High Performance Computing (HPC) Systems Architect

Job#: 3030068

Job Description:
High Performance Computing (HPC) Systems Architect

Location: Houston, Texas (Partial Remote)

Employment Type: Contract to Perm

Role Overview

An organization is deploying a new High Performance Computing (HPC) cluster and seeks an HPC-focused professional to administer, support, and enable research workloads on this environment. This role is focused on HPC environment management and research support, acting as the primary owner and advocate for the HPC environment and its users within a team that has strong Linux system administration expertise. Previous Data Scientist or mentorship of Data Scientist preferred.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage, monitor, and maintain the new HPC cluster, including compute, GPU, high-memory, hybrid, and management nodes.
• Oversee and optimize the Slurm job scheduler, including configuration, policies, queues, troubleshooting user jobs, and performance tuning.
• Operate and support Tier 1 storage (PixStore) and its integration with Tier 2 storage (Dell EMC Isilon/PowerScale).
• Act as a technical liaison between IT and the research community, supporting researchers and data scientists with onboarding, software configuration, and workload optimization.
• Translate research needs into practical workflows on the cluster, providing guidance on best practices for running jobs and managing data.
• Develop user-facing documentation, quick-start guides, and FAQs for researchers and data scientists.
• Deliver trainings, workshops, and onboarding sessions to help users learn command-line basics, use scientific tools, and manage jobs via Slurm.
• Collaborate with internal teams, faculty liaisons, and external vendors on support, enhancements, and long-term planning for HPC services.

Required Qualifications

Experience: Hands-on experience with High Performance Computing (HPC) environments is required, not just standalone Linux servers. Experience working with researchers or data scientists, ideally in an academic, public health, or scientific research context, is necessary. The candidate must be comfortable working on-site with physical hardware and data center environments.

Technical Skills: Strong Linux experience, particularly in a server or cluster environment, is required. Practical experience with job schedulers, specifically Slurm (configuration, job submission, troubleshooting, and optimization), is essential. The role requires the ability to understand and support software commonly used in research/HPC, such as Python-based workflows and scientific libraries, and to communicate technical concepts clearly to non-experts.

Preferred Qualifications

• Background as a data scientist or in a research computing support role.
• Experience with PixStore or similar high-performance storage systems.
• Experience with Dell EMC Isilon / PowerScale or other large-scale NAS platforms.
• Familiarity with Bash, shell scripting, and scientific Python ecosystems.
• Prior experience designing or managing HPC clusters and delivering user training.
• Experience in higher education, healthcare, or public health research environments.

Work Environment

This position follows a hybrid work model with a mix of on-site and remote work, typically three days on-site and two days remote, with flexibility. The candidate must be available to come on-site as needed for data center access, physical hardware issues, and vendor visits. The schedule consists of standard daytime hours with some flexibility required for urgent issues affecting research workloads.

Compensation & Benefits

A comprehensive benefits package is available to eligible employees. This may include a pension program and long-term health insurance benefits that vest over time. The position offers a potential growth path toward a Senior Systems Architect role for a strong, long-term performer.

This employer is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

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Apex Systems is a world-class IT services company that serves thousands of clients across the globe. When you join Apex, you become part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. We offer quality career resources, training, certifications, development opportunities, and a comprehensive benefits package. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in many awards, including ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing in Talent Satisfaction in the United States and Great Place to Work in the United Kingdom and Mexico. Apex uses a virtual recruiter as part of the application process. Click for more details.

Apex Benefits Overview: Apex offers a range of supplemental benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and other insurance plans that offer an optional layer of financial protection. We offer an ESPP (employee stock purchase program) and a 401K program which allows you to contribute typically within 30 days of starting, with a company match after 12 months of tenure. Apex also offers a HSA (Health Savings Account on the HDHP plan), a SupportLinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with up to 8 free counseling sessions, a corporate discount savings program and other discounts. In terms of professional development, Apex hosts an on-demand training program, provides access to certification prep and a library of technical and leadership courses/books/seminars once you have 6+ months of tenure, and certification discounts and other perks to associations that include CompTIA and IIBA. Apex has a dedicated customer service team for our Consultants that can address questions around benefits and other resources, as well as a certified Career Coach. You can access a full list of our benefits, programs, support teams and resources within our 'Welcome Packet' as well, which an Apex team member can provide.