Student Assistant II - CIRRUS

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research; Boulder (CO); On-site; USD 47,000 - 49,000; Full time

Job summary

UCAR is seeking a detail‑oriented contributor to join the CIRRUS platform team within CISL. This role focuses on verifying workflows, validating new features, and improving documentation for a cloud-native, Kubernetes-based scientific computing platform deployed across Mesa Lab (Boulder) and Cheyenne.

You will develop reusable workflows and assist in creating user-facing guides for researchers and HPC users, gaining experience in platform operations under senior supervision.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of Kubernetes and container-based workloads.
• Ability to work with a team and convey technical concepts to engineers and platform users.
• Strong written and spoken communication for clear technical writing.

Responsibilities

• Verify platform workflows, new functionality, and docs prior to release.
• Improve CIRRUS documentation for scientific and HPC users.
• Develop reusable workflows to validate new workloads onboarded to CIRRUS.
• Document workflows for reuse by team and platform users.

Skills

Kubernetes

GitOps

CI/CD

Python

Bash

Docker

Prometheus

Grafana

Cloud

Education

Enrolled in accredited program

Tools

GitHub Actions

Argo CD

Helm

Kustomize

Job description

Contract, Salary & Application Deadline

Position Type: Term - Casual (Fixed Term)

Visa Sponsored Job: No

Relocation Assistance Eligible: No

Hiring Range: 46,675.00 USD - 48,738.00 USD

Final salary and rates are based on education, experience, and skills relevant to the role.

Application Closes at 12:00am MST on: 2026-09-03

Application Deadline: This position will be posted until 12 am MDT (at the beginning of) Thursday, September 3, 2026.

About the Role

This position works with the CIRRUS platform team within the Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL) to support the team’s mission to deploy, operate, and maintain CIRRUS, a cloud native, Kubernetes based scientific computing platform spanning multiple bare-metal clusters at the Mesa Lab (Boulder) and the NCAR Wyoming Supercomputing Center (Cheyenne). While specific tasks and level of complexity will depend on the skill set of the incumbent, the primary focus areas are:

• Collaborate with the CIRRUS platform team and the scientific researchers who use the platform.
• Verify and validate platform workflows, new functionality, and supporting documentation prior to release.
• Improve the clarity, accuracy, and usability of CIRRUS documentation for an audience of scientific and HPC-background users.
• Develop reusable, repeatable workflows that validate new workloads onboarded to the platform.

Job Description

This position requires a working understanding of Kubernetes and familiarity with cloud native tooling. The incumbent will work alongside more experienced teammates and will not perform platform administration tasks initially; the early focus is on workflow verification and documentation quality.

Work Location

Regardless of flexible work arrangements, UCAR requires ALL positions to be performed within the U.S., excluding U.S. Territories.

What You Will Do

Tests and verifies platform workflows, new functionality, and supporting documentation prior to release. Works through documentation as an end user would to confirm it is accurate, complete, and easy to understand, and provides written feedback and recommendations for improvement. Validates that documented procedures produce the expected results on the Kubernetes-based CIRRUS environment. Develops and maintains reusable, repeatable workflows that validate new workloads onboarded to the platform. Modifies and runs existing workflows, scripts, and manifests, and proposes improvements to the validation process. Documents these workflows so other team members and platform users can reuse them. Authors, edits, and improves CIRRUS documentation, including user-facing guides and onboarding material, for an audience of scientific and HPC-background users. Composes clear technical writing and may assist in producing technical reports, walkthroughs, or presentations on platform functionality. Develops knowledge and understanding of the CIRRUS platform atmospheric and Earth system science workloads. Gains experience with platform operations under the supervision of senior staff. Additional tasks may be assigned from time to time. Works under the supervision of senior staff with a moderate degree of independence in organizing assigned work. Recognizes and proposes solutions to moderately complex problems encountered during workflow verification and documentation testing. Possesses the ability to evaluate whether documented procedures and platform workflows function as intended and to provide clear oral and written recommendations to the team.

Who We'd Love To Join Our Team

Successful candidates will ensure their application materials speak to the following criteria:

Education and Experience: Must be enrolled (or intend to enroll in the next regular session) for credit in an accredited secondary or post-secondary school, college or university, or in a trade school that has received a Certificate or Approval from the Colorado State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Required: Knowledge of and proficiency with Kubernetes and container-based workloads. Ability to work with a team and convey technical concepts to engineers and platform users. Good oral and written communication skills, with an aptitude for clear technical writing and documentation. Ability to follow moderately complex procedures/practices.

Desired: Experience with at least one GNU/Linux distribution. Experience with at least one scripting language such as Python or Bash. Familiarity with GitOps tooling and CI/CD (e.g., Git, GitHub Actions, Argo CD, Helm, Kustomize). Familiarity with containerization and image building (e.g., Docker). Familiarity with observability tooling (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana). Familiarity with public cloud and cloud‑native software development practices Familiarity with scientific or high‑performance computing environments. Preferred Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications

Hourly Rate: $23.81 *Final salary and rates are based on education, experience, skills relevant to the role.

Background Checks and Policies

Background Checks: Conducted for candidates selected for hire.

UCAR is an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes applications from all individuals. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, age, sex, gender identity, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Applicants are not required to provide age‑related information (like date of birth or graduation dates) in initial submissions.

For sponsored positions: UCAR can sponsor individuals for H-1B status only if they are already in the U.S. in H-1B status or another visa status that allows them to change to H-1B status within the U.S.

UCAR is unable to sponsor new H-1B visas for individuals who are outside the U.S. and need to obtain H-1B status through Consular Processing.

While UCAR does not prohibit the use of AI tools in job applications, we strongly recommend that applicants submit primarily original work.

All roles require compliance with U.S. export control regulations and work location requirements.

All hybrid staff are expected to work on-site approximately 3 days per week.

About NCAR and UCAR

At NCAR - the National Center for Atmospheric Research - we study weather, water, climate, air quality, and space weather to help protect lives and livelihoods, grow the economy, and enhance our nation’s security and well-being.

We collaborate with research partners to advance the science that makes predictions better and with end users to develop applications for forecasters, farmers, resource managers, retailers, the military, and many other stakeholders.

UCAR - the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research - manages NCAR on behalf of the National Science Foundation.

We are a nonprofit consortium of more than 115 colleges and universities with research and training programs, Earth system science.

We bring together the academic community and provide the operational management that are both essential to NCAR’s success.

UCAR’s community programs, from educational resources to data delivery and other services, extend the reach and impact of NCAR’s world‑class research to the community and society.

We seek talented people with diverse backgrounds, training, and skills to join us in our mission of science in service to society.