Senior Linux Systems Engineer - PL1 3DH

Senior Linux Systems Engineer

£48,199 (depending on experience) with potential growth to £54,325

Full-Time, Open-Ended Appointment

Plymouth

Renowned internationally for its research excellence supporting a sustainable ocean, Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Linux Infrastructure Engineer.

It is a crucial time for the ocean with key international drivers being the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the “double decade” of action – The Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, and the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration.

This role will indirectly support key areas of our Linux community’s research, namely Earth Observation and Modelling. Examples of the research projects which are being delivered by these areas include: a project to generate cholera outbreak risk maps and developing a capability for cost-effective monitoring of offshore carbon storage projects.

PML has c. 180 employees, as well as students and visiting researchers. Approximately 70% of our employees are scientists, with the remainder being spread across operational groups, including the Information Technology Group (ITG).

Job Details

This role sits within the IT group at PML, with the group providing services to the whole of the PML. We are currently in an exciting period of transition and modernisation. Some of the projects in which you will be involved will be focused on restructuring storage, disaster recovery, high performance compute (HPC) and cybersecurity. We are looking for a knowledgeable, experienced agile person to join our team and lead the relevant parts of this innovation.

We currently have a sizeable on-site data centre and in the last two years we have finished the expansion of a ~£1m investment to move into Artificial Intelligence and machine learning with a cutting-edge GPU cluster. We have just finished procuring a new HPC [BT1] and over the next few years will investigate the benefits of Cloud Computing to align with PML’s net zero ambitions.

The volume of data that we support is growing daily as we draw in raw data from satellite programmes and NASA satellites to produce Earth Observation data products, giving insights into the health of the world’s oceans.

Analysis and interpretation of this data is continual, making use of the data processing infrastructure.

You will:

• Play a key role in the development and delivery of the IT strategy by leading in the modernisation, service delivery and ongoing maintenance of the PML Linux estate.
• Help influence and shape PML’s High-Performance, High-throughput and GPU Processing compute clusters. Be responsible for the development and management of one other colleague (Linux Engineer) while also deputising for the Head of ITG.
• Plan, install and maintain PML’s Linux Servers, Storage, and Network infrastructure alongside the Head of ITG.
• Take ownership through to resolution of issues of varying complexity for PML’s workforce via the department's service desk software.
• Contribute to the ongoing continual service improvement and capacity planning activities while producing relevant, accurate and detailed documentation and reports for both existing and future systems and services.
• Resolve complex technical issues associated with PML’s system and services while collaborating with multiple third-party suppliers over extended periods of time.
• Be forward-looking and actively horizon scan for innovative technologies that will be beneficial for PML, whilst diligently expanding your own knowledge and experience to share with others across the whole of PML.
• Be able to communicate exceptionally with individuals with differing technical ability and in plain English avoiding jargon , as well as develop documentation for both internal and external use.

To achieve this, you will have knowledge and or experience with:

• Linux and its tools and troubleshooting (Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS)
• Storage filesystems and access protocols (XFS/NFS/S3)
• Virtualisation and containerisation (VMware/Kubernetes)
• Security best practices and firewalls (IPtables)
• System administration automation. (Ansible)
• Linux Integration with Windows Active Directory (SSSD)
• Disaster recovery software and technologies (Dell/EMC Networker, Commvault, Avamar and LTO Tape)

If you can bring any of these skills too, this will strengthen your application:

• Monitoring software and out of band management
• Network management (Routing, VLAN, DNS/DHCP, ACL’s, STP)
• Knowledge and experience of HPC
• Knowledge, experience, around cloud computing (AWS/GCP/Azure)
• Familiarisation with Dell hardware/software and its support.
• Working knowledge of workload management software (Slurm)

The role is based in our office in Plymouth, working from home (2 days in 5) is optional and offered with an open-ended contract. This post is offered at Operations Level 3 with a starting salary of £48,199 (depending on experience) with potential growth to £54,325. The position advertised is a full-time role requiring 37 hours per week, however, applications for part time working are also welcome (please state this in your application).

In return:

You will have a generous 30 days of annual leave plus 8 days of public holiday, a company pension with up to 10% company matched contributions, and a host of other benefits such as access to union membership, welfare, and sports societies.

To apply:

Please click the apply button to submit your CV!

Closing date: TBC

PML is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion.

We are proud to have achieved the Athena SWAN award as recognition of our achievements in gender equality. As part of this, we offer opportunities to discuss flexible working and whilst the selection process will be based on merit, we particularly welcome applications from female candidates, currently underrepresented.