Systems Administrator

Competition 1591

This position is a part of the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA).       

This competition is open to all applicants however; internal candidates and applicants who were former employees of the University of Alberta in the past 18 months will be given priority consideration before external candidates. Please log in to verify your internal candidate status.

This position offers a comprehensive benefits package which can be viewed at: Faculty & Staff Benefits.

Location - This role is hybrid with a mix of remote and in-person at North Campus, Edmonton.

Working at the University of Alberta

The University of Alberta acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 6 territory, and respects the histories, languages and cultures of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and all First Peoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community.

The University of Alberta is a community of knowledge seekers, change makers and world shapers who lead with purpose each and every day. We are home to over 14,000 faculty and staff, more than 40,000 students and a growing community of 300,000 alumni worldwide.

Your work will have a meaningful influence on a fascinating cross-section of people — from our students and community members, to our renowned researchers and innovators, making discoveries and generating solutions that make the world healthier, safer, stronger and more just. Learn more.

Working for the Department

Information Services & Technology (IST) is the central support group for the university's technological landscape. IST plays a pivotal role in ensuring the evolution and smooth operation of technology for teaching, learning, research and working at the University of Alberta. Beyond having expansive technical expertise, IST fosters a supportive environment where our staff values include compassion, connection, collaboration, creativity and courage. If you are passionate about leveraging technology to empower education, research and to drive institutional excellence, join us and be part of shaping the future of the University of Alberta through innovative IT solutions.

Position 

Reporting to the Director of Digital Research Services, this Systems Administrator will participate in the technical operation of the Pan-Canadian AI Compute Environment – West (PAICE-W), a digital research platform facilitating AI and Machine Learning (ML) research. The PAICE-W system will comprise GPU-rich cluster computing and fast storage to fulfill requirements for these research fields. The individual will work most specifically with another PAICE-W Systems Administrator, other University ofAlberta Research Computing colleagues, other UAlberta staff in Information Services & Technology (IST), Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) staff, Digital Research Alliance of Canada (Alliance) staff, and the staff of other Canadian PAICE sites to ensure a secure, robust research environment for AI/ML researchers. Implementation of security policies and procedures on the PAICE-W will be a responsibility, and working with University and Alliance staff to implement security standards will be required.

Duties  

• (70%) Participate in operations of high-performance digital research equipment to ensure security, effective capability for research, and efficient operation. Automation of standard procedures to minimize human configuration errors will be expected. Documentation of configurations of the cluster and storage, as well as security overall will be critical aspects.
• (15%) Monitor system security through logs and configuration controls. Troubleshoot aberrations and conduct root cause analyses.
• (10%) Train researchers on how to use this environment and on best practices to ensure they use the system effectively and efficiently. Collaborate with other trainers in the development and delivery of this training.
• (5%) Maintain necessary vendor relationships to ensure appropriate vendor support of warrantied computational and storage equipment.
• Other duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

• The minimum education required is a Bachelor’s degree that provides a background in using computing environments for research.
• Knowledge of Linux systems from a systems operations perspective is required, including computer and network security knowledge.
• Knowledge of programming languages and scripting languages is required.

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience using high-performance computing (HPC) systems and research software commonly installed on such systems.
• Experience maintaining high-performance computing (HPC) systems and research software commonly installed on such systems.
• Knowledge of how to use HPC schedulers such as Slurm.
• Experience with AI/ML.