System & Network Administrator

Caltech; Hanford (WA); On-site; USD 56,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Retirement plan

Paid time off

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Caltech’s LIGO Hanford Observatory seeks a system administrator to deploy, maintain, and extend computing infrastructure. You’ll work on DNS, DHCP, LDAP, containers, VMs, Kubernetes, and high-throughput batch systems, collaborating with local and remote admins on design and implementation.

This role enables researchers by ensuring robust, scalable IT services. The candidate will support a diverse set of challenges across a scientific computing cluster and infrastructure, contributing to a

Qualifications

• 4-year degree in a technical field or equivalent experience.
• 2+ years of experience with a consumer OS (Windows or macOS).
• 2+ years of experience with Linux.
• Ability to support site infrastructure (DNS, DHCP, LDAP).
• Familiarity with automated configuration management systems (Puppet, Chef, Salt, Ansible).
• Experience with end-user support, either remote or in person.
• Strong communication and systems documentation skills.

Responsibilities

• System Administration - manage multiple physical and virtual data centers.
• Coordinate with other system admins and report on progress.
• Provide application support for databases, engineering, and scientific analysis apps.
• Support and manage container-based services and virtualized environments.
• Maintain and operate enterprise backup systems and configuration management at scale.
• Administer Linux, Mac, and Windows servers and user devices.

Skills

Windows

macOS

Linux

DNS

DHCP

LDAP

Puppet

Chef

Salt

Ansible

Kubernetes

Proxmox

HTCondor

Networking

TCP/IP

VLANs

Subnetting

Juniper

Cisco

Arista

Education

4-year technical degree

Tools

Puppet

Chef

Salt

Ansible

Kubernetes

Proxmox

HTCondor

Job description

Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions. We thrive on finding and cultivating talented people who are passionate about what they do. Join us and be a part of the diverse Caltech community.

Job Summary

As a system administrator working at LIGO Hanford Observatory, you will help deploy, maintain, and extend critical computing infrastructure at a world-leading gravitational wave Observatory. You will have the opportunity to work on a diverse set of challenges. These include the public network and its supporting services and infrastructure, as well as a local scientific data analysis compute cluster. You will work in concert with other local and remote system administrators and have input on the design, selection, and implementation of projects. The infrastructure you will work with will include systems such as DNS, DHCP, LDAP, Containers, virtual machines, Kubernetes, high-throughput batch job systems, and clustered storage systems. Your position is an enabler. You will work with users as needed and be able to see the results of your work. LIGO is one of a handful of large-scale gravitational wave interferometers. This opportunity will give you a chance to apply your technical skills at a one-of-a-kind project in a new and growing field.

Essential Job Duties

System Administration - 35%

• Management and administration of multiple heterogeneous physical and virtual data centers.
• Communicate and coordinate with other system administrators, including reporting on progress and providing input to plans for future work.
• Provide application support for a broad range of database, business, engineering, and scientific analysis applications.
• Support and manage virtualized and container-based services.
• Support and manage automated configuration management systems, as well as enterprise backup systems at scale.
• Linux, Mac, and Windows systems administration for computer servers, workstations, laptops, and peripherals related to user support.

Maintenance and Install - 20%

• Applying system updates.
• Deploy and maintain hardware and software through lifecycle upgrades (OS, hardware).

User support - 35%

• Responding to issues on the scientific data analysis cluster.
• Responding to user issues.
  • Including network, wireless, printing, laptop, and software issues.

Other Duties - 10%

• As assigned.

Basic Qualifications

• 4-year degree in a technical field or equivalent experience.
• 2+ years of experience with a consumer OS (Windows or macOS).
• 2+ years of experience with Linux.
• Ability to support site infrastructure (such as DNS, DHCP, NAT, LDAP).
• Familiarity with an automated configuration management system such as Puppet, Chef, Salt, or Ansible.
• Experience with end-user support, either remote or in person.
• Strong communication and systems documentation skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in an academic or research environment.
• Experience with the Puppet automation framework.
• Experience with deploying and managing Kubernetes.
• Experience with Proxmox virtualization.
• Experience with a clustered file system.
• Experience with HTCondor.
• 2+ years of experience administering a network.
• Experience with network infrastructure concepts such as TCP/IP, layer ⅔ routing (LAN/WAN), VLANs, subnetting, and network port management.
• Experience with network gear from vendors such as Juniper, CISCO, Brocade, Fiberstore, Arista, or others.

Required Documents

• Resume.
• A cover letter that expresses your interest in working at LIGO Lab and summarizes your relevant experience.

Hiring Range

$40.50 - $45.00 Per Hour

The salary of the finalist(s) selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, internal equity, experience, education, specialty and training.

As one of the largest employers in Pasadena, CA, Caltech is committed to providing comprehensive benefits to eligible employees and their eligible dependents. Our benefits package includes competitive compensation, health, dental, and vision insurance, retirement savings plans, generous paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick time, parental leave, bereavement, etc.), tuition reimbursement, and more. Non-benefit eligible employees will have access to some benefits such as onsite counseling and sick time. Learn more about our

EEO Statement

Caltech is an equal opportunity employer and, as a federal contractor, takes affirmative action to employ qualified individuals with disabilities and protected veterans. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Disability Accommodations

Caltech complies with the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We consider reasonable accommodation measures that may be necessary for eligible applicants and employees to perform the essential functions of a position.

If you would like to request an accommodation to complete this application, interview, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please contact Caltech Recruiting at

Additionally, if you do not meet the basic qualifications of a role but believe you can perform the essential functions of the job with reasonable accommodation, please reach out to Caltech Recruiting at