FAC Lead Storage Architect

This position works remotely with occasional onsite presence in San Francisco as required.

This role serves as the authoritative architect and strategic advisor responsible for the design, standards‑setting, and lifecycle strategy of storage and data infrastructure supporting the Facility for Advanced Computing (FAC) and broader UCSF research initiatives. The position is responsible for architecting scalable, high‑performance storage solutions that integrate seamlessly with UCSF's FAC Compute & CoreHPC environment and research platforms.

The incumbent applies advanced IT architecture concepts to support large‑scale, data‑intensive research across AI, data science, clinical, and computational domains. This includes evaluating emerging technologies, defining long‑term storage strategies, and ensuring alignment with institutional priorities for security, compliance, and performance.

The position operates within Central IT / Academic Research Services (ARS) and functions as a principal architect and institutional authority for FAC storage systems.

The role partners closely with the Senior Research Dev Ops Engineer and cross‑functional teams to define architectural standards and guide the design of large‑scale storage environments supporting CoreHPC, the Research Analysis Environment (RAE), and OS Nexus‑aligned data platforms.

• Lead the architecture and evolution of FAC storage systems across on‑premises and hybrid environments.
• Define integration architecture and standards between storage platforms and FAC Compute & HPC infrastructure, providing technical direction to engineering staff responsible for implementation.
• Establish architectural standards and requirements that ensure scalable, reliable, and high‑performance data access for research workloads.
• Provide technical leadership in storage strategy, long‑term system design, and architecture governance.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, or a related engineering field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Minimum of four (4) years of demonstrated experience supporting the IT and data needs of research/clinical informatics.
• Working knowledge of information security best practices and demonstrated commitment to information security.
• Knowledge of software, database, infrastructure, or other IT functions and the design and development of research tools, infrastructure, and data.
• Familiarity with compliance regulations in security and healthcare IT environments (NIST, HIPAA, HITRUST, PCI, etc.).
• Demonstrated ability to create and maintain architecture documentation, including design standards, reference architectures, architecture decision records (ADRs), and strategic roadmaps.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business needs into long‑term architecture solutions in a matrixed environment.
• Expertise relating to the design and development of software across the organization.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate technical information to technical and non‑technical personnel at various levels in the organization.
• Understanding of research business needs and how research systems and enterprise architectures can support those needs.
• Knowledge of other related areas of IT and ability to apply department processes and procedures to work.
• Ability to work with others from diverse backgrounds.
• Self‑motivated, works independently and as part of a team, demonstrates problem‑solving skills, learns effectively, and meets deadlines.
• Advanced knowledge of data storage, processing, and analysis, and their use in administrative, medical, and/or academic endeavors.

• Certifications in Compute and Storage areas.
• Familiarity with Enterprise Research systems and services, experience with Cloud Service Providers (e.g., Amazon Web Services, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform).
• Thorough knowledge of other areas of IT including business process methodologies and analysis techniques, including deep understanding of and experience with the full software development lifecycle (SDLC) including Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, etc.
• Experience setting up or developing in a cloud environment and focused on research tools.
• Experience with the integration of complex, diverse, internally and externally developed implementations of business functions to build scalable systems.

Equal Employment Opportunity The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.