Research Computing Engineer
Job Title
Research Computing EngineerJob Description
An opportunity is available for a Research Computing Engineer to join the Research Computing Platform at Australia’s pre-eminent biomedical research institute.
About the position
Situated within WEHI’s Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Division, the Research Computing Platform is a team of experts in software engineering, high performance computing, bioinformatics, AI, and data engineering. This platform plays a pivotal role in developing cutting-edge tools and pipelines that not only optimize research workflows but also accelerate the delivery of scientific insights.
The successful candidate will support streamlining and enhancing the accessibility of high-performance computing services to accelerate and simplify their integration into research projects. They will also conduct workshops and training sessions, provide essential support to researchers, lead the development of new pipelines, data management tools, machine learning pipelines, data analysis and visualization across various platforms from traditional on-premises setups to complex cloud-based and hybrid models. Additionally, the selected candidate will work closely with both IT professionals and researchers to formulate policies, plan the hardware and software infrastructure and oversee regular updates.
We seek a candidate with a broad experience of modern research software technologies or a demonstrated ability of independently mastering new technical skills. The ideal candidate will demonstrate outstanding communication skills— both verbal and written —excellent interpersonal abilities, and adeptness in managing stakeholder relationships.
Selection Criteria
Essential
Open-Source Contributions:
Provide links to 1-3 open-source projects to which you have made significant contributions, including a brief description of your role and impact in these projects.
Educational Background:
A graduate or post-graduate degree in a computationally intense discipline or equivalent experience in research or research support.
Technical Proficiency:
- Demonstrated excellence in software engineering skills and experience with the Linux/Unix operating system.
- Proficiency in at least some of the following areas:
- Workflow systems such as Nextflow.
- High-Performance Computing: Batch systems such as Slurm or PBS.
- Container Technologies: Docker and Singularity.
- Web Technologies: REST, HTML, CSS, JavaScript.
- Programming Languages: Python, R, C++, etc.
Personal Qualities
- Adaptable and Proactive: Excels in a dynamic environment, enthusiastically tackling a wide array of complex challenges with innovative and effective solutions.
- Committed to Excellence: Fully embraces a culture of continuous improvement; maintains transparency and integrity, with a strong inclination towards swiftly identifying and correcting errors.
- Outstanding Communicator: Possesses exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, adept at engaging effectively across various academic disciplines and fostering meaningful dialogues.
- Team-Oriented: Highly collaborative, demonstrating a unique ability to leverage external skills and resources for the collective advancement of organizational goals.
Desirable
- Research experience in data-intensive or computationally intensive Life Science areas.
- Experience with cloud providers, such as AWS, Google, … etc.
Key responsibilities
- Design, develop, integrate, implement, optimise and support research computing solutions, softwares, workflows etc.
- Support and advise researchers in their development, use, optimisation and management of analytical tools and computing technology.
- Establish and maintain documentation and deliver training
- Design and build user-friendly tools to allow non-experts to analysis and visualise data
- Research, evaluate and advocate for new technology solutions that could benefit current and future research.
- Act as an advocate for researchers within ITS
Terms of appointment
This position is available for 2 years in a full-time capacity. Salary is RSE 7-8 ($101,911 - $124,104) depending on experience. Up to 17% superannuation and attractive salary packaging options are available.
General enquiries can be directed to Dr Julie Iskander iskander.j@wehi.edu.au
A position description is available here.
How to apply
Please apply by uploading your CV, cover letter and a document addressing the key selection criteria in pdf format.
Application closing date: 15th January 2024