Systems Engineer — Agents, Clusters, and Supercomputers for Computational Drug Discovery
The Opportunity
Modeling how drug-relevant molecules behave at atomic resolution, and then designing compounds that bind their targets with high selectivity, takes computing power that few organizations ever assemble. This role keeps that machinery running and usable: GPU and CPU clusters, storage at petabyte scale, fast interconnects, purpose-built supercomputers, and the Kubernetes layer that now hosts agentic workflows. The systems you build and operate determine how quickly researchers, and the AI agents working with them, move from a hypothesis to a simulation result.
The client is a computational biochemistry and drug discovery research organization in the Greater New York Area. It combines custom-designed supercomputers, high-speed commodity hardware, and machine learning across both internal and partnered discovery programs.
The Research Environment
The infrastructure pairs specialized, highly parallel hardware built for molecular dynamics with conventional GPU and CPU clusters, and its users include both scientists and software agents. That computing capacity feeds drug discovery programs the client runs on its own and alongside outside collaborators. The team follows a hybrid model with three in-office days each week.
What You’ll Do
- Architect the Kubernetes environment that runs agentic workflows across the research organization.
- Build and operate GPU clusters containing hundreds of current-generation accelerators.
- Design and tune high-performance RDMA fabrics as well as wide-area networks.
- Scale Linux clusters whose core counts range from the low thousands into the tens of thousands.
- Own a storage estate measured in tens of petabytes.
- Maintain the massively parallel, purpose-built supercomputers central to the client’s simulation work.
- Deliver secure, convenient access to every one of these resources for scientists in machine learning and drug discovery, and for the software agents working beside them.
What You Bring
- Solid grounding in Linux fundamentals, including File Systems, Networking, and Processes
- Hands-on experience administering Linux systems
- Intellectual curiosity, versatility, and a record of real accomplishment; the client weighs these above depth in any single specialty
- Excellent communication skills
- Background in one or more relevant areas, such as Large-Installation Systems Administration, HPC Systems Engineering, Python programming and scripting for Distributed Systems, High-Performance Data-Parallel Computing, Systems Software, Software Development, or Kubernetes Systems Engineering
- The client will consider applicants at every level of experience
Paths Into This Role
Engineers and researchers whose graduate or professional work centered on running large compute systems will find familiar ground here. Training in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Electrical Engineering maps directly onto the systems and networking work. Scientists from Computational Physics or Computational Chemistry who managed their own HPC workloads, and who came to care as much about the cluster as the calculation, often bring the same instincts.
Compensation & Total Rewards
- Annual base salary range: $250,000–$800,000
- Variable compensation, including sign-on and year-end bonuses
- Generous benefits, with relocation
- The client sets each offer’s base salary according to factors such as the depth of prior experience and educational background
- Hybrid schedule: three days per week in the office, with the option to work remotely the remaining two
Joining StaffRight Associates
When you partner with StaffRight Associates in your search for your next role, you’re doing more than pursuing a job, you’re aligning yourself with a team of experts committed to placing top-tier talent in truly impactful positions. We take pride in fostering professional growth and connecting forward-thinking individuals with organizations that value innovation and excellence. We look forward to showcasing your expertise in a way that resonates with our clients and opens the door to meaningful opportunities.
