Are you passionate about high-performance computing (HPC) and ready to help power research that addresses some of the world’s most complex challenges?
The University of Exeter is seeking an experienced HPC Systems Administrator (vacancy ID V53921) to join our growing Research IT team. You’ll play a vital role in supporting the University’s strategic investment in Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI), ensuring our compute environment is secure, efficient, and responsive to the needs of our world-leading researchers.
About the Role
Reporting to the Acting HPC Lead, you will be responsible for the operational health, performance, and resilience of the University’s HPC systems. You will work closely with academic users to deliver services that enable data-intensive, compute-intensive, and interdisciplinary research.
This is a hands-on technical role with strategic impact, balancing system optimisation, user experience, and long-term sustainability. You’ll contribute to service design, infrastructure development, and resource planning, while helping to ensure HPC services are accessible, cost-effective, and well-integrated into the wider DRI ecosystem.
What You’ll Be Doing
Monitor, maintain and optimise the performance, resilience, and reliability of HPC platforms and clusters.
Manage access control, job scheduling, system patching, and software updates (e.g. Slurm, Lustre, Linux).
Support researchers with proposal development and compute planning for complex projects.
Collaborate with academic users and governance groups to align HPC service development with DRI strategy.
Track and report usage metrics, cost recovery performance, and environmental impact.
Engage with internal teams and external HPC networks to share learning and shape future services
About You
We are looking for someone who combines technical expertise with a strong service ethos and the ability to work collaboratively with researchers. You will have:
- Experience managing HPC systems in a Linux environment
- Proficiency with tools such as Slurm, Lustre, and virtualisation platforms
- An understanding of research workflows and academic compute needs
- A proactive approach to performance tuning, sustainability, and user support
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to engage a diverse user base
Full details and application: HPC Systems Administrator – Apply Here, or you can search the University of Exeter job pages using this reference: V53921.