Systems Administrator II (Center for Research Computing)

Position Summary

The Center for Research Computing (CRC) at Rice University enables faculty and researchers to effectively leverage on and off-premise (1) shared high-performance computing, (2) VM and cloud computing, (3) data storage infrastructure, and (4) broader IT services, all to advance and accelerate cutting-edge research and scholarship across the University and with our partners.

We are currently looking to expand our team of professionals with a Systems Administrator II. The position will join the Research Client Services team providing advanced support for the establishment and continued efficient operation of research computing environments and serving as a technical leader within the group. This includes installation, configuration, maintenance, administration, and customization of dedicated systems supporting research and education. The Systems Administrator II performs daily systems management functions, maintains an efficient and highly valuable computing platform, provides analysis on resource utilization, and plans for future growth needs of the platform. The position is part of a larger team of research computing, developers, technologists, and facilitators focused on advancing research and scholarship, developing Rice’s research cyberinfrastructure, and expanding the CRC’s ability to engage in research projects more deeply. Flexible Work Schedule is available.

The successful candidate will not only bring technical skills, but bring ideas, energy, and enthusiasm to help the CRC engage both more broadly and deeply with researchers and scholars across the university. This is a fantastic opportunity to engage in a positive and creative work environment that offers the candidate the opportunity to grow and contribute to accelerating the research mission of Rice University.

Essential Functions

• Works with research groups and RCS colleagues to administer dedicated research computing resources
• Provides technical support for users, installing, updating, and troubleshooting systems
• Builds, installs, configures, maintains, analyzes, tunes, and troubleshoots systems to achieve optimum performance levels
• Configures and assists in the design of system and network security
• Monitors and analyzes resource usage to recommend/develop enhancements to system capabilities and performance
• Recommends hardware and software upgrades according to growth statistics and disk space forecasts
• Documents systems infrastructure for users, support, and consulting personnel, and developers
• Performs all other duties as assigned

Experience and Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, MIS, or related discipline
• 2 years of related experience in research computing system administration

Substitutions

• In lieu of the experience requirement, additional related education, above and beyond what is required, on an equivalent year for year basis may be substituted
• In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience, above and beyond what is required, on an equivalent year for year basis may be substituted

Skills Required

• Linux system administration, networking, and storage management
• Centralized monitoring and configuration management
• Scripting and automation with languages such as Shell, Perl, or Python
• Ability to work well independently and as a team member
• Ability to train others in system administration fundamentals

Preferences

• Master’s degree in a technical discipline
• Experience
  • Virtualization environments such as KVM and VMware
  • Container technologies such as Docker, Singularity, and Kubernetes
  • Cloud providers such as AWS, GCP, and Azure
  • Research project experience in higher education
  • Design, prototyping, and evaluation of new and research computing technologies

The Rice University Office of Information Technology
https://oit.rice.edu/

Rice University HR / Benefits website
https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits

Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer with commitment to diversity at all levels, and considers for employment qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status.

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