Linux System Administrator

The University of Basel is the oldest university in Switzerland, it counts over 12'000 students and 4'300 researchers in 7 faculties active in domains from humanities, economy to natural sciences. sciCORE is the center for scientific computing at the University of Basel. We support scientists on matters of data management, analysis and storage by providing efficient high-performance computing as well as consulting and training. Our computing environment consists of a Linux cluster with ~8000 cores (including GPUs) and ~5 PB storage. sciCORE is one of the nodes of a national infrastructure network coordinated by the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics to support biomedical research such as the Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN) which pose specific requirements with respect to data protection, security and access control.

 

We are now looking for an experienced, passionate practitioner in cloud-based technology with deep understanding of security concepts. You will lead the deployment of an OpenStack-based private cloud and contribute to the development of a flexible and robust computational environment for scientific research. The contract will initially be limited to a period of three years with the possibility of an extension. The position is available immediately.

Your position

• Deployment and operation of an OpenStack-based private cloud, including measures for securing and protecting data in the cloud
• Contribute to training and support of programmers, data managers and scientists that use the cloud
• Collaborate with a network of scientific computing core facilities across Switzerland in providing a unified and scalable research environment
• Support users in problem identification and resolution

 

Your profile

• Masters in computational sciences or equivalent experience
• Proficiency with management of OpenStack clouds, knowledge of other cloud technologies
• Familiarity with HPC management tools such as Ansible, EasyBuild, Foreman, XenServer, Slurm and parallel storage
• Understanding of IT security concepts and willingness to implement flexible solutions that support them
• Experience in user support and collaborative infrastructure design
• Ability to communicate in English (working language; oral and written)

 

Desirable

• Hands-on experience with multi-site or federated clouds
• Ability to run containers on cloud infrastructure
• German or French

 

We offer you

We offer a key position in a highly interdisciplinary and inspiring academic work environment with challenging tasks. You will be working within a team of experienced system administrators with the opportunity to gain experience with cutting-edge computing technologies, from hardware to management tools. In this role, you will be involved in the evolution of the future infrastructure design (HPC and large-scale storage) considering the needs of scientific research.

Application / Contact

If you are interested in this challenging and highly interesting position, please submit your application including a CV, a letter of motivation highlighting your personal interests, and contact Information here (Only applications submitted through this recruitment system will be considered.) For further information, please contact Thierry Sengstag, e-mail scicore@unibas.ch.