HPC Operations Lead

Reports to: Head of Research Computing Platforms

Working pattern: Monday – Friday:
This is a full time permanent hybrid role(at least 3 days a week in office after probation) on Crick terms and conditions of employment.

Salary: From £73,000 - £82,000 with benefits, subject to skills and experience

Final date to receive applications
: 7th of June m

The Francis Crick Institute is Europe’s largest biomedical research institute under one roof. Our world‑class scientists and staff collaborate on vital research to help prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative conditions.

The Crick is a place for collaboration, innovation and exploration across many disciplines. A space where the brightest minds can pursue big and bold ideas and discover answers to crucial scientific questions. We support them in a dynamic environment which fosters excellence with state‑of‑the‑art infrastructure, cutting‑edge facilities, and a creative and curious culture. We’ve removed traditional boundaries of departments, divisions and disciplines and instead have an open approach that supports every researcher.

This gives us the freedom to take risks and carry out high‑quality, pioneering research. Creating a space for discovery without boundaries helps us to turn our science into benefits for human health and the economy.

We are looking for a collaborative HPC Operations Lead to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of research computing at the Crick.

As HPC Operations Lead, you will join our Research Computing Platforms/HPC team, reporting directly to the Head of Research Computing Platforms. This is a highly collaborative position where you’ll work closely with scientists across the Institute, other Science Technology Platforms, and the wider Information Technology Office to ensure our platforms and services meet the evolving needs of the scientific community.

You will take ownership of the operational effectiveness of the team, driving the smooth running and continual improvement of services, overseeing the HPC service desk to ensure timely resolution of incidents, and designing and delivering training courses. You will also deputise for the Head of Research Computing Platforms, taking on wider managerial responsibilities as required.

You will be expected to bring prior leadership experience and the ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders across the organisation. You must be able to translate technical language into clear, accessible terms, ensuring that complex information is understood.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with strong technical expertise, a collaborative mindset, and the confidence to lead both people and platforms in a progressive research environment.

• Understand the scientific and research requirements of the Crick’s scientific programmes to advise and deliver platforms and services appropriate to their needs.
• Technical lead on the design, implementation, operation of research data storage services for access by researchers and instruments inside the Crick and for external collaborations.
• Work with the Head of Research Computing Platforms and the wider Scientific Computing function to define a technology vision and roadmap for storage systems.
• Ensure Research Computing Platforms is a user‑facing service through the delivery of an engaged and supportive HPC service desk.
• Serve as incident manager for Research Computing Platforms in response to unplanned service outage.
• Work collaboratively across ITO teams including Architecture, Security and Helpdesk in the delivery and operational management of research platforms and services.
• Experience of leading on the design, maintenance and optimisation of petabyte scale high performance storage systems.
• Experience of leading on the operation and management of high-performance compute clusters.
• Ability to manage complex services and projects effectively and efficiently with minimal supervision, a finite pool of resource, and against deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and demonstrable ability to work collaboratively and…