Job Description

Requisition Id 15468 

­­Overview:

We are hiring a Senior Linux HPC Systems Engineer to design, operate and maintain clusters, servers, and workstations supporting services where science happens at ORNL! This position resides in the Emerging Technologies & Computing team in the Research Computing group in the Information Technology Services Directorate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

The Emerging Technology Computational Group facilitates ORNL goals through HPC systems engineering, integration, and support for the research community at ORNL. By providing design, deployment, optimization, monitoring, and tooling support across multiple clustered infrastructures, we facilitate Lab-wide R&D projects. Our HPC clusters range in scope from just a handful of nodes to over fifty-thousand cores.

We partner with ORNL research organizations to enable research excellence and delivery. We work with other clustered computing and HPC groups to help research programs identify the best solutions for their needs. When we build our customer's environments, our team collaborates to design, implement, and maintain the systems from inception to retirement.

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

• Advocate and promote HPC and clustered computing services to researchers who process large data sets and/or develop code as a part of their project.
• Ensure the availability, performance, scalability, and security of production systems.
• Leverage automation and monitoring solutions that minimize our day-to-day maintenance and scout opportunities to optimize system management practices or system performance.

• Provide strategic leadership in the design, deployment, and long-term evolution of HPC and clustered computing services, ensuring they align with ORNL’s mission and scientific priorities.
• Set technical direction for HPC infrastructure initiatives, driving innovation in compute, storage, networking, and system management practices to support next-generation scientific workloads.
• Oversee the availability, performance, scalability, and security of mission-critical HPC production systems, balancing operational stability with research agility.
• Lead cross-functional collaborations with program POCs, research teams, and other HPC groups to architect solutions, optimize performance, and accelerate scientific discovery.
• Champion automation and advanced monitoring frameworks that reduce operational overhead, improve reliability, and provide predictive insights into system performance.
• Mentor and guide junior engineers and administrators, fostering professional growth and ensuring knowledge transfer within the HPC operations team.
• Represent ORNL in external collaborations, engaging with vendors, DOE, and peer institutions to influence technology roadmaps and adopt emerging HPC innovations.
• Develop and enforce best practices and standards for system deployment, monitoring, security, and lifecycle management across multiple HPC environments.
• Contribute to long-term planning, including capacity forecasting, technology evaluation, and adoption of advanced computing paradigms
• Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote equal opportunity by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

Basic Qualifications:

• A BS degree in computer science, computer engineering, information technology, information systems, science, engineering, business, or a related discipline and a minimum of eight (8) to twelve (12) years of aligned professional experience is required for consideration. An overall combination of equivalent education and experience may be considered.

• Masters and PhD degree holders in the same fields of study are also encouraged to apply:

• • • Masters’ holders should have a minimum of seven (7) to ten (10) years of relevant and aligned experience.
    • PhD holders should have a minimum of four (4) to six (6) years of relevant and aligned experience.
• Five (5) or more years with managing UNIX/Linux Systems.
• Three (3) or years of proven experience with configuration management and automation tools such as Git, Jenkins, Ansible, or Puppet.
• Moderate proficiency in at least one scripting language such as Bash, Python, or others.
• Experience performing advanced troubleshooting and system administration with Linux Servers.
• Experience supporting large data systems.
• A strong desire to innovate and identify new technologies and opportunities and be able to communicate the potential benefits of those choices to others within the team and our research partners.
• A collaborative and upbeat approach to thrive on the opportunity to build trust and credibility and ultimately become a trusted advisor to our research teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Active DOE Q, DoD Top Secret, or TS/SCI clearance is strongly preferred.
• Solid understanding of multiple operating systems and HPC cluster technologies.
• Experience with Rocky/CentOS/RHEL, Ubuntu, VMware.
• Understanding of HPC job schedulers (SLURM) and user support workflows.
• Experience with container technologies in HPC environments.
• Experience with multiple system deployment mechanisms (Warewulf, PXEboot, Cobbler, Bright).
• Experience with GPU clusters (NVIDIA, AMD) for AI/ML and scientific workloads.
• Deep expertise with high-performance parallel file systems (Lustre, GPFS/Spectrum Scale, BeeGFS, WEKA).
• Knowledge of storage networking (Infiniband, NVMe-oF, SAN/NAS architectures).
• Familiarity with RAID, ZFS, and object storage technologies.
• Strong background in performance monitoring, benchmarking, and I/O optimization.
• Experience with monitoring systems such as Grafana, CheckMK, Nagios, Zabbix, Ganglia.
• Previous experience working in a government, scientific, or other highly technical environment.
• Strong documentation skills and ability to prepare web-based documentation.

Special Requirements: 

• Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

• This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain clearance from the Department of Energy. As such, this position is a Workplace Substance Abuse (WSAP) testing designated position. WSAP positions require passing a pre-placement drug test and participation in an ongoing random drug testing program.

Security, Credentialing, and Eligibility Requirements:
For employment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a Real ID compliant form of identification will be required. Additionally, ORNL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as mandated by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) and Department of Energy (DOE) Order 473.1A, which requires a favorable post-employment background investigation.

To obtain this credential, new employees must successfully complete and pass a Federal Tier 1 background check investigation. This investigation includes a declaration of illegal drug activities, including use, supply, possession, or manufacture within the last year. This includes marijuana and cannabis derivatives, which are still considered illegal under federal law, regardless of state laws.

For foreign national candidates:
If you have not resided in the U.S. for three consecutive years, you are not eligible for the PIV credential and instead will need to obtain a favorable Local Site Specific Only (LSSO) risk determination to maintain employment. Once you meet the three-year residency requirement, you will be required to obtain a PIV credential to maintain employment.   

About ORNL:

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an impressive 80-year legacy of addressing the nation’s most pressing challenges. Our team is made up of over 7,000 dedicated and innovative individuals! Our goal is to create an environment where a variety of perspectives and backgrounds are valued, ensuring ORNL is known as a top choice for employment. These principles are essential for supporting our broader mission to drive scientific breakthroughs and translate them into solutions for energy, environmental, and security challenges facing the nation.

ORNL offers competitive pay and benefits programs to attract and retain individuals who demonstrate exceptional work behaviors. The laboratory provides a range of employee benefits, including medical and retirement plans and flexible work hours, to support the well-being of you and your family.

Employee amenities such as on-site fitness, banking, and cafeteria facilities are also available for added convenience.

Other benefits include the following: Prescription Drug Plan, Dental Plan, Vision Plan, 401(k) Retirement Plan, Contributory Pension Plan, Life Insurance, Disability Benefits, Generous Vacation and Holidays, Parental Leave, Legal Insurance with Identity Theft Protection, Employee Assistance Plan, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, Wellness Programs, Educational Assistance, Relocation Assistance, and Employee Discounts.

If you have difficulty using the online application system or need an accommodation to apply due to a disability, please email: ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov.

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This position will remain open for a minimum of 5 days after which it will close when a qualified candidate is identified and/or hired.

We accept Word (.doc, .docx), Adobe (unsecured .pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and HTML (.htm, .html) up to 5MB in size. Resumes from third party vendors will not be accepted; these resumes will be deleted and the candidates submitted will not be considered for employment.

If you have trouble applying for a position, please email ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov.

ORNL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, are encouraged to apply. UT-Battelle is an E-Verify employer.

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