Senior Systems Engineer

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Building: Jerome L. Greene Science Center
• Salary Range: $115,000 - $125,000

Position Summary

Columbia University's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute brings together world-class scientists across academic disciplines conducting pioneering research to transform our understanding of how the brain works - and gives rise to mind and behavior. The Institute fosters a collaborative and inclusive environment across 50+ labs, advancing insights into human health by exploring how the brain develops, performs, endures and recovers.

At the Zuckerman Institute, we are committed to becoming a more inclusive, equitable and diverse place of scientific discovery and support a culture of respect. Promoting diversity in science will help drive the transformative science that can change the world.

Situated in the Jerome L. Greene Science Center on Columbia's Manhattanville campus, the state-of-the-art building offers an environment where the highest level of scholarly scientific research takes place on a daily basis. It is also located in the heart of New York, one of the world's most vibrant and culturally rich cities.

Reporting to the Director of Infrastructure Technology and Support, the Senior Systems Engineer plays a crucial role in linking sophisticated research needs with advanced IT solutions. This role requires keen technical expertise in system administration, GPU computing, data storage, and cloud engineering, combined with robust people management and customer service skills.

Responsibilities

• Administer, support, and maintain our virtual infrastructure, private cloud servers, hardware, operating systems, networks, account management, and security systems.
• Design, implement, and oversee the maintenance of a GPU cluster used for complex computational tasks; ensure its integration with on-premise enterprise storage systems.
• Develop and execute strategies for scaling our computing and storage resources to meet our researchers' growing data need and requirements.
• Ensure the GPU cluster and enterprise storage systems operate efficiently, including installing, configuring, monitoring, and updating all related software.
• Collaborate with researchers to optimize computational and data storage workflows and provide expertise and support to researchers in utilizing GPU, storage, and HPC resources effectively; offer training and workshops to enhance their skills.
• Lead the benchmarking and performance monitoring of new technologies to ensure they meet the computational and data storage needs of the Institute; stay current with the latest advances in GPU technology, HPC solutions, and storage systems to ensure the Institute remains at the forefront of research computing capabilities.
• Optimize current systems and automate workflows and deployments; investigate and leverage cloud computing resources as alternatives or supplements to existing infrastructure when applicable, ensuring cost-effectiveness and scalability.
• Ensure compliance with data security standards and best practices in managing sensitive research data.
• Oversee tape library management and execute effective disaster recovery plans.
• Design, develop, and deploy new infrastructures including but not limited to Linux/UNIX servers, GPU clusters, backups, storages, hypervisors, monitoring systems, and cloud computing.
• Document and provide support for a variety of innovative projects and services within the institute as well as collaborate on specialized projects.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, required, plus a minimum of 4-6 years of relevant experience.
• A minimum of 4-6 years of experience in systems administration with a strong focus on Linux/Unix, including substantial experience with GPU clusters, virtualization, and enterprise storage systems.
• Proficient in scripting and automation; experience with programming languages such as Python and Bash.
• Strong understanding of network architecture and data storage solutions, especially in contexts requiring high throughput and low latency.
• Excellent communication skills to effectively collaborate with senior faculty, administration, and research staff.
• Demonstrated ability to train and support research staff in the use of computational resources.

Preferred Qualifications

• An advanced degree is desirable.
• Experience with cloud services integration, preferably in an academic or research-focused environment.
• Experience with Linux (CentOS, Ubuntu, REHL, Centos etc.), cloud services (AWS), virtualization (VMware, VergeIO. etc.), configuration management (Ansible), Python, API, relational databases, storage management, source version control (git), resource management, Conda, CUDA, CUDA toolkit, CUDNN, Jupyter, Globus, monitoring systems, containers, terraform, vagrant, kickstart, packer, Active Directory, and LDAP.
• Demonstrated large-scale system administration experience preferred. In-depth understanding of operating systems (Linux/Unix), including processes, files, memory management and I/O systems, networking services, and protocols preferred. Experience working in a research and/or academic environment is a plus.

Other Requirements

• Applicants must submit a resume and a detailed cover letter outlining relevant experiences and how they meet the outlined requirements.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.