The University of Chicago
HPC System Security Engineer
The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60290
Department and Overview
Provost Research Computing Center (RCC)
is a unit in the Office of Research that provides high‑end research computing resources to researchers at the University of Chicago. RCC delivers centrally managed high‑performance computing (HPC), storage, and visualization resources, along with user support and training to enable full use of modern HPC technology and national supercomputing resources. Job Summary
This position designs automated, scalable, and rapidly deployable solutions for systems infrastructure and server configuration. The role installs, configures, and maintains operating systems, monitoring and alerting systems, utility software, and firewalls, while executing hands‑on maintenance for production Windows and Linux servers. The HPC Systems Security Engineer operates, maintains, secures, and ensures compliance of large‑scale complex HPC systems primarily used for research. Responsibilities
Design, deploy, configure, and administer HPC clusters, including compute nodes, storage infrastructure, interconnects (e.g., InfiniBand), and related systems. Develop, maintain, and enforce security procedures and system documentation for operational and compliance purposes. Implement infrastructure and security monitoring and detection systems to identify failures, unusual activity, and respond to automated alerts. Tune, secure, and maintain the HPC job scheduling environment, including fair‑sharing, accounting, and policy enforcement. Troubleshoot and resolve operational, performance, and security‑related issues across HPC hardware and software stacks; coordinate with vendors to address defects, vulnerabilities, and performance issues; assist the Computational Scientists team with user support and helpdesk tickets, including elevated support for security‑protected environments. Implement and maintain secure and reliable backup, archival, disaster recovery, and restore capabilities for systems and research data. Perform vulnerability scanning, patch management, system, and firmware updates across the infrastructure. Maintain complex system and network administration functions as guided; assist in administration of larger systems. Maintain documentation for operating system, hardware, and software configuration; monitor and respond to IT security incidents and violations; keep current with new security and monitoring technologies, applicable laws and regulations. Perform other related work as needed. Minimum Qualifications
College or university degree in a related field. 2–5 years of work experience in a related discipline. Preferred Qualifications
Linux system administration experience in a large, distributed computing environment. Demonstrated experience and knowledge of system security and best practices. Technical Skills or Knowledge
Linux administration (RHEL). Scripting with Python or Bash. Job scheduler administration (Slurm, Torque, PBS, LSF). Automation tools (Ansible, Puppet, Chef, Salt). Provisioning tools (xCAT, Confluent, Warewulf). Monitoring tools (CheckMK, Zabbix, Nagios). Frameworks and federal regulations (HIPAA, FISMA, NIST CSF). Controls required to protect controlled unclassified information (NIST 800‑53, 800‑171, 800‑223, FIPS). Distributed storage systems (Storage Scale, Lustre, Gluster, BeeGFS, Ceph). InfiniBand knowledge. Precise and concise documentation, SOPs. Preferred Competencies
Translate researchers’ scientific goals into computational requirements. Work well with faculty and researchers. Identify and gain expertise in new technologies and software tools. Collaborate as part of an interactive team with self‑initiative to achieve project goals and RCC mission. Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills. Application Documents
Resume or CV (required). Cover letter (preferred). Pay
Salary range: $91,800.00 – $116,000.00. Equal Opportunity Employer Statement
The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University’s Notice of Nondiscrimination.
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Provost Research Computing Center (RCC)
is a unit in the Office of Research that provides high‑end research computing resources to researchers at the University of Chicago. RCC delivers centrally managed high‑performance computing (HPC), storage, and visualization resources, along with user support and training to enable full use of modern HPC technology and national supercomputing resources. Job Summary
This position designs automated, scalable, and rapidly deployable solutions for systems infrastructure and server configuration. The role installs, configures, and maintains operating systems, monitoring and alerting systems, utility software, and firewalls, while executing hands‑on maintenance for production Windows and Linux servers. The HPC Systems Security Engineer operates, maintains, secures, and ensures compliance of large‑scale complex HPC systems primarily used for research. Responsibilities
Design, deploy, configure, and administer HPC clusters, including compute nodes, storage infrastructure, interconnects (e.g., InfiniBand), and related systems. Develop, maintain, and enforce security procedures and system documentation for operational and compliance purposes. Implement infrastructure and security monitoring and detection systems to identify failures, unusual activity, and respond to automated alerts. Tune, secure, and maintain the HPC job scheduling environment, including fair‑sharing, accounting, and policy enforcement. Troubleshoot and resolve operational, performance, and security‑related issues across HPC hardware and software stacks; coordinate with vendors to address defects, vulnerabilities, and performance issues; assist the Computational Scientists team with user support and helpdesk tickets, including elevated support for security‑protected environments. Implement and maintain secure and reliable backup, archival, disaster recovery, and restore capabilities for systems and research data. Perform vulnerability scanning, patch management, system, and firmware updates across the infrastructure. Maintain complex system and network administration functions as guided; assist in administration of larger systems. Maintain documentation for operating system, hardware, and software configuration; monitor and respond to IT security incidents and violations; keep current with new security and monitoring technologies, applicable laws and regulations. Perform other related work as needed. Minimum Qualifications
College or university degree in a related field. 2–5 years of work experience in a related discipline. Preferred Qualifications
Linux system administration experience in a large, distributed computing environment. Demonstrated experience and knowledge of system security and best practices. Technical Skills or Knowledge
Linux administration (RHEL). Scripting with Python or Bash. Job scheduler administration (Slurm, Torque, PBS, LSF). Automation tools (Ansible, Puppet, Chef, Salt). Provisioning tools (xCAT, Confluent, Warewulf). Monitoring tools (CheckMK, Zabbix, Nagios). Frameworks and federal regulations (HIPAA, FISMA, NIST CSF). Controls required to protect controlled unclassified information (NIST 800‑53, 800‑171, 800‑223, FIPS). Distributed storage systems (Storage Scale, Lustre, Gluster, BeeGFS, Ceph). InfiniBand knowledge. Precise and concise documentation, SOPs. Preferred Competencies
Translate researchers’ scientific goals into computational requirements. Work well with faculty and researchers. Identify and gain expertise in new technologies and software tools. Collaborate as part of an interactive team with self‑initiative to achieve project goals and RCC mission. Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills. Application Documents
Resume or CV (required). Cover letter (preferred). Pay
Salary range: $91,800.00 – $116,000.00. Equal Opportunity Employer Statement
The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University’s Notice of Nondiscrimination.
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