeking a Principal Computational Engineer to provide technical leadership and strategic vision for the advanced computing environments and software ecosystems leveraged by researchers to further the St. Jude mission. This role serves as a senior technical leader within High Performance Research Computing (HPRC), partnering closely with researchers, data scientists, software engineers, and institutional stakeholders to define and execute institutional research computing strategy.

The Principal Computational Engineer will lead the design, evaluation, and implementation of scalable scientific computing solutions spanning high-performance computing (HPC), cloud computing, research software engineering, data-intensive workflows, artificial intelligence and machine learning platforms, and advanced data management systems. The successful candidate will possess a strong understanding of the computational challenges associated with modern life science research and ideally have experience supporting research environments that facilitate bioinformatics, genomics, imaging, structural biology, computational biology, or other data-intensive scientific workflows.

As a trusted technical advisor, this individual will help research programs leverage advanced computational technologies while ensuring solutions are sustainable, secure, scalable, and aligned with institutional objectives. The role requires a unique combination of expertise in computational science, software development, research computing infrastructure, and collaborative engagement with multidisciplinary teams. The Principal Computational Engineer will guide architectural decisions, evaluate emerging technologies, mentor engineering team members, and translate complex scientific requirements into robust computational capabilities that support research across St. Jude.

Job Responsibilities

• Provide long-term, sustainable, and scalable technical vision and strategy for ongoing IS efforts to support basic science and translational research.
• Oversee definition and execution of IS technology strategy in line with research needs.
• Provide inputs for effective planning, analysis, and implementation of technology solutions to support basic science research.
• Lead feasibility studies, time and cost estimates, and development and implementation of new or revised computational applications and systems.
• Oversee implementation of security, and performance monitoring of computational software applications.
• Provide project management guidance to teams for delivery of projects and tasks within timelines and budget, and in accordance with design specifications.
• Guide technical management of computational and data processing applications and systems including software installation, configuration, testing, and file management.
• Conduct continuous research and assessment of new resources and technologies available for application development in RIS and deployment.
• Engage with the Institutional Review Board, Compliance, Internal Audit, Legal, and other regulatory entities to ensure proper protection of patient data.
• Develop team members through formal training and mentoring activities and ensure cross-training of mid and senior members across areas of expertise/ key skill sets.
• Perform other duties as assigned to meet the goals and objectives of the department and institution.
• Maintains regular and predictable attendance.
• Consistently meet job expectations, adhere to policies, and deliver quality work while applying. St. Jude values and principles. Managers evaluate employee performance throughout the year—specifically through the spring and fall Check-In milestones and the Annual Performance Review. All employees are encouraged to actively participate in these performance management processes.

Minimum Education and/or Training

• Master’s degree in computer science, data science, information science, mathematics, or a related field of study required.
• PHD preferred.

Minimum Experience

• Minimum Experience: 8+ years of progressive experience developing, optimizing, or maintaining scientific or computational applications.
• Demonstrated history of successfully delivering complex projects.
• Demonstrated contribution and impact on the domain of specialty.
• Proven success collaborating across disciplines.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects and guide team members.
• Recognized expertise with algorithms, pipelines, or systems development.

Desired/Highly Preferred Experience

• Demonstrated history of supporting Research Computing Environments.
• Experience with Bioinformatics, Bioimage, or related Life Science pieplines.
• Experience with HPC schedulers like Slurm, LSF, and Kubernetes.

Special Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

• Shows strong skills in thinking critically with a systemic view.
• Shows expertise in taking a structured approach to analyze and resolve issues.
• Able to distinguish between different sets of issues, set priorities, and make decisions.
• Can present/facilitate independently in senior-level meetings. Presents information as a structured story and anticipates questions well.
• Addresses difficult questions and challenges effectively.
• Able to effectively influence others using facts and logic.
• Keeps teams energized and focused on high-quality results.
• Think long-term in building and executing metrics-driven plans and stretch goals for St. Jude.
• Builds structures and processes with clear lines of authority and accountability so teams know what they are empowered and accountable to do.
• Is an organizational expert in parallel programming and high-performance computing using OpenMP, MPI, and Pthreads.
• Highly skilled in UNIX/Linux scripting languages and other high-level programming languages.
• Leverages expertise in computational algorithms and systems, HPC applications and data processing, design principles, and computational scalability and reliability, to analyze complex research needs and design/implement/adopt new algorithms/processes.
• Provides inputs to overall strategy in identification of critical computational tools, hardware, and resources for business/research teams.
• Proactively engages with customers to seek feedback and suggestions to deliver high quality service within own area.
• Executes new approaches to improve customer systems and processes.
• Independently seeks out and addresses complex customer needs.
• Thinks holistically and plans for interdependencies and impact of work and processes with other teams within and outside of IT.
• Always focused on quality, costs, sustainability from a complete ownership mindset and approach.
• Demonstrates a strong collaborative style with emotional empathy and is able to work/ negotiate through challenging situation

Compensation

In recognition of certain U.S. state and municipal pay transparency laws, St. Jude is including a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. This is an estimate offered in good faith and a specific salary offer takes into account factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the salary range and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is $114,400 - $216,320 per year for the role of Principal Computational Engineer.

Explore our exceptional benefits!

St. Jude is an Equal Opportunity Employer