Job Description

This position works remotely with occasional onsite presence in San Francisco as required.

This role serves as the authoritative architect and strategic advisor responsible for the design, standards-setting, and lifecycle strategy of storage and data infrastructure supporting the Facility for Advanced Computing (FAC) and broader UCSF research initiatives. The position is responsible for architecting scalable, high-performance storage solutions that integrate seamlessly with UCSF's FAC Compute & CoreHPC environment and research platforms.

The incumbent applies advanced IT architecture concepts to support large-scale, data-intensive research across AI, data science, clinical, and computational domains. This includes evaluating emerging technologies, defining long-term storage strategies, and ensuring alignment with institutional priorities for security, compliance, and performance.

This position operates within Central IT / Academic Research Services (ARS) and functions as a principal architect and institutional authority for FAC storage systems.

The role partners closely with the Senior Research DevOps Engineer and cross-functional teams to define architectural standards and guide the design of large-scale storage environments supporting CoreHPC, the Research Analysis Environment (RAE), and OS Nexus-aligned data platforms.

The incumbent will:

• Lead the architecture and evolution of FAC storage systems across on-premises and hybrid environments
• Define integration architecture and standards between storage platforms and FAC Compute & HPC infrastructure, providing technical direction to engineering staff responsible for implementation
• Establish architectural standards and requirements that ensure scalable, reliable, and high-performance data access for research workloads
• Provide technical leadership in storage strategy, long-term system design, and architecture governance

Department Overview:

This position will be housed within the Central IT, which provides architecture, infrastructure, network, security, analytics, integration, and application support services and is essential to the organization's ability to support growth, mitigate security risk, and manage, store and share sensitive information.

Responsibilities

of time

Essential Function (Yes/No)

Key Responsibilities

(To be completed by Supervisor)

25
YesLead the design, and strategic evolution of large-scale storage systems, including VAST, ZFS filesystems, and enterprise storage platforms. Define standards for performance, scalability, and resilience, and provide architectural direction to engineering staff responsible for deployment and operations.
25
Define the reference architecture and strategic framework for large-scale data ingestion. Establish architectural standards and requirements for disaster recovery and backup solutions, guiding engineering staff responsible for implementation and ongoing operations.
10
Define the integration architecture between FAC storage systems and CoreHPC compute infrastructure. Establish performance requirements and architectural guardrails for I/O throughput and latency to support AI/ML and distributed research workloads.
10
Define capacity planning frameworks and architecture-level performance standards for storage systems. Serve as escalation resource for complex cross-domain technical issues that require architectural judgment. Advise on system evolution, lifecycle transitions, and expansion strategies, setting direction for upgrades and long-term platform growth.
10
Partner with research leaders and technical teams to translate complex research computing needs into long-term architectural solutions. Advise on data workflow design, storage strategy, and emerging infrastructure approaches aligned with institutional research priorities.
10
Develop and maintain architecture documentation, reference designs, and institutional standards - including architecture decision records (ADRs) and strategic roadmaps - to guide engineering teams and inform institutional planning.
10
Serve as a strategic advisor and architectural authority across DevOps, networking, and security domains for research infrastructure. Lead technology evaluation efforts, define proof-of-concept criteria, and recommend emerging storage architectures that align with UCSF's long-term research mission.
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%.)

Qualifications

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, or a related engineering field, or equivalent practical experience.
• A minimum of four (4) years of demonstrated experience supporting the IT and data needs of research/clinical informatics
• Working knowledge of information security best practices and demonstrated commitment to information security. Knowledge of software, database, infrastructure, or other IT functions. Knowledge relating to the design and development of research tools, infrastructure, and data.
• Familiarity with compliance regulations in security and healthcare IT environments (NIST, HIPAA, HITRUST, PCI, etc.)
• Demonstrated ability to create and maintain architecture documentation, including design standards, reference architectures, architecture decision records (ADRs), and strategic roadmaps.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business needs into long-term architecture solutions in a matrixed environment. Expertise relating to the design and development of software across the organization.
• Demonstrated effective communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate technical information to technical and non-technical personnel at various levels in the organization
• Ability to understand research business needs and how research systems and enterprise architectures can support those needs
• Knowledge of other related areas of IT. Ability to apply department processes and procedures to work.
• Ability to understand business needs and how business systems can support those needs.
• Demonstrated ability to work with others from diverse backgrounds.
• Self-motivated and works independently and as part of a team. Demonstrates problem-solving skills. Able to learn effectively and meet deadlines.
• Advanced knowledge of data storage, processing, and analysis, and how they are used in administrative, medical, and/or academic endeavors.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Certifications in Compute and Storage areas.
• Familiarity with Enterprise Research systems and services, experience with Cloud Service Providers (e.g., Amazon Web Services, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform)
• Thorough knowledge of other areas of IT including business process methodologies and analysis techniques, including deep understanding of and experience with the full software development lifecycle (SDLC) including Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, etc.
• May require skills in web software, web software language, and object-oriented software concepts. May require knowledge of network protocols and how they are used on a large (campus / medical center / OP-wide, institution-wide or beyond) network. May require advanced knowledge of data storage, processing analysis and visualization technologies and how they are used in administrative and / or academic endeavors at a large, top-tier research university or medical center.
• Experience setting up or developing in a cloud environment and focused on research tools.
• Experience with the integration of complex, diverse, internally and externally developed implementations of business functions to build scalable systems.

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

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