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Position Details

Position Information

Announcement Number STAFF - VA - 25330

For questions regarding this position, please contact:

Coltran Hophan-Nichols

(406)994-2392

Classification Title Net/Comp Sys Administrator II

Working Title System Administrator for Research Cyberinfrastructure

Brief Position Overview

As part of the Research Cyberinfrastructure team, the Systems Administrator for Research Cyberinfrastructure will deploy, administer, and update large-scale research systems, related infrastructure services, grid software stacks, and operating systems. The position will be responsible for components of Montana State’s computational research environment (http://www.montana.edu/uit/rci), and will work closely with researchers, systems administrators, and developers throughout the University and partner institutions. Partners with multiple IT colleagues, external research groups, and grant-funded initiatives. Administers existing individual and cluster infrastructure technologies, and researches/prototypes new systems and technologies. Participates in national computing activities by attending workshops, conferences, and potentially presenting research. Participates in administration of the MSU server environment as a member of the Systems and Research Computing team. The person in this position may work extended hours as required when core systems are down.

Position Number 4M0693

Department UIT Research Cyberinfrastructure

Division VP for Information Technology

Appointment Type Classified

Contract Term Fiscal Year

Semester

If other, specify From date

If other, specify End date

FLSA Exempt

Union Affiliation FOCUS-MFPE

FTE 1.0

Benefits Eligible Eligible

Salary Minimum $63,095 annually, commensurate with experience, education, and qualifications

Contract Type Classified Salary

If other, please specify

Recruitment Type Open

Position Details

General Statement

The System Administrator for Research Cyberinfrastructure is responsible for the technical implementation, maintenance, and support of Montana State University’s Research Cyberinfrastructure IT environment and related infrastructure services.

This full-time position reports to the Director of Systems and Research Computing within University Information Technology ( UIT ), providing central research technology services to Montana State University.

Duties and Responsibilities

System Administration & Development

+ Design, administer, deploy, and support infrastructure, middle ware, and software to support Montana State University’s research cyberinfrastructure.

+ Design and prototype new systems and write technical proposals/reports for possible implementation.

+ Develop programs, tools, and system automation for the University’s individual and cluster research systems, including software development, compilation and installation of modules, and systems management frameworks.

+ Utilize creativity and innovation to solve problems raised by usage of cutting-edge research and technology.

+ Configure hardware, peripherals, virtual machines, services, settings, directories, storage, etc. in accordance with standards and project/operational requirements.

+ Participate in the administration of MSU enterprise server systems and services as part of the Systems and Research Computing team.

COLLABORATION

+ Work collaboratively with UIT staff, faculty, and IT staff from other institutions to research and implement high-performance cluster and distributed computing technologies.

+ Collaborate with faculty, staff, and administration on the Bozeman campus to develop and deploy cutting-edge technology, supporting research exploration; participate in writing grants and articles for publication.

+ Coordinate across UIT to maximize performance and utilization of research cyberinfrastructure.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT & DOCUMENTATION

+ Provide guidance to IT colleagues, interfacing new computational technologies with existing systems, commercial software, and operational policies and procedures.

+ Produce documentation as appropriate and in accordance with industry norms for processes, systems, and other components related to the duties described above.

+ Produce training materials and utilize these materials to conduct training events for students, faculty, staff, and any other users of research cyberinfrastructure systems. Serve in a support role for these users, providing consultation, troubleshooting and other assistance to the user base in accordance with Montana State University’s user-support workflows.

+ Develop, coordinate, and lead trainings and workshops.

+ Conduct discovery, coordination, organization, and development activities which rely on an advanced understanding of research methodologies and workflows.

+ Proactively engage with the MSU research community to promote and facilitate use of research cyberinfrastructure systems and services.

Required Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

+ Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Computer Engineering, or other related field, or advanced experience working with Linux and related infrastructure services in an enterprise production environment, or an equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.

+ Substantial experience related to Linux operating system administration and automation supporting scientific or research computing environment; TCP /IP networking, system troubleshooting, and performance tuning; security concepts including firewall and server hardening configurations; familiarity with modern large-scale scientific computing systems including system design with extensive understanding of software architecture and abstraction patterns.

+ Demonstrated experience with programming.

Preferred Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

+ Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Computer Engineering, or a related field and equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.

+ Demonstrated experience supporting scientific or research computing environment and familiarity with modern large-scale scientific computing systems including system design with understanding of software architecture and abstraction patterns.

+ Substantial experience related to cluster management and job scheduling, and/or related technologies (Rocks, xCAT, Bright, Scyld, XDMoD, Slurm, PBS , Moab, etc).

+ Familiarity with data intensive research networking: data transfer, security, storage, and collaboration.

+ Demonstrated experience collaborating with researchers to gather technical requirements, and plan and implement solutions.

+ Demonstrated experience developing and conducting training programs to support end-users in research cyberinfrastructure topics.

The Successful Candidate Will

+ Be a forward, creative, positive, and flexible thinker; exercise good judgment and make sound decisions.

+ Work effectively and collaborate with University IT staff in a team-oriented environment.

+ Have the ability to analyze system components and support options to break down and resolve problems.

+ Ability to manage time effectively and efficiently managing competing technical priorities.

+ Skilled at communicating technical knowledge verbally and written to technical and non-technical personnel.

Position Special Requirements/Additional Information

This position is not eligible for sponsorship.

This job description should not be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements, but a general description of the job. Nothing contained herein restricts Montana State University’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Physical Demands

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

This position has supervisory duties? No

Posting Detail Information

Number of Vacancies

Desired Start Date

Position End Date (if temporary)

Open Date

Close Date

Applications will be:

Screening of applications will begin on April 17, 2025; however, applications will continue to be accepted until an adequate applicant pool has been established.

Special Instructions

EEO Statement

Montana State University is an equal opportunity employer. MSU does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, political ideas, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, or any other protected class status in violation of any applicable law.

In compliance with the Montana Veteran’s Employment Preference Act, MSU provides preference in employment to veterans, disabled veterans, and certain eligible relatives of veterans. To claim veteran’s preference, please complete the veteran’s preference information located in the Demographics section of your profile.