DIRECTOR, HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute•San Diego, CA

5d•$135,641 - $195,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Sanford Burnham Prebys is much more than a research facility and hub for innovation; it’s a vibrant global community of talented scientists and researchers from over 30 countries. This worldwide representation enriches our perspectives and enhances our creative approach to solving complex scientific challenges. We strive to be leaders not only in biomedical research but also in creating an environment where excellence thrives through collaboration across cultures and backgrounds. Our mission is to advance the biomedical sciences by cultivating the next generation of scientific leaders, providing meaningful opportunities for researchers of all backgrounds to learn, innovate, and make breakthrough discoveries that improve human health. Together, we translate science into health. The duties and responsibilities contained in the job description are intended to be examples of the accountabilities for which the person in the position will demonstrate competency through performance. The job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list. Duties and responsibilities are subject to change and other duties may be assigned as necessary. Position Summary: The Director of High-Performance Computing (HPC) will lead both the strategy and day-to-day operations of the Institute’s research computing environment. This role is responsible for delivering a reliable, responsive, and scalable HPC platform that directly supports faculty research, accelerates scientific discovery, and adapts to evolving computational needs. The Director will oversee HPC as a shared institutional resource, ensuring that faculty and research teams have consistent, high-quality access to computing services. The role will also implement a transparent and sustainable cost recovery model, enabling the Institute to support expanding computational demand through grant-funded research.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, Data Science, Computational Science, or a related technical discipline.
10+ years of experience in HPC, research computing, or large-scale infrastructure
Experience operating shared services with recharge/cost recovery models preferred
Experience collaborating with central IT organizations in complex environments
Supervision of staff and/or project teams
Demonstrated ability to lead both HPC strategy and hands-on operations in a research environment
Clear understanding of cloud-based, on-prem and co-lo HPC environments
Strong expertise in HPC architecture (compute, storage, networking)
Familiarity with federal grant cost principles (OMB Uniform Guidance) preferred
Proven ability to manage and develop technical teams
Strong communication skills with the ability to translate technical concepts into research impact

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in a related field preferred.
Experience operating shared services with recharge/cost recovery models preferred
Familiarity with federal grant cost principles (OMB Uniform Guidance) preferred

Responsibilities

Oversee and be accountable for day-to-day HPC operations, ensuring high availability, performance, and reliability
Ensure faculty have consistent, timely access to computing resources critical to their research workflows
Establish and manage service levels (SLAs) aligned with grant timelines and research priorities
Implement monitoring, incident response, and continuous improvement processes to support stable and predictable operations
Develop and oversee user support services, including onboarding, training, and troubleshooting for faculty and labs
Manage capacity allocation and workload prioritization to reflect research impact and time-sensitive projects
Continuously improve system performance, usability, and accessibility from a researcher’s perspective
Develop and execute a research-driven HPC strategy and multi-year roadmap aligned with faculty priorities and institutional growth
Engage faculty to anticipate emerging computational needs (e.g., AI/ML, genomics, large-scale data analysis) and translate these into infrastructure and service requirements
Evaluate and recommend future-state architecture, including on-premise, cloud, and hybrid computing models
Ensure HPC capabilities evolve to support increasing scale, complexity, and competitiveness of grant-funded research
Define long-term investment priorities, capacity planning, and technology lifecycle strategies
Partner with Finance and leadership to align strategy with sustainable funding and recharge models
Benchmark HPC capabilities against peer institutions to ensure competitiveness and research enablement
Identify and enact (jointly with faculty and other stakeholders) creative funding strategic to maximize HPC capacities
Build, manage, and mentor a high-performing HPC team
Supervise staff responsible for system administration, storage, and user support
Clearly define ownership for operations, support, and infrastructure components
Foster a culture of service, accountability, and responsiveness to faculty needs
Partner closely with central IT to ensure HPC services integrate seamlessly with the broader technology environment used by faculty
Coordinate on infrastructure critical to research workflows, including: High-speed networking for large data transfers, Secure and accessible storage systems, Identity and access management for research teams, Backup and data protection services
Align with institutional cybersecurity and data governance standards while ensuring ease of use for researchers
Serve as a bridge between faculty computing needs and enterprise IT capabilities
Build strong relationships with directors, faculty, lab managers, and research staff
Be a trusted advisor helping researchers optimize HPC usage for scientific outcomes
Gather and incorporate faculty feedback into service improvements and operational priorities
Ensure HPC services directly contribute to research productivity, grant success, and scientific output
Evaluate technologies that improve research performance and operational efficiency
Oversee vendor relationships and ensure cost-effective solutions
Assess cloud and hybrid HPC options to support both burst capacity and long-term scaling
Perform other related tasks, duties and responsibilities as required, assigned or directed.