Overview

The Integrated Discovery Sciences Directorate (IDSD) leads fundamental research across biology, chemistry, Earth and environmental sciences, materials science, advanced computing, artificial intelligence, quantum information science, mathematics, autonomy, and DOE national user facilities. Our vision is to accelerate scientific discovery by observing, understanding, simulating, predicting, and controlling dynamic biotic-abiotic processes and interactions within complex biological, chemical, material, and Earth systems. We intentionally connect disciplines to advance fundamental discovery science, develop transformative scientific capabilities, and address the nation's most important challenges in energy, environmental resilience, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, health, and national security.

The Environmental Molecular Sciences Division is comprised of 18 interdisciplinary research teams focused on deciphering molecular-level interactions driving biological and environmental processes across temporal and spatial scales. Through computational analysis and modeling, these findings contribute to predictive understanding of how systems respond to environmental perturbations thus enabling solutions to the nation's energy, environmental, and human health challenges. The division also manages the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus that accelerates the research of scientists around the world by providing access to world-class expertise, instrumentation, and computational resources.

EMSL is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility that provides innovative and breakthrough experimental and computational science supporting DOE Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) programs by offering access to more than 75 state of the art instrumental and high performance computing capabilities.

Responsibilities

We are seeking a Linux Systems Engineer to operate and expand the Computing and Data Operations (CDO) Linux infrastructure and high performance computing clusters that support EMSL's scientific instruments. This role covers hands on hardware work, Linux systems management, configuration automation, and Slurm based cluster operations across CDO's compute clusters (Tahoma and Boreal) and storage systems, including Ceph, VastData, BeeGFS, Lustre, and the Aurora/HPSS archive. The ideal candidate brings strong experience with on premises or hybrid Linux environments, modern automation tooling, and the ability to work collaboratively within a small, mission focused engineering team.

• Install, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Linux servers (RHEL/Rocky and derivatives) across CDO's HPC clusters and EMSL support infrastructure, including bare-metal provisioning.
• Administer HPC cluster operations on Tahoma and Boreal, including Slurm scheduler configuration, node provisioning with Warewulf, InfiniBand networking, and hardware diagnostics.
• Develop and maintain automation using Ansible, including playbooks, roles, and configuration pipelines.
• Support and understanding of large-scale storage systems (Ceph, VastData, BeeGFS, Lustre, and the Aurora/HPSS archive) underlying HPC compute and EMSL instrument data.
• Work with DevOps tooling and workflows to ensure reliable software and infrastructure deployments (GitLab CI/CD, Git-based workflows).
• Participate in on-call or rotational support for mission-critical systems.
• Monitor compute, storage, and network health using tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, Nagios, and ELK.
• Assist with containerized workloads (Docker, Kubernetes) where applicable to HPC operational workflows.
• Perform hands-on hardware work on-site - racking, cabling, component replacement, and diagnostics - as a regular part of data center operations.
• Document processes, procedures, and checklists to ensure operational consistency across environments.
• Collaborate closely with development, research, and infrastructure teams to improve cluster performance, reliability, and automation.

This position requires onsite work a minimum of three days per week. Regular hands on hardware work, including racking, cabling, component replacement, and diagnostics in the data center, is a core and ongoing part of this role. No security clearance is required.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• BS/BA and 2 years of relevant experience -OR-
• MS/MA -OR-
• PhD

Preferred Qualifications:

• Degree in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, or a related field.
• Strong Linux administration background including installation, patching, tuning, and troubleshooting.
• Hands on automation experience with Ansible (YAML, roles, playbooks) or other system configuration tool.
• Experience with virtualization technologies or cloud platforms (VirtualBox, Proxmox, AWS, Azure), or hybrid deployments.
• Experience with Databases such as MySQL, MariaDB, Postgres, or MongoDB.
• Scripting skills (bash, Python).
• Comfort and physical ability to perform hands-on server hardware work - diagnostics, firmware updates, racking, and cabling - on-site in a data center environment.
• Familiarity with GitLab CI or Github Actions and Git-centric workflows.
• Basic knowledge of containerization (Docker/Kubernetes) used in DevOps and ML/HPC contexts.
• Experience deploying or supporting HPC systems or large Linux installations.
• Experience administering an HPC job scheduler (Slurm preferred).
• Experience with bare-metal provisioning tools such as xCAT or Warewulf.
• Experience using linux system packaging tools to deploy, remove, and package software.
• Experience with large-scale storage systems such as Ceph, VastData, Lustre, BeeGFS, or HPSS.
• Experience building dashboards, alerting, or automation on top of monitoring stacks such as Prometheus, Grafana, or ELK.
• Experience collaborating with AI on scripting, software development, and/or system administration work.

Hazardous Working Conditions/Environment

Not applicable.

Testing Designated Position

This is not a Testing Designated Position (TDP).

Rockstar Rewards

Employees and their families are offered medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, robust telehealth care options, several mental health benefits, free wellness coaching, health savings account, flexible spending accounts, basic life insurance, disability insurance*, employee assistance program, business travel insurance, tuition assistance, relocation, backup childcare, legal benefits, supplemental parental bonding leave, surrogacy and adoption assistance, and fertility support. Employees are automatically enrolled in our company-funded pension plan* and may enroll in our 401 (k) savings plan with company match*. Employees may accrue up to 120 vacation hours per year and may receive ten paid holidays per year.

* Research Associates excluded.

**All benefits are dependent upon eligibility.

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Notice to Applicants

PNNL lists the full pay range for the position in the job posting. Starting pay is calculated from the minimum of the pay range and actual placement in the range is determined based on an individual's relevant job-related skills, qualifications, and experience. This approach is applicable to all positions, with the exception of positions governed by collective bargaining agreements and certain limited-term positions which have specific pay rules.

As part of our commitment to fair compensation practices, we do not ask for or consider current or past salaries in making compensation offers at hire. Instead, our compensation offers are determined by the specific requirements of the position, prevailing market trends, applicable collective bargaining agreements, pay equity for the position type, and individual qualifications and skills relevant to the performance of the position.

Minimum Salary

USD $89,300.00/Yr.
Maximum Salary

USD $131,200.00/Yr.