Winterover Experiment Operator

University of Wisconsin Madison•Madison, WI

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Winterover Experiment Operator deploys to the South Pole for an estimated 13 months and performs a range of technical and community duties. Technical work includes operating and maintaining IceCube detector subsystems and complex computer data systems, uploading research data via satellite to the Northern Hemisphere, diagnosing and resolving detector-electronics problems, and providing hardware and software support. The role also includes preparing weekly collaboration reports and monthly reports for the National Science Foundation, contributing to Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center outreach, documenting and supporting research cyberinfrastructure, and providing expertise for research proposals and cyberinfrastructure projects. Winterovers are members of a small, isolated South Pole community for eight months of the year. Community responsibilities include participating in emergency response activities, such as fire or trauma teams, kitchen duties, general cleaning, and station opening and closing tasks. The role requires attendance at the NSF contractor orientation program and successful completion of physical and psychological evaluations for work at polar and high-altitude sites. Vaccination is required as specified by the NSF Office of Polar Programs.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree.
Experience with Linux/Unix operating systems, including configuring core services and network management.
Experience writing scripts for system diagnostics and/or task automation, such as Bash, Python, or Perl.
Ability to take initiative and work as a self-starter.
Excellent communication and organization skills.
Must pass physical and psychological evaluations to work at polar and high-altitude sites and meet vaccination requirements set by the NSF Office of Polar Programs.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree or Ph.D. in engineering, physics, computer science, or information technology, with at least 3 years of professional, job-related work experience; alternatively, a bachelor's degree with at least 5 years of such experience.
Experience with operational procedures for scientific instruments or industrial equipment.
Knowledge of computer systems security methodology and experience with host-based security tools.
High-performance computing hardware maintenance and debugging skills.
Experience with data storage products such as RAID disk arrays.
Understanding of TCP/IP networking.
Familiarity with configuration management systems such as Puppet, Ansible, or Chef.
Experience with centralized IT monitoring solutions such as Nagios, CheckMK, or Zabbix.
Ability to use standard laboratory equipment such as oscilloscopes and digital multimeters.
General electronics debugging and repair skills.
Experience working at polar or high-altitude sites and remote locations.

Responsibilities

Write and update documentation and tutorials supporting research cyberinfrastructure activities; may provide brief courses for internal researchers and external collaborators.
Participate in station emergency response team activities, general station cleaning, and other station activities as required by ASC/NSF.
Develop unique and custom cyberinfrastructure solutions for research needs.
Lead troubleshooting, analysis, operation, and support of advanced computing systems and research, applying cyberinfrastructure expertise and experience.
Serve as a cyberinfrastructure domain expert and provide direct support to users, user-support staff, and advanced computing systems.
Participate in IceCube/WIPAC outreach activities where possible.
Provide consultation and expertise for research proposals; may act as technical lead for cyberinfrastructure projects or as Co-Principal Investigator for a proposal.
Operate and maintain IceCube detector subsystems and computer data systems at the South Pole.
Upload research data via satellite to the Northern Hemisphere.
Analyze and resolve detector-electronics problems and provide hardware and software support.
Write and submit weekly reports to the collaboration and monthly reports to the National Science Foundation.
Attend the NSF contractor orientation program and complete required physical and psychological evaluations and vaccinations.