Senior HPC Systems Administrator

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Senior HPC Systems Administrator

Job Profile Title

Systems Administrator Senior

Job Description Summary

The Senior HPC Systems Administrator will join the Linux Infrastructure Services (LIS) group in the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) to work on cutting-edge HPC technology in support of groundbreaking research by Penn’s world class faculty.

Job Description

The HPC team within the Linux Infrastructure Services (LIS) group builds and manages HPC systems with a variety of architectures, from private lab clusters to a school-wide shared condo system that forms our biggest HPC cluster. Resources across our systems include high-density CPU nodes, GPU nodes, Infiniband networking and PB of data storage. Our team manages a variety of software across our clusters including SLURM scheduling with prioritization and preemption, MPI, Python with tensorflow, Nvidia CUDA with ML libraries, and much more. The HPC team also writes scripts and automations both to better manage the clusters and to help our researchers maximize the effectiveness of their HPC resources. As a member of our team you will have the opportunity to continue to grow your skills as we regularly build new systems, optimize our existing systems, and add innovations to our services.  

 

As a Senior HPC Systems Administrator, you’ll join a team of dedicated Linux systems administrators with advanced technical skills working on highly complex HPC systems. You’ll have the chance to build and manage clusters in both our state-of-the-art datacenters and ours dynamic cloud environments, leveraging the latest technologies. 

 

This position is hybrid-eligible. Under the guidance of our dedicated HPC team leadership, you’ll play a crucial role in advancing groundbreaking research while enjoying a dynamic and supportive work environment. 

 

What You'll Do: 

• Deploy and Manage Linux Systems: Oversee the deployment and management of sophisticated Linux HPC systems. 

• Develop Scripts: Utilize BASH and Python scripts to automate and enhance system functionality. 

• Manage Job Scheduling: Configure, manage, and optimize job scheduling software to ensure seamless computational workflows. 

• Deploy and Manage Software: Install and configure both free and licensed software to support groundbreaking research. 

• Monitor Systems: Continuously monitor systems and services to ensure optimal performance and reliability. 

• Perform Routine Maintenance: Conduct regular systems maintenance to ensure smooth and efficient operations. 

• Manage Storage: Oversee data and configuration backups to safeguard critical research data. 

• Coordinate Hardware Repairs: Coordinate hardware repairs to minimize downtime and maintain peak performance. 

• Procure Hardware: Assist in the procurement and installation of hardware to keep the infrastructure up-to-date. 

• Manage Change: Recommend and track configuration, software, and hardware changes to drive continuous improvement. 

• Automate Workflows: Automate systems configuration tasks and deployments to enhance efficiency and scalability. 

Additional Duties:

• Consult and Support Clients: Provide expert technical consulting and end-user Linux support, guiding users through their HPC challenges.

• Cloud Services Support: Assist our cloud team to ensure the smooth operation and support of cloud services critical to our research efforts. 

• First-Tier Support Assistance: Collaborate with first-tier support staff to address end-user needs. 

• Continuous Learning: Maintain expert-level knowledge of HPC technologies, continually enhancing your expertise. 

• Service Improvements: Research, propose, and implement innovative improvements to our HPC services, driving excellence and efficiency. 

• On-Call Rotation: Participate in on-call rotations, allowing us to always ensure reliable support. 

• Researcher Support: Engage with faculty to understand how HPC can elevate and transform their work, contributing to groundbreaking discoveries. The systems we manage often support high-profile projects that make waves in the academic and research communities. 

• Collaboration: Partner with local support providers and other staff, fostering a spirit of innovation and teamwork. 

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education 

• Bachelor's Degree and at least 3-5 years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience is required

Technical Skills and Experience: 

• Proficiency in Linux OSes (RHEL/Ubuntu) 

• Advanced Linux scripting skills (BASH, Python, etc.) 

• A working knowledge of job scheduling systems (SLURM preferred)

• Expertise in managing high-performance computing resources

• Experience managing storage and backups

• A working knowledge of configuration management (Salt/Ansible) 

• Experience in working with git repositories 

• Experience in deploying and managing server, network, and storage hardware  

• Knowledge of managing GPUs, MPI, InfiniBand, and AWS cloud services are a plus

Other Skills and Experience: 

• Ability to work collaboratively with SAS Computing colleagues, Faculty, research staff, and other stakeholders 

• Capable of managing and tracking multiple ongoing projects simultaneously 

• Skilled in triaging complex problems and developing solutions 

• Strong communication skills to maintain effective interactions with stakeholders

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

School of Arts and Sciences

Pay Range

$61,046.00 - $100,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, as well as internal and market factors and grade profile.

Affirmative Action Statement 
Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.

Special Requirements 
Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

• Tuition: Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

• Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

• Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.

• Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

• Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

• Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

• University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

• Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

• Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

• Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

• Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

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To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay