DMS - Sci Info Services - Sci Info - Systems Administrator IV

Associated Universities Inc•CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA

1d•$80,000 - $115,000•Onsite

About The Position

Position Summary The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a prestigious research and development organization that plays a vital role in the study of the universe. The Observatory is a hub for technological and scientific collaboration, operating state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. The NRAO also host conferences and workshops, providing opportunities to exchange ideas and expertise as well as build partnerships. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory seeks an experienced Systems Administrator (Level III or IV, based on qualifications) to join the Science Information Services Operations Group. This senior role combines deep systems expertise with operational ownership, and direct contribution to mission-critical science delivery. The position is based in Charlottesville, VA. What You Will be Doing: Contribute to the implementation, and lifecycle management of RHEL-based systems supporting data processing and archival of science data flows. Provide support for the systems managing the scientific data flow coming from the Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) in Santiago, Chile, to the North American ALMA Science Center, located at NRAO Headquarters in Charlottesville. Perform deployments of the ALMA software in our Docker environments in coordination with JAO and the other ALMA Regional Centers (ARC). Perform deployments of CASA software package. Monitor the data flow, storage capabilities and performance of the archive and pipeline systems. Develop and maintain automation tools in Python and SQL to monitor data pipeline health, generate operational metrics, and trigger reliable alerts. Provide weekly health reports. Serve as Level-3 escalation for production incidents; conduct root-cause analysis, author post-mortem reports, and implement preventive measures. Triage and resolve escalated support tickets, providing timely, astronomer-facing status communications during incidents. Participate in agile development cycles (2-week sprints, daily stand-ups, Jira/Confluence) to deliver measurable improvements in stakeholder projects. Contribute to the NRAO Common Computing Environment (CCE) initiative for cross-site standardization and knowledge transfer. Travel occasionally to NRAO sites, including the Very Large Array (VLA), Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, and international operations centers. Work Environment Work is typically performed in an office environment. The successful candidate Must be able to lift 25 lbs, climb stairs, and occasionally work at moderate altitudes (up to 7,000 ft / 2,134 m at the VLA site). Who You Are: You have a Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, astronomy, physics, or equivalent professional experience. You are a seasoned Linux systems administrator with at least four years of progressive responsibility in mission-critical or scientific computing environments. While not required you may have; Direct experience with high-data-rate scientific pipelines (radio astronomy, genomics, earth observation, or similar). Working knowledge of VictoriaMetrics, Ceph, SLURM, Prometheus/Grafana/Loki stacks. Familiarity with both agile (Scrum/Kanban) and traditional waterfall project methodologies. Familiarity with the Next Generation Archive System (NGAS) software is a plus. Competency Summary Strong communication skills (written and verbal); ability to remain calm while supporting demanding clients; analytical thinker; ability to learn new systems quickly. Exceptional skill in troubleshooting complex data flows. Expert in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8/9; RHCE or RHCA certification strongly preferred. Proficient in modern infrastructure automation and orchestration: Ansible Automation Platform (playbooks, collections, Execution Environments) Production container platforms (Mainly Docker Swarm. Kubernetes/OpenShift is a plus) Skilled in Python 3 automation and SQL (Oracle) for monitoring, reporting, and system health. Experienced with Telegraf, Prometheus, and alerting systems in operational settings. Experience with astronomical archive systems is an advantage. Ability to work closely coordinated with a geographically distributed team. A clear communicator capable of translating complex technical conditions into concise updates for astronomers, project leads, and senior management. Observatory employees must be authorized to work in the United States. The Observatory presently cannot sponsor H-1B Visas for this position

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, astronomy, physics, or equivalent professional experience.
Seasoned Linux systems administrator with at least four years of progressive responsibility in mission-critical or scientific computing environments.
Strong communication skills (written and verbal); ability to remain calm while supporting demanding clients; analytical thinker; ability to learn new systems quickly.
Exceptional skill in troubleshooting complex data flows.
Expert in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8/9; RHCE or RHCA certification strongly preferred.
Proficient in modern infrastructure automation and orchestration: Ansible Automation Platform (playbooks, collections, Execution Environments) Production container platforms (Mainly Docker Swarm. Kubernetes/OpenShift is a plus)
Skilled in Python 3 automation and SQL (Oracle) for monitoring, reporting, and system health.
Experienced with Telegraf, Prometheus, and alerting systems in operational settings.
Ability to work closely coordinated with a geographically distributed team.
A clear communicator capable of translating complex technical conditions into concise updates for astronomers, project leads, and senior management.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with high-data-rate scientific pipelines (radio astronomy, genomics, earth observation, or similar).
Working knowledge of VictoriaMetrics, Ceph, SLURM, Prometheus/Grafana/Loki stacks.
Familiarity with both agile (Scrum/Kanban) and traditional waterfall project methodologies.
Familiarity with the Next Generation Archive System (NGAS) software is a plus.
Experience with astronomical archive systems is an advantage.

Responsibilities

Contribute to the implementation, and lifecycle management of RHEL-based systems supporting data processing and archival of science data flows.
Provide support for the systems managing the scientific data flow coming from the Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) in Santiago, Chile, to the North American ALMA Science Center, located at NRAO Headquarters in Charlottesville.
Perform deployments of the ALMA software in our Docker environments in coordination with JAO and the other ALMA Regional Centers (ARC).
Perform deployments of CASA software package.
Monitor the data flow, storage capabilities and performance of the archive and pipeline systems.
Develop and maintain automation tools in Python and SQL to monitor data pipeline health, generate operational metrics, and trigger reliable alerts.
Provide weekly health reports.
Serve as Level-3 escalation for production incidents; conduct root-cause analysis, author post-mortem reports, and implement preventive measures.
Triage and resolve escalated support tickets, providing timely, astronomer-facing status communications during incidents.
Participate in agile development cycles (2-week sprints, daily stand-ups, Jira/Confluence) to deliver measurable improvements in stakeholder projects.
Contribute to the NRAO Common Computing Environment (CCE) initiative for cross-site standardization and knowledge transfer.
Travel occasionally to NRAO sites, including the Very Large Array (VLA), Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, and international operations centers.