System Administrator

• City Government of Canada Ottawa and Gatineau offices
• Country Canada

Job Description

MGIS is seeking a System Administrator, Level 2, to manage High Performance Computing (HPC) clusters and support the scientists who rely on them. This role blends HPC system administration with hands-on user support — helping researchers install, run, and debug applications on HPC infrastructure so they can focus on their science instead of IT issues.

HPC environments in scope include clustered CPU/GPU systems with job schedulers and attached parallel storage (e.g., Lustre, GPFS).

What you'll be doing

Maintain the HPC cluster — hardware, image management, local networking, scheduler, and backups

Troubleshoot environment incidents to ensure a quick return to normal operations

Meet with scientists to evaluate their HPC support requirements

Develop task plans to meet researchers' needs, consulting the technical authority for approval

Support application builds, installs, and runtime troubleshooting (GNU, Intel, Fortran, Nvidia)

Support open-source and commercial software, including Python/Anaconda installs, Bash scripting, build/make tools, EasyBuild, Spack, and MPI implementations (MPICH, OpenMPI, IntelMPI, HPMPI)

Assist with compilation and runtime of in-house developed applications

General systems management

Manage Linux OS patching schedules and reliability

Manage user accounts (creation, deletion) and environment modules

Manage configuration via Git, MS DevOps, and Ansible Playbooks

Manage RPM/DEB packages and troubleshoot ThinLinc

Troubleshoot jobs on schedulers (PBS Pro/Torque, SLURM, SGE)

Ensure reliable CUDA installs; troubleshoot GPU failures and CUDA software/driver issues

Provide hardware support — memory upgrades, storage arrays, power/network cabling, ILO

Documentation

Document every process and task to support enterprise knowledge continuity

Submit weekly progress reports to the Technical Authority

Requirements

What we're looking for

Solid experience administering Linux-based HPC clusters (CPU/GPU nodes, schedulers, parallel storage)

Hands-on experience with job schedulers such as PBS Pro/Torque, SLURM, or SGE

Experience troubleshooting CUDA installations, GPU failures, and driver issues

Familiarity with scientific computing toolchains — compilers (GNU, Intel), MPI implementations, EasyBuild, and Spack

Experience supporting researchers or end-users with application builds and runtime issues

Working knowledge of configuration management tools (Git, Ansible, MS DevOps)

Comfortable working independently and producing clear technical documentation

Eligible to obtain and maintain a Secret-level security clearance