High Performance Computing (HPC) Research Support Technician (m/f)

Language: English (UK)

Country: Luxembourg

Organisation data: Department of Computer Science (DCS)

Job Number: UOL06379

Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract

Duration 19 Month

Schedule Type: Full Time

Work Hours 40.0 Hours per Week

Expected Start Date: 01/06/2024

Expected End Date: 31/12/2025

Functions: Research support

Job (internal): Research support technician

The University | About us...

The University of Luxembourg is an international research university with a distinctly multilingual and interdisciplinary character. The University was founded in 2003 and counts more than 6,700 students and more than 2,000 employees from around the world. The University's faculties and interdisciplinary centres focus on research in the areas of Computer Science and ICT Security, Materials Science, European and International Law, Finance and Financial Innovation, Education, Contemporary and Digital History. In addition, the University focuses on cross-disciplinary research in the areas of Data Modelling and Simulation as well as Health and System Biomedicine. Times Higher Education ranks the University of Luxembourg #3 worldwide for its “international outlook,” #20 in the Young University Ranking 2021 and among the top 250 universities worldwide.

The Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) contributes multidisciplinary expertise in the fields of Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, Life Sciences and Medicine. Through its dual mission of teaching and research, the FSTM seeks to generate and disseminate knowledge and train new generations of responsible citizens, in order to better understand, explain and advance society and environment we live in.

The University of Luxembourg (UL) is seeking to hire a highly motivated and an outstanding High Performance Computing (HPC) Infrastructure and architecture engineer within the HPC platform team of the University of Luxembourg led by Prof. Pascal Bouvry (FSTM dean) and Dr. Julien Schleich (HPC Platform manager).

Since 2006, the University of Luxembourg has invested in its own High-Performance Computing (HPC) facilities. Special focus was laid on developing large computing power combined with huge data storage capacity to accelerate the research performed in intensive computing and large-scale data analytics (Big Data).

To face the growing needs and new projects of the University of Luxembourg, the HPC platform team has been created to install, extend, operate and administrate the HPC systems, currently composed of 2 HPC clusters, Iris and Aion.

To reinforce this team on the Belval campus, the UL is looking for highly qualified individuals to play a key role in the administration and support of the HPC facilities.

As a member of our team, you will have the chance to work with new and advanced technologies and experimental systems.

Further information can be found on hpc.uni.lu

Your Role...

The HPC Research Support Technician will be part of the HPC team to contribute to the operational services of the UL facility of the University (especially at the networking and storage level) and to the research and knowledge in HPC by analyzing user needs, and tailoring solutions matching those needs.

Duties of the position include, but are not limited to:

• Participation in the daily operations, monitoring the HPC clusters, response to incidents in a coordinated manner

• Participation in the first line support activities for our 600+ user base (bug tracking, documentation) and provide second-line support (system expertise, hardware maintenance, SLA enforcement)

• Contribution to the system analysis and design of future infrastructure expansions (hardware & software)

• Contribution to development, and automation of provisioning and configuration management of a Linux-based infrastructure, including but not limited to HPC clusters, parallel storage systems and heterogeneous network equipments

• Deployment of new systems according to best security practices and creation of the associated documentation

• Troubleshooting, perform root cause analysis and resolving system and application problems with users, peers, vendors, and management

For further information, please contact Julien.schleichuni.lu

What we expect from you…

• Bachelor in Computer Science, or equivalent degree, ideally with a specialty in systems, networks and applications administrations

• Good knowledge in GNU/Linux system administration (Red Hat and derivatives)

• Good knowledge in at least one scripting language (Bash, Python, Ruby), in Version Control Systems (Git) and in virtualization and containers technologies

• Good understanding of networked computing environment

• System administration “best practices” are part of all actions

• 3 to 5 years of relevant working experience

• Experience in installing and maintaining clustered environments using automated installation methods and at least one configuration management suites (such as Puppet, Ansible) is considered as an asset

• Prior experience with HPC technologies is a plus, this includes Job Scheduler (Slurm), parallel and distributed filesystems (SpectrumScale/GPFS or Lustre)

• Strong capacity to acquire knowledge and to stay up to date with HPC technologies

• Excellent communication skills and capacity of relationship management

• Excellent organizational skills with attention to detail and accuracy

• Fluent written and verbal communication skills in English are mandatory. The University of Luxembourg is set in a multilingual context, therefore knowledge in at least one of the two official languages of Luxembourg (French or German) is an asset

How to apply...

Applications, written in English, should be submitted online.

Your application (in PDF format) should include:

• Detailed Curriculum Vitae, your contact address, training record, work experience and (if available), publications and language test results (e.g.TOEFL)

• Letter of intent including the personal motivations for applying to the University of Luxembourg and its HPC team

• Certified copies of degree certificates, incl. a transcript of courses taken (with grades)

• Names and contact details of referees

Early application is highly encouraged, as the applications will be processed upon reception. Please apply ONLINE formally through the HR system. Applications by email will not be considered.

The University of Luxembourg embraces inclusion and diversity as key values. We are fully committed to removing any discriminatory barrier related to gender, and not only, in recruitment and career progression of our staff.

General information:

• Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract 19 Month

• Work Hours: Full Time 40.0 Hours per Week

• Location: Belval

• Internal Title: Research support technician

• Job Reference: UOL06379

In return you will get…

• Multilingual and international character. Modern institution with a personal atmosphere. Staff coming from 90 countries. Member of the “University of the Greater Region” (UniGR).

• A modern and dynamic university. High-quality equipment. Close ties to the business world and to the Luxembourg labour market. A unique urban site with excellent infrastructure.

• A partner for society and industry. Cooperation with European institutions, innovative companies, the Financial Centre and with numerous non-academic partners such as ministries, local governments, associations, NGOs …

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