Research Compute Support Specialist

Mississippi State University (MS) • Starkville, MS

46d

About The Position

Mississippi State University invites applications for the position of Research Compute Support Specialist (RCSS). This is an early career position designed for scientists and engineers to develop skills in high performance computing to support the scientific research community. This position liaises and supports faculty and researchers, translating domain needs into software solutions that drive discovery within and across disciplines. This role sits at the intersection of research and advanced software design. The RCSS engages with faculty across the university to support their access to computing resources and their ability to effectively use high performance computing (HPC) technologies to solve their specific research challenges. This position is for a domain-trained graduate in an engineering or science discipline with minimal prior experience applying HPC to domain-specific problems but a desire to learn. The RCSS will be expected to spend the first year developing their knowledge of high-performance computing and software development skills, working with researchers designing solutions, and collaborating with external partners. This position is supported by grant funding and is time limited.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in STEM field
• Knowledge of computational approaches to solving problems in their field.
• Introductory awareness of at least one programming language relevant to HPC and/or Data Science applications (e.g. C/C++, Python, R, …).
• Good communication skills with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong desire to learn new skills and apply them to challenging situations.

Nice To Haves

• Demonstrated experience in translating research needs into software solutions.
• Familiarity with research domains central to MSU's mission.
• Some technical depth in areas such as HPC integration, distributed computing, GPU programming, workflow automation, reproducible computing environments (e.g., Jupyter notebooks, containerization, CI/CD), and data pipeline engineering.
• Experience with open-source communities, software sustainability practices, and modern DevOps frameworks (e.g. container orchestration, Kubernetes, microservices).
• Knowledge of compliance frameworks and secure research environments.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a technical bridge between domain researchers and highly specialized computing infrastructure, translating scientific workflows and data analysis pipelines into HPC solutions.
• Provide consultation and collaboration to researchers on grant proposals involving computational resources, enabling research teams to compete successfully for external funding.
• Deliver specialized training programs for researchers, both remotely and on-site, tailored to advanced scientific applications.
• Collaborate with internal teams to provide structured feedback on customer needs, contributing to product development and technical documentation.
• Author and maintain training resources, including technical guides, scientific protocols, and knowledgebase content.
• Participate in cross-functional projects, such as workflow optimization and the integration of AI/ML-based image analysis tools.
• Co-develop software components and applications to support ongoing research efforts.
• Mentor graduate and undergraduate students pursuing careers in computing; offering hands-on experience and training opportunities, while promoting research computing as a professional career track.
• Work with HPC leadership to ensure research compute solutions and services integrate effectively with MSU high performance computing infrastructure and secure research environments.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Industry: Educational Services
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees