System Engineer

CSCS develops and operates cutting-edge High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems as an essential service facility for science. The centre enables world-class research through its scientific user lab, which is available to researchers from academia, industry, and the business sector, both domestic and international. The centre is operated by ETH Zurich and has offices in Lugano (headquarters) and Zurich.

With the convergence of HPC and cloud technologies, supercomputing service providers like CSCS strive to improve our service portfolios, which focus on large, complex, and diverse scientific and engineering applications. Effectively providing performant, capable storage systems that support the needs of HPC platforms running on a multi-tenant infrastructure is complex and challenging engineering work.

To support these efforts, CSCS is seeking a Storage Engineer (Systems Engineering) to join our team in Lugano. The position is initially offered on a two-year contract, with the possibility of extension. This position is funded by a project that will enable scientists to benefit from large-scale climate and Earth observation data. It will involve collaboration with partners such as the ETHZ Geolab and C2SM, as well as international partners such as ECMWF, NASA and NOAA.

Job description:

The main goal of this position is to implement and operate HPC storage services in a multi-tenant infrastructure. As a Storage Engineer, you will directly contribute to the design, implementation, maintenance, and documentation of storage services for HPC.

Your contributions will directly support the development and improvement of HPC systems, enhancing overall system functionality and efficiency.

Profile:

You have a sound knowledge of:

• Linux administration skills
• Generic filesystem aspects and functions (data, metadata, block size, etc.)
• Storage redundancy technologies (RAID, D-RAID, EC, etc.)
• Backup solutions (DMF, TSM, Veeam) and backup concepts
• Object Storage concepts and S3 service usage/implementation
• Automation tools and framework, including CI/CD processes and ecosystem (e.g., Gitlab CI, HashiCorp Vault)

Experience with the following is preferred, though there will be ample opportunities to learn and gain more experience with all of these skills on the job:

• Experience with parallel file systems (GPFS, Lustre)
• Experience with Ceph Storage Clusters
• Experience with versioning systems and CI/CD workflows such as ArgoCD
• Experience with physical server automated installation systems such as OpenCHAMI, MAAS, or Foreman
• Experience with developing Ansible configurations
• Experience developing services on top of Kubernetes

You should have a bachelor’s or higher degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, a relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

We offer:

In an organization that values autonomy, ownership and continuous learning, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to gain specialized hands-on experience through activities characterized by the challenging aspects typical of the HPC field.

Our core values as guiding principles:

• Curiosity: You enjoy learning, exploring new ideas, and understanding problems deeply.
• Openness: You listen, collaborate, and are receptive to different perspectives.
• Courage: You tackle challenging or ambiguous problems and are willing to take initiative.
• Supportiveness: You help colleagues and users succeed and contribute to a positive team culture.
• Integrity: You act honestly, ethically, and reliably in your work.

Our culture and benefits:

• We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive engineering team and particularly encourage applications from groups underrepresented in tech. If you are technically strong, curious, and eager to grow, we want to hear from you.
• At CSCS, being family-friendly is much more than a label. We provide flexible and supportive working conditions that help employees manage both their careers and family responsibilities. For example, one of our Lugano buildings hosts a childcare facility, and we provide financial support for up to 3 weeks of summer camp for primary school children. If your child is sick and you need assistance, we will even cover the cost of in-home childcare for our Lugano-based employees. We are proud to be a genuinely family-friendly employer and are committed to supporting our employees when they need it most.
• You can look forward to an exciting working environment, cultural diversity and attractive offers and benefits.
• Your job with impact: Become part of ETH Zurich, which not only supports your professional development, but also actively contributes to positive change in society.