Postdoctoral Research Associate - HPC System Architecture and Storage Design

Postdoctoral Research Associate - HPC System Architecture and Intelligent Storage Design

The National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking a postdoctoral research associate in High-Performance Computing (HPC) system architecture and intelligent storage design. The candidate will contribute to research and development efforts in scalable storage and memory architectures, telemetry-driven system optimization, and application-driven performance analysis for HPC, scientific Artificial Intelligence (AI), and scientific edge computing.

Specific areas of research interest include: telemetry collection and analysis to inform system optimization, workload characterization, and predictive fault tolerance in HPC systems. Architectural exploration and performance modeling of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DDR memory systems in the context of data-intensive scientific computing. Redesign of storage systems to meet evolving demands in AI/ML and edge-to-HPC workflows, including support for data movement, retention policies, and user-defined storage behaviors.

Major duties and responsibilities include: collaborating with internal and external researchers on a variety of data and storage-related research projects for use cases in HPC, scientific AI, and scientific edge computing. Conducting I/O and storage performance characterization of HPC and scientific AI applications or libraries on multi-tier HPC storage systems. Collecting, analyzing, and leveraging telemetry data from HPC systems to support data-driven design decisions and performance tuning.

Exploring trade-offs in DDR and HBM usage patterns, and proposing architectural improvements for mixed-memory and bandwidth-intensive workloads. Designing and evaluation of ephemeral, user-configurable, and composable data and storage systems. Designing system-level approaches for time-sensitive or data-intensive processing of data originating at scientific edge systems using large-scale HPC/AI computational and storage systems. Coauthoring peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, and presentations. Seeking membership and service opportunities in professional, academic, and research organizations.

Basic qualifications include a PhD in computer science/engineering or relevant area with an education and a research track record in HPC/AI/edge systems and storage research within the past five years. Preferred qualifications include the ability to work independently to design and deploy methods iliarity with hardware-software co-design, memory hierarchies (DDR, HBM), and system-level telemetry tools. Experience in HPC and associated software development for applications, middleware, and/or system software.

Flexibility to adapt to diverse R&D projects and tasks. Effective communicator in both verbal and written forms. Ability to collaborate with scientists, engineers, and sponsors. Interest in mentoring student internships.