Linux Systems Administrator: Science-focused In-House Cloud Environment

Posting TitleLinux Systems Administrator: Science-focused In-House Cloud Environment

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LocationCO - Golden

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Position TypeRegular

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Hours Per Week40

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Working at NRELThe National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for energy systems research and development.

Join the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), where world-class scientists, engineers, and experts are accelerating energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From our mission to our collaborative culture, NREL stands out in the research community for its commitment to an affordable and secure energy future. Spanning foundational science to applied systems engineering and analysis, we focus on solving complex challenges to deliver advanced, secure, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions. Our work helps strengthen U.S. industries, support job creation, and promote national economic growth.

At NREL, you’ll find a mission-driven environment supported by state-of-the-art facilities, multidisciplinary research teams, and strong collaborations with industry, academia, and other national laboratories. We offer robust professional development opportunities, and a competitive benefits package designed to support your career and well-being.

Learn about NREL’s critical objectives: NREL's Mission and Vision.

Job Description

NREL’s Computational Science Center (CSC) conducts research to advance the science of computing across advanced computer science, visualization, data science, AI/ML, applied math, and computational science, as well as providing computing expertise to the NREL community and staffing for project execution. The CSC’s Advanced Computing Operations (ACO) Group facilitates cutting edge computational innovations and testbeds to find tomorrow's solutions today. Collaboration is at the heart of our work — our staff partner with scientists across NREL to deeply understand their computational challenges, to develop or co-develop tailored solutions, and leveraging our hybrid compute offerings, to provide the technical expertise needed to push boundaries in renewable energy and sustainability. The CSC’s ACO Group has an immediate opening for a Linux System Administrator/Technical Lead to support the on-prem cloud environment built on OpenStack.  

In this role, you will leverage your broad expertise across Linux system administration, networking, security, scripting, and container technologies to engineer, deploy, and manage infrastructure that supports high-performance computing (HPC), complex data workflows and advanced analytics. The ideal candidate will have a versatile skill set and a strategic mindset, capable of optimizing high-performance data environments while solving complex problems, enhancing efficiency, and improving reliability and scalability through collaboration and innovative problem-solving.

• Design, engineer, and deploy OpenStack Linux-based solutions to support data management, HPC, data analysis, processing, and visualization tools and platforms.

• Collaborate with researchers to translate their technical needs into effective infrastructure and application solutions.

• Install, configure, and maintain Linux systems, ensuring they are optimized for science applications and large-scale workloads.

• Develop, maintain, and support containerized environments (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) to enable seamless deployment and management of tools and applications.

• Implement and manage continuous integration and deployment pipelines using tools like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or similar.

• Perform regular server maintenance, updates, security patching, and system hardening to ensure data integrity and security compliance.

• Troubleshoot and resolve complex server, application, and network issues that impact data workflows and tool performance.

• Evaluate new technologies, tools, and methodologies to enhance the efficiency, reliability, and scalability of the infrastructure supporting data and visualization efforts.

• Automate routine tasks and workflows to enhance efficiency and reduce operational overhead.

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Basic QualificationsLevel III -
Job Profile Summary
Relevant Bachelor's Degree and 5 or more years of experience or equivalent relevant education/experience. Or, relevant Master's Degree and 3 or more years of experience or equivalent relevant education/experience. Or, relevant PhD or equivalent relevant education/experience.
Level IV -
Relevant Bachelor's Degree and 9 or more years of experience or equivalent relevant education/experience. Or, relevant Master's Degree and 7 or more years of experience or equivalent relevant education/experience. Or, relevant PhD and 4 or more years of experience or equivalent relevant education/experience.
Eligibility requirements: This position will require access to Controlled Unclassified Information which may include restricted dissemination requirements based on citizenship. As a result, applicants may be excluded from consideration based on citizenship in accordance with DOE O 471.7, Controlled Unclassified Information. https://www.directives.doe.gov/news/new-doe-o-471-7-controlled-unclassified-information

* Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional Required Qualifications

​Level III -

• Experience in Linux system administration, with a focus on engineering and deploying solutions for HPC, research and data-centric environments.

• Three (3) or more years’ experience in OpenStack environments. (Opensource, RedHat etc.)

• Proven ability to design and implement secure, scalable, and performant infrastructure to support complex data pipelines and analysis tools.

• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to quickly diagnose and resolve technical issues impacting data processing and analysis.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills to work effectively with researchers, research operations, analysts, and cross-functional teams. ​

• Skilled in analytical techniques, practices and problem solving.

Level IV -

• The above plus,
• Extensive experience in Linux system administration, with a focus on engineering and deploying solutions for HPC, research and data-centric environments.
• Evaluates new hardware, software, systems tools and applications and makes procurement recommendations.
• Excellent leadership and project management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency in container technologies (Docker, Kubernetes) for development and production use cases.

• Familiarity with continuous integration and deployment tools (Jenkins, GitHub Actions) and their application.

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Job Application Submission Window

The anticipated closing window for application submission is up to 30 days and may be extended as needed.

Annual Salary Range (based on full-time 40 hours per week)Job Profile: IT Professional IV / Annual Salary Range: $117,200 - $211,000

Job Profile: IT Professional III / Annual Salary Range: $97,800 - $176,000

Job Profile: IT Professional III / Annual Salary Range: $81,500 - $146,700

Job Profile: IT Professional IV / Annual Salary Range: $97,800 - $176,000

NREL takes into consideration a candidate’s education, training, and experience, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value, including seniority and merit systems, and internal pay alignment when determining the salary level for potential new employees. In compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, a potential new employee’s salary history will not be used in compensation decisions.

Benefits SummaryBenefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; short*- and long-term disability insurance; pension benefits*; 403(b) Employee Savings Plan with employer match*; life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance; personal time off (PTO) and sick leave; paid holidays; and tuition reimbursement*. NREL employees may be eligible for, but are not guaranteed, performance-, merit-, and achievement- based awards that include a monetary component. Some positions may be eligible for relocation expense reimbursement. Limited-term positions are not eligible for long-term disability or tuition reimbursement.

* Based on eligibility rules

Badging RequirementNREL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which includes a favorable background investigation.

Drug Free Workplace

NREL is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace in accordance with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act and complies with federal laws prohibiting the possession and use of illegal drugs. Under federal law, marijuana remains an illegal drug.

If you are offered employment at NREL, you must pass a pre-employment drug test prior to commencing employment. Unless prohibited by state or local law, the pre-employment drug test will include marijuana. If you test positive on the pre-employment drug test, your offer of employment may be withdrawn.

Submission Guidelines

Please note that in order to be considered an applicant for any position at NREL you must submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified. Applications are not kept on file for future positions. Please include a cover letter and resume with each position application.

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Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard basis of age (40 and over), color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic partner status, military or veteran status, national origin/ancestry, race, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding), sexual orientation, and any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Reasonable Accommodations

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