New

HPC Systems Engineer

University of California - San Francisco

120,000- 196,000

United States, California, San Francisco

1855 Folsom Street (Show on map)

Jun 05, 2026

The CoreHPC team at UCSF is seeking an HPC Systems Engineer to play a key role in the development, maintenance, and day-to-day operations of the Institute's HPC clusters.

The HPC Systems Engineer will:

Apply advanced systems infrastructure concepts and skills to the operations and improvement of large-scale and highly complex research Cyber Infrastructure (CI) with unique computing, networking, and storage systems designed to address cutting-edge research problems
Apply their engineering and design skills to develop new CI solutions, to develop and enhance monitoring to maintain the integrity of CI systems.
Select methods, techniques and evaluation criteria to develop new CI solutions to address complex research problems.
Be an active member of the support and maintenance efforts for the CoreHPC cluster, resolving user issues, fixing technical problems, resolving outages, patching, and maintaining systems' uptime and availability.
Provides consultation, support, and guidance to researchers on how to address computational problems using standard tools, packages, and approaches.
Develop enhancements of monitoring to maintain the integrity of CI systems.
Participate in multiple technical projects simultaneously.
Applies working knowledge of security control frameworks to maintain the integrity of the CI systems and the research being performed on them.
Gives presentations to the associated team and other technical units.
Evaluates new technologies, including performing moderate to complex cost/benefit analyses.

This position may lead to cross-functional technical working groups and projects in support of onboarding research customers, or making systems improvements.

Department Overview

Academic Research Systems (ARS) serves the needs of the UCSF research community by providing an integrated repository of HIPAA-compliant clinical and life sciences data and a centralized, secure, professionally managed infrastructure for the storage and management of research data. ARS empowers medical scientific investigations by offering secure computing environments, data capture, management and analysis tools, and support services which meet researchers' needs.

The Core HPC team of the Academic Research Service (ARS) focuses on large-scale, high-performance computational and storage services for UCSF researchers so they can address complex computational, AI, and data science problems.

% of time	Essential Function (Yes/No)	Key Responsibilities (To be completed by Supervisor)
15		Applies advanced systems / infrastructure concepts to define, design, implement, and operate highly complex, research cyberinfrastructure systems, services and technology solutions. Proposes and implements highly complex system or device enhancements such as software, hardware and network configuration, updates and installations for projects or services of broad scope. Sets standards for monitoring and maintaining the health and integrity of CI systems including upgrading and patching.
15		Independently manages systems and services for a large facility, campuswide, medical center or Office of the President and / or institution-wide scope and makes recommendations for purchases or upgrades. Performs complex and advanced analysis to acquire, install, modify and support operating systems, databases, utilities and web-related tools. Selects methods and techniques to obtain solutions. Interacts with senior management. May perform complex network integration tasks and interoperability assessments for interconnected servers or components of clusters for communication. Support and collaborate with researchers and other key IT (e.g. network and security) and Data Center partners in a timely manner
15		Specifies, writes and executes highly complex software and scripts to support systems management, log analysis, monitoring, deployment, configuration management, and other system administration duties for multiple, highly integrated systems.
30		Provides consultation, training, support, and guidance to researchers enabling them to utilize HPC resources effectively.
10		Maintains complex security systems. Interprets and adopts campus, medical center or Office of the President, system and regulation-based security policies to control access to networked resources. Provides recommendations and requirements on network access controls.
5		Collaborates and may provide leadership with other Systems Engineers within the CI ecosystem/higher-education community. Regularly contribute best practices documentation, present at conferences, or publish in peer reviewed journals.
10		Define and track performance metrics to ensure efficient current and future use of cyber infrastructure resources.
100%		(To update total %, enter the amount of time in whole numbers (without the % symbol - e.g., 15, 20) then highlight the total sum (e.g., 1%) at the bottom of the column and press F9. The total sum should add up to 100%.)

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor's degree in a related area such as computer science or engineering, and 6+ years of experience with large-scale or HPC systems * or* 10+ years of related experience with large-scale or HPC systems
Expert knowledge of HPC systems infrastructure design
Strong knowledge of high-performance parallel filesystems and storage such as GPFS, Lustre, Vast, DDN, etc.
Advanced knowledge of computer security best practices and policies including demonstrated experience securing research cyberinfrastructure systems to meet NIST 800-171 / 800-223, HIPPA or IS-3 requirements
Demonstrated testing and test planning skills. Demonstrated ability to create automated testing.
Knowledge of HPC job scheduler system design and operation such as SLURM or PBS,
Demonstrated skill (5 years +) deploying, managing, and troubleshooting Warewulf (or similar) infiniband based clusters
Ability to elicit and communicate technical and non-technical information in a clear and concise manner.
Self-motivated and works independently and as part of a team. Demonstrates problem-solving skills. Able to learn effectively and meet deadlines.
Understanding of system performance monitoring and actions that can be taken to improve or correct performance.
Demonstrated advanced knowledge, skills and abilities associated with system problem identification and resolution. Experience with design, configuration, operation, repair, and tuning of technology systems.
Advanced experience writing and editing the most complex scripts used to perform system maintenance and administration.
Ability to write technical documentation in a clear and concise manner. Ability to develop runbooks defining complex technical processes in a clear and concise manner

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Knowledge of the design, development, and application of technology and systems to meet business needs.
General knowledge of other areas of IT. Thorough understanding of and experience with systems-related issues and actions that can be taken to improve or correct performance.
Demonstrated skills associated with adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs. Demonstrated comprehensive understanding of how system management actions affect other systems, system users and dependent/related functions.

About UCSF

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It is the only campus in the 10-campus UC system dedicated exclusively to the health sciences. We bring together the world's leading experts in nearly every area of health. We are home to five Nobel laureates who have advanced the understanding of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, aging and stem cells.

Pride Values

UCSF is a diverse community made of people with many skills and talents. We seek candidates whose work experience or community service has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity and excellence - also known as our PRIDE values.

In addition to our PRIDE values, UCSF is committed to equity - both in how we deliver care as well as our workforce. We are committed to building a broadly diverse community, nurturing a culture that is welcoming and supportive, and engaging diverse ideas for the provision of culturally competent education, discovery, and patient care. Additional information about UCSF is available here.

Join us to find a rewarding career contributing to improving healthcare worldwide.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of California 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, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

Salary Information

The final salary and offer components are subject to additional approvals based on UC policy.

Your placement within the salary range is dependent on a number of factors including your work experience and internal equity within this position classification at UCSF. For positions that are represented by a labor union, placement within the salary range will be guided by the rules in the collective bargaining agreement.

To learn more about the benefits of working at UCSF, including total compensation, please visit: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/index.html

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor's degree in a related area such as computer science or engineering, and 6+ years of experience with large-scale or HPC systems * or* 10+ years of related experience with large-scale or HPC systems
Expert knowledge of HPC systems infrastructure design
Strong knowledge of high-performance parallel filesystems and storage such as GPFS, Lustre, Vast, DDN, etc.
Advanced knowledge of computer security best practices and policies including demonstrated experience securing research cyberinfrastructure systems to meet NIST 800-171 / 800-223, HIPPA or IS-3 requirements
Demonstrated testing and test planning skills. Demonstrated ability to create automated testing.
Knowledge of HPC job scheduler system design and operation such as SLURM or PBS,
Demonstrated skill (5 years +) deploying, managing, and troubleshooting Warewulf (or similar) infiniband based clusters
Ability to elicit and communicate technical and non-technical information in a clear and concise manner.
Self-motivated and works independently and as part of a team. Demonstrates problem-solving skills. Able to learn effectively and meet deadlines.
Understanding of system performance monitoring and actions that can be taken to improve or correct performance.
Demonstrated advanced knowledge, skills and abilities associated with system problem identification and resolution. Experience with design, configuration, operation, repair, and tuning of technology systems.
Advanced experience writing and editing the most complex scripts used to perform system maintenance and administration.
Ability to write technical documentation in a clear and concise manner. Ability to develop runbooks defining complex technical processes in a clear and concise manner

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Knowledge of the design, development, and application of technology and systems to meet business needs.
General knowledge of other areas of IT. Thorough understanding of and experience with systems-related issues and actions that can be taken to improve or correct performance.
Demonstrated skills associated with adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs. Demonstrated comprehensive understanding of how system management actions affect other systems, system users and dependent/related functions.