Senior Research Computing Systems Engineer

University of Vermont

Burlington (VT)

Hybrid

USD 80,000 - 116,000

Full time

2 days ago

Be an early applicant

Get a reply from this employer

Your resume and cover letter, tailored to exactly what they’re hiring for.

Get past ATS filters

Job summary

University of Vermont in Burlington, VT seeks a Research Computing Systems Engineer to support VACC HPC hardware, storage, and software.Сandidates will administer Linux systems, optimize clusters, and assist researchers with Slurm-based workflows. The role involves collaboration with faculty to adapt resources for education and research, including Open OnDemand and Jupyter support.

A hybrid campus/telework arrangement is available.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in STEM related field.
5 years of Linux Systems Administrator/Engineer experience.
Strong Linux knowledge, network architecture, and shell scripting.
Excellent debugging and troubleshooting skills.
Customer-focused with good communication and teamwork.
Able to learn new technologies and evaluate adoption suitability.
Configuration management and infrastructure as code experience.
Proficiency in at least one systems programming language (C/C++, Python, etc.).

Responsibilities

Provide expert support for HPC hardware and software at VACC.
Install, maintain, and support research software and tools.
Respond to researchers with guidance on software installation and troubleshooting.
Help adjust compute resources to meet faculty needs and expand HPC into the classroom.

Skills

Linux administration

Shell scripting

System debugging

Troubleshooting

Customer service

Communication

Configuration management

Infrastructure as code

C/C++

Python

Teamwork

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Tools

Slurm

Lmod

Spack

CUDA

Ansible

VMware

Proxmox

KVM

Podman

Apptainer

MongoDB

InfiniBand

MPI

Open OnDemand

Jupyter

GPFS

Job description

This Research Computing Systems Engineer position provides expert support for the Vermont Advanced Computing Center’s (VACC) research computing systems and helps build and maintain state-of-the-art high performance computing (HPC) solutions for our researchers. This position joins a team that supports the HPC hardware, large-scale storage systems, cluster software, and researcher software in the VACC.

The VACC has four research clusters, including multi-thousand core “big compute” resources and GPU-focused resources, and a massive in-memory database cluster. This position will support the VACC computing and storage hardware infrastructure, as well as research computing software such as Slurm, OpenOnDemand and related technologies. This position directly supports UVM’s goal of enhancing IT resources and infrastructure available to the UVM research community.

The position will work with other VACC IT staff to install, maintain, and support research software and tools used by the UVM research community. In collaboration with Research Computing Facilitators, this position will respond to a wide range of requests submitted by researchers, providing guidance and expertise in software installation and troubleshooting.

This position will assess the needs of our faculty, helping adjust the VACC compute resources to better meet their needs for research and academic purposes. The position will actively support academic use of VACC resources, working with faculty to expand HPC into the classroom.

Scripting is an important skill for this position, both for cluster administration, and for helping users take advantage of the VACC cluster. A change to any part of the VACC resources is likely to affect hundreds of users, working on millions of dollars of research, so systematic attention to detail, careful planning and judgement are critical.

Minimum Qualifications (or Equivalent Combination Of Education And Experience)

Bachelor’s degree in STEM related field.
5 years of experience as a Linux Systems Administrator/Engineer.
A thorough knowledge of Linux operating systems, network architecture and Linux shell scripting.
Expertise with system and network debugging.
Excellent troubleshooting skills.
Excellent customer service ethic, effective communication skills and collaborative approach to teamwork.
Skilled at learning and evaluating new technologies and ability to determine if appropriate for adoption.
Configuration management experience.
An appreciation for infrastructure as code.
Ability to work effectively on team and independent projects, with ability to self-direct and adjust to shifts in priorities.
Expertise with at least one systems programming language (C, C++, Python, Perl, Rust, etc…).

Desirable Qualifications

Significant prior experience with high performance computing systems and scientific software.
Expertise with HPC technologies, such as job schedulers like Slurm, module systems like Lmod, package managers like Spack, CUDA.
Experience with Ansible as a deployment and orchestration framework.
Experience with virtualization and/or container technologies (VMware, Proxmox, KVM, Podman, Apptainer).
Experience with MongoDB in a sharded architecture.
Low latency networking experience (e.g., InfiniBand, DOCA-OFED)
Experience compiling, installing, and running open-source software, including software using MPI libraries
Experience in debugging and tuning of software applications on HPC clusters, experience with common scientific libraries and applications.
Experience deploying open-weight AI models.
Experience deploying Open OnDemand, Jupyter Notebook and supporting technologies.
Clustered filesystem expertise (e.g., GPFS).

Anticipated Pay Range

$80,000-$116,000

Other Information

Other Information Special Conditions A probationary period may be required, Occasional evening and/or weekends required (if non-exempt position, may result in overtime), This position is eligible for a hybrid schedule with an option to split time between campus and elsewhere, in accordance with the university telecommuting policy, This position is eligible for full-time telework in accordance with the university telecommuting policy, Background Check required for this position FLSA Exempt Union Position Yes, UVMSU

Posting Details

Position will be posted for a minimum of one week, after which it is subject to removal without notice.

Job Location Burlington, Vermont, United States

Job Open Date 09/29/2026

Job Close Date (Jobs close at 11:59 PM EST.)

Open Until Filled No

Our Common Ground Statement

The University of Vermont is a welcoming, educationally purposeful community committed to creating an inclusive environment that embraces intellectual diversity and global perspectives. We seek to prepare students to be accountable leaders who will bring to their work a grasp of complexity, effective problem-solving and communication skills, and an enduring commitment to learning and ethical conduct. Members of the University of Vermont community embrace and advance the values of Our Common Ground: Respect, Integrity, Innovation, Openness, Justice, and Responsibility. Staff play a critical role in this effort and the successful candidate will demonstrate a strong commitment to UVM’s mission and advancing Our Common Ground values through the execution of their job duties.

Position Information

Position Title Systems Engineering PC3 X

Posting Number S6326PO

Department Systems Architecture & Admin/11620

Position Number 00023789

Percent of Full-Time 1.0

Standard Hours at 1.0 FTE 37.5

Term (months per year) 12

Supplemental Questions