Job opportunity: NIWA / NeSI seeking an HPC Applications Support Specialist

NIWA has an exciting opportunity for an experienced HPC Applications Support Specialist to make a significant contribution to the New Zealand research landscape by working within New Zealand eScience Infrastructure (NeSI).

A key component of NIWA's research infrastructure is the High Performance Computing Facility (HPCF), which is used to support research activities in climate, chemistry climate, weather, river flood, sea state, ocean, sea-level, and inundation modelling and forecasting, as well as an operational environmental forecasting system (EcoConnect).

Within NeSI, the facility also supports the High-Performance Computing (HPC) requirements of researchers within the national research community.

Role and key activities

The Applications Support Specialist operates nationally, providing front-line support to researchers including: installing, porting, testing and troubleshooting science codes, machine access, job submissions and workflows. This position requires an awareness and understanding of scientific programming and HPC which will see you:

  • Advise researchers on how to apply for and access NeSI infrastructure and services, including assisting with their workflow development and software needs.
  • Assist in planning and running workshops and training courses.
  • Providing a friendly and responsive experience working with scientists with a variety of different computational backgrounds, as well as being a trusted adviser.

Required experience / skills

In order to be successful in this role, you must have:

  • A tertiary education in a computationally intensive field of science.
  • A background working with scientific applications and previous experience supporting researchers.
  • Expertise in building, profiling, debugging, modifying, and writing scientific software codes.
  • Excellent communication skills alongside being a strong team player.

Desired skills and experience

The following while not essential, would be advantageous:

  • Previous experience providing direct support to researchers for their science application needs.
  • Previous experience in an HPC environment.
  • Having fundamental knowledge of parallel programming with MPI/OpenMP.
  • Exposure to data analytics and machine learning techniques.
  • Experience in the field of climate or environmental science.

To view the full job posting or to apply online, visit the Science New Zealand Careers page. The deadline to apply is 31 August 2020.

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