Senior Platform Engineer

University of Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Job summary

The University of Chicago seeks a Senior Platform Engineer responsible for the development and support of software for translational data science. The role involves collaborating on CI/CD design, managing cloud technologies, and providing production support.

Qualified candidates should have a degree in a related field and experience in scripting languages like Bash and Python, as well as expertise in cloud platforms like AWS and OpenStack. The position also includes mentorship and leadership opportunities.

Qualifications

• Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in a related field.
• Minimum 2–5 years of experience in a related job discipline.

Responsibilities

• Provide production support, including triaging and addressing incidents.
• Participate in complex design and implementation tasks.
• Mentor interns and provide technical leadership.

Skills

Bash scripting

Python scripting

Unix/Linux programming

CI/CD implementation

Container deployment

Cloud technologies

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS

OpenStack

Job description

About The Department

BSD CTD - Platform Engineering - PlanX

The Center for Translational Data Science (CTDS) at the University of Chicago is a research center whose mission is to develop the discipline of translational data science to impactful problems in biology, medicine, healthcare, and the environment. We envision a world in which researchers have ready access to the data needed and the tools required to make data‑driven discoveries that increase our scientific knowledge and improve the quality of life. We architect ecosystems of large‑scale commons of research data, computing resources, applications, tools, and services for the broader research community to use data at scale to pursue scientific inquiry and accelerate discovery.

Job Summary

The job performs a variety of activities relating to software support and/or development: analysis, design, development, debugging, and modification of computer code for end user applications, beta general releases, web pages, and production support.

The Senior Platform Engineer provides production support, production monitoring, CI/CD design & implementation, and security automation across the open‑source software platforms CTDS develops and operates for translational data science. Production support includes triaging, researching, communicating, and addressing production incidents. Monitoring involves wrangling disparate system monitoring assets and developing common analytics to inform optimization, define benchmarks and confidence intervals, and forecast, proactively mitigating production incidents. CI/CD pipelines support a hybrid cloud architecture on‑premises and in commercial cloud providers such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.

This at‑will position is wholly or partially funded by contractual grant funding which is renewed under provisions set by the grantor of the contract. Employment will be contingent upon the continued receipt of these grant funds and satisfactory job performance.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for technical tasks and timely delivery of such tasks, meeting the required level of quality.
• Participation in complex and challenging activities, including design and implementation.
• Provide support and maintenance for existing applications.
• Provide technical mentorship to interns and onboarding staff and technical leadership in technical initiatives.
• Actively participate in the hiring process and provide fair and productive interview feedback.
• Elaborate on technical solutions internally and externally when required.
• Investigate, analyze and resolve day‑to‑day technical problems using standard procedures.
• Work with stakeholders to gather and analyze requirements for developmental programs; receive a moderate level of guidance to design applications to meet University and business requirements.
• Perform code testing on components and work to ensure that appropriate implementation standards are met. Evaluate design alternatives for development cost and solutions using various methods.
• Support and maintain existing applications; work with web developers and respond to requests from users.
• Perform other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in a related field.

Work Experience

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2–5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in computer science, mathematics, statistics, engineering, or a relevant quantitative field strongly preferred.
• 3+ years experience developing infrastructure, configuration and/or deployment automation or demonstrated skills and qualifications through projects, initiatives, or outstanding performance.
• Hands‑on scripting experience in Bash, Python, or other dynamic language.
• Unix/Linux programming or system administration experience.
• Experience with OpenStack and AWS (EC2/S3) cloud technologies.
• Experience with configuration management utilities (Chef, Puppet, Ansible).
• Experience with F5 or other load balancing technologies (Nginx, AWS ELB/ALB, etc.).
• Experience with source control and build systems (SVN, Git, Jenkins, etc.).
• Experience with container‑based deployment (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Experience with log aggregation tools (ELK stack, Splunk).
• Experience with security frameworks (FISMA, NIST, FIPS).
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, OpenStack), CI/CD, and Agile methodologies.
• Experience provisioning and managing GPU‑enabled infrastructure (NVIDIA GPUs, CUDA, multi‑GPU systems) in cloud and/or on‑prem environments.
• Familiarity with GPU orchestration in Kubernetes (e.g., NVIDIA device plugin, GPU scheduling, MIG, node affinity).
• Experience optimizing GPU utilization, memory management, and cost efficiency for compute‑intensive workloads.
• Ability to collaborate and interact effectively with team members, following guidelines and best practices and ensuring accountability for deliverables and outcomes.
• Ability to take and provide constructive and helpful input and feedback on technical issues.
• Ability to elaborate on technical solutions internally and externally when required.
• In‑depth knowledge in core areas of DevOps technologies, including scripting languages, deployment/configuration frameworks, and/or cloud platforms, or having demonstrated the ability to achieve that level of proficiency in a short period of time.
• Ability to take multiple complex tasks and break them into smaller ones, estimating the effort needed to complete them, prioritizing appropriately, and ensuring the completion of each task, meeting the required level of quality.
• Ability to work in a collaborative team and ensure accountability for deliverables and outcomes.
• Ability to prioritize and manage workload to meet project milestones and deadlines.

Working Conditions

Office environment.

Benefits Eligible

Yes. The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773‑702‑5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case‑by‑case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.