RESEARCH COMPUTING SYSTEMS ENGINEER

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills, and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits, and natural beauty.

The College of Arts & Sciences Deans Office has an outstanding opportunity for a Research Computing Systems Engineer to join their team.

The College of Arts & Sciences Deans Office is seeking to fill a Research Computing Systems Engineer position as part of the expanding CAS IT team. The computing environment served by this position is complex along several dimensions and the successful candidate will have to thoughtfully blend central standards and guidelines with local expertise and requirements to create an environment that is stable and reliable yet provides flexible service. Equally important to the technical challenge is the ability to successfully interact with faculty and staff to enable them to complete their research missions at the University.

This position will collaborate with faculty and researchers to design and implement computing solutions for data-intensive research. This individual must be a subject matter expert. The quality and security of this work by this role will impact research and teaching. The role will manage or support high-performance computing (HPC) clusters, cloud platforms, and storage systems. You will work with leadership and the CAS IT team to provide training, documentation, and consulting to help researchers effectively use computing resources. You will be tasked with installation, optimization, and troubleshooting of scientific software and tools. You must be excited about contribute to the development of research computing strategies and policies. While the work of this position is largely focused on supporting research and teaching computing within Statistics and CSSS within the College of Arts & Sciences - this role will also work across departments to integrate computing into research workflows and grant proposals where possible as we expand on this function at the college level.

About us: CAS IT's core mission is to provide critical IT support to the faculty and staff in the college. We are an agile and collaborative team working to continually make technology less cumbersome for our customers while ensuring our solutions are secure, scalable, and in service of the College and UW's mission of teaching and research.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

System Administration

Install, configure, and maintain Linux-based HPC clusters, storage systems, and associated software.

Monitor system performance and ensure high availability of computing resources.

Apply patches and upgrades on a regular basis and upgrade administrative tools and utilities.

User Support & Collaboration

Provide technical support to researchers, including troubleshooting job submissions, software installations, and performance tuning.

Collaborate with faculty, students, and research staff to understand computational needs and recommend solutions.

Security & Compliance

Implement and maintain security best practices, including user authentication, access control, and data protection.

Ensure compliance with institutional and funding agency policies regarding data security and privacy.

Automation & Scripting

Develop and maintain scripts for system automation, monitoring, and reporting (e.g., Bash, Python, Ansible).

Automate provisioning and configuration management using tools like Puppet, Chef, or Ansible.

Documentation & Training:

Create and maintain documentation for system configurations, procedures, and user guides.

Conduct training sessions and workshops for researchers on HPC usage and best practices.

Other Duties as assigned

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Bachelor in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, or a related field. Equivalent experience can substitute for degree requirement.

4-5+ years in research computing or scientific computing environments and familiarity with academic research processes and data lifecycle.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Technical Skills:

- Linux/Unix systems administration

- Scripting (Python, Bash, etc.)

- HPC schedulers (Slurm, PBS)

- Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform)

Data management and security best practicesKeep current with campus standards, technology developments and College guidelines to ensure that the highest standards of reliability and performance are met.

Work with team members to specify and acquire hardware and software appropriate to supporting the College's missions.

As required, research technologies and system upgrades for unique client needs.

Demonstrated experience working with minimal supervision, both independently and in a collaborative team environment.

An ability to prioritize and complete tasks and assignments efficiently and within deadlines.

Excellent written and oral communications skills.

Demonstrated knowledge and experience with a variety of desktop and workgroup server computing environments.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Proven customer service orientation with a history of delivering high quality products on time.

Excellent written and oral communication abilities with the ability to convey a positive and professional image in person, on the telephone and in correspondence.

Ability to translate complex issues into comprehensible ideas and concepts with both technical and non-technical staff.

Application Process: The application process may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select "Apply to this position". Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment, you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your "My Jobs" page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are access ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.

Committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff, the University of Washington will honor your experiences, perspectives and unique identity. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable and welcoming.

The University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at or

Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington state law.