Research Computing Support Specialist; HPC Focus

Position: Research Computing Support Specialist (HPC Focus) - SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Job Description:

Position Overview

Job Title:

Research Computing Support Specialist (HPC Focus)

Department:
Office of Information Technology

Reports to:

Chief Information Officer

Office/

Location:

SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Funding

Note:

This position is dependent on DoD funding and continued availability of sponsored project resources. Employment is contingent upon continued funding from DoD awards or related federal contracts involving FCI/CUI-handling requirements. Continuation beyond the initial term is not guaranteed and will be evaluated annually based on funding status.

This position is 100% externally funded and will be reappointed on an annual basis based on the continued availability of funding.

Job Summary:

The Research Computing Support Specialist provides tiered technical support to faculty, researchers, students, and staff using high-performance computing (HPC) resources and other advanced research IT systems. This role focuses on assisting users with HPC job submission, workflow optimization, troubleshooting, and resource utilization, while ensuring compliance with relevant security standards, including knowledge of Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Levels 1 and 2, and proper handling of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in support of federally sponsored research projects.

Key Responsibilities:

* Provide frontline and advanced user support for HPC clusters, including job submission via schedulers (e.g., SLURM, PBS), monitoring job status/queues, diagnosing failures, and optimizing resource requests for efficient execution.

* Assist researchers in troubleshooting common HPC issues such as job errors, software/module loading, parallel processing, data transfer (e.g., SCP, BCM), storage quotas, and performance bottlenecks.

* Collaborate with users to understand research computing needs, recommend appropriate HPC resources, workflows, and tools, and facilitate onboarding/training for new users.

* Support secure research environments involving CUI by applying knowledge of CMMC Level 1 (basic safeguarding of Federal Contract Information)

* Ensure proper identification, marking, storage, transmission, and access controls for FCI in compliance with DoD and university policies; participate in FCI/CMMC-1related documentation, training, and audits as needed.

* Maintain documentation for HPC user guides, best practices, troubleshooting procedures, and security/compliance processes related to sensitive data.

* Monitor HPC system health, user activity, and resource usage; escalate complex issues to systems administrators or security teams.

* Contribute to user training workshops, documentation, and outreach on HPC usage, research data management, and cybersecurity best practices (including CMMC/CUI awareness).

* Stay current on HPC tools, schedulers, scientific software stacks, and evolving CMMC requirements for DoD-funded projects.

* Perform other related duties as assigned to support the research computing mission.

This position is contingent on the satisfactory completion of a background check.

Salary range: $100,000 annually

Requirements:

Minimal

Qualifications:

* Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, a related STEM field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

* 2+ years of experience providing IT support in an academic, research, or technical environment.

* Hands-on experience with HPC environments, including job scheduling systems (e.g., SLURM), Linux command-line usage, shell scripting, and user support for compute-intensive workloads.

* Familiarity with research computing concepts such as parallel programming basics, data management, and scientific software environments (e.g., modules, Conda, containers).

* Working knowledge of CMMC Levels 1 and 2 frameworks, including basic safeguarding requirements (FAR 52.204-21) and NIST SP 800-171 controls relevant to protecting CUI.

* Understanding of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) handling, marking, and compliance in research settings.

* Strong customer service orientation with excellent communication skills (verbal and written) for explaining technical concepts to non-experts.

* Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team-oriented academic environment.

Preferred

Skills:

* Experience supporting HPC in a university research computing center or similar setting.

* Knowledge of additional research tools (e.g., Jupyter, GPU computing, parallel file systems like Lustre or BeeGFS).

* Familiarity with DoD-funded research environments, DFARS clauses (e.g., ), or university CUI programs.

* Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CompTIA Security+, Linux+, or introductory CMMC training.

* Experience with ticketing systems (e.g., Service Desk) and documentation tools.

Additional Information:

Additional Information:

Research Foundation for SUNY Polytechnic Institute offers exceptional benefits such as healthcare, dental, vision, pension plans, competitive pay, generous paid time off, tuition assistance, life…