Technical Lead, HPC & AI

Who we are

Founded in 1824, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is the first technological research university in the United States. We bring creativity, science, and technology together to address society's greatest challenges. We cultivate exceptional problem-solvers by immersing them in a culture of rigorous inquiry, disciplined practice, and hands-on application. Our strategic plan, RPI Forward, charts a pioneering course for the next era of RPI. Explore the RPI Forward plan. ↗︎

Nestled on a beautiful 275-acre campus in upstate NY, RPI is home to five schools, 32 research centers, three makerspaces, an observatory, one of the world’s fastest supercomputers, and the IBM Quantum System One - the first university-based quantum computer in the world.

With top notch employee health and retirement benefits, Rensselaer offers its full-time employees a generous paid time off program, tuition remission, and opportunities for career growth.

Job Summary

The Technical Lead, HPC (High Performance Computing) & AI is a senior member of the team responsible for the design and implementation of HPC and AI systems. The Technical Lead also develops and aids in the development of tools and in support of the HPC and AI ecosystems. This position also leads and manages projects for cross-functional teams.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in computer science or related field
• 8 or more years in of professional experience, including but not limited to:
  • Development/design and maintenance of enterprise-wide systems and services
  • Experience working with SLURM or other batch schedulers
  • Experience with High Performance Computing systems, GPU computing, parallel file systems such as GPFS or Lustre

Relevant combinations of education, training and experience may be considered.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's Degree in computer science or engineering
• Professional experience with progressive responsibility in the areas of research computing and cloud services
• Previous experience in higher education environment

Minimum Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Experience with design, deployment, and management of HPC systems including storage, file systems, networking, virtualization, job schedulers (SLURM) and scientific applications
• Experience with AI applications: frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow
• Broad understanding of coding and programming languages, including but not limited to Python and R
• Experience with software engineering and DevOps principles. Knowledge of Git, Kubernetes, Docker, etc
• Proven ability to lead and manage change projects with cross-functional teams
• Experience with ethical AI practices and ensuring compliance with data protection
• Experience with InfiniBand and ethernet networks
• Ability to manage both information systems, special projects and ongoing operations
• Understanding of data security and compliance standards such as CMMC
• Demonstrated oral and written communication skills
• Planning, organizing and effective time management skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet established goals and objectives
• Ability to anticipate and solve problems

Representative Job Duties

• Helps clients fully leverage complex IT capabilities at Rensselaer. Promote use of applications/software, services or systems to clients. Helps clients understand value proposition and potential impacts on workflows and processes. Manage and lead tasks related to applications/software, services and/or systems for the Institute including architecture design, deployment, troubleshooting, analysis, and upgrade management. Lead efforts to gather, analyze and interpret business data including design and development of custom reports.
• Guides clients in the process for specification, design, modification and implementation of highly complex IT applications, software, services, systems or equipment as they relate to business processes and changing business needs. Help forecast changes based on changing business needs and industry trends. Maintain relationships with vendors to understand product capabilities and identify solutions. Work with Procurement to understand strategies and processes.
• Deploys complex applications/software, services and/or systems using standard or custom tools. Development of deployment methods and strategies
• Help develop new standards and improvements to drive customer satisfaction. Develops and provides highly specialized client training and materials, taking into consideration the unique RPI environment. As the lead technical person for specific software, service or business units, responsible for helping manage problem and incident tickets assigned to this area by ensuring SLAs are met, and tickets are completed or escalated/reassigned according to standards.
• Analyze impact of changes to applications/software, services and/or systems to mitigate disruption on business. Provide configuration, management and maintenance to meet client needs. Ensure confidentiality and compliance with security requirements and standards.
• Provide technical guidance to students and other staff members. Assist faculty in the design, development and effective use of key software tools.
• Stay abreast of the latest technologies and software including review, testing, professional development and identification of potential issues or conflicts on horizon. Maintain extensive understanding of industry trends. Provide mentoring and guidance to other analysts.
• Acts as liaison between clients, technical and management personnel as well as vendor supported technicians.
• Provide mentoring and demonstrate leadership to other IT staff. Consult and meet with other IT staff regularly to exchange ideas, share expertise and concerns, set priorities, and lead special projects.

Shift

Business Hours with weekends or evenings occasionally required

Travel

Local travel between campus locations only

Driving

Incidental driving possible, but not required

Starting Salary/Rate

Expected hiring range: $110,000 - $140,000 / yr

Pay transparency disclosure: The selected candidate’s salary will be determined based on factors that include the available budget, internal equity, and the final candidate’s qualifications, experience, education and other job-related credentials. This hiring range is provided as Rensselaer’s good faith estimate of the expected hiring range at the time of posting.

Application instructions

Follow the on-screen prompts to create a brief online profile. Please be ready to upload your resume and cover letter.

If you need assistance with the online application process, please contact careers@rpi.edu.

Job Posted Date

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Total Compensation and Benefits Information

Rensselaer’s Total Compensation Program is designed to provide stable pay growth, a comprehensive and affordable benefits package, and a comprehensive and affordable retiree medical and prescription plan. Our goal is to provide you and your family with a comprehensive health and welfare program as an umbrella of financial security and protection during your employment. For more information, please visit Benefits | Human Resources (rpi.edu) .

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is committed to the cultivation of a community that is welcoming, inclusive, and above all values learning. We welcome candidates who bring a variety of perspectives to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's work and campus communities. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or other characteristic protected by law.