System administrator, IT

Umeå University, Sweden

Updated: about 2 months ago

Umeå University is one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with over 37,000 students and about 4,700 employees. The University offers a diversity of high-quality education and world-leading research in several fields. Notably, the groundbreaking discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was made here. At Umeå University, everything is close. Our cohesive campuses make it easy to meet, work together and exchange knowledge, which promotes a dynamic and open culture.

The ongoing societal transformation and large green investments in northern Sweden create enormous opportunities and complex challenges. For Umeå University, conducting research about – and in the middle of – a society in transition is key. We also take pride in delivering education to enable regions to expand quickly and sustainably. In fact, the future is made here.


Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) is one of the strongest research environments for basic plant research in Europe. Research at UPSC covers a wide range of disciplines in plant biology including ecology, computational biology, genetics, physiology, biochemistry, cell biology and molecular biology (see www.upsc.se). We are now recruiting a system administrator, IT for our bioinformatic support unit. 


Your Future Workplace

The Department of Plant Physiology is part of the Umeå Plant Science Centre, which hosts close to 200 employees representing about 45 nationalities (for more information, please visit http://www.upsc.se). The department carries out research and postgraduate education in different fields of plant science, including ecology, biochemistry, plant physiology, molecular biology as well as genomics and genetics. 


Description

The research groups at UPSC are generating a vast amount of data that needs to be processed and analysed computationally, a task that they can get support for from the bioinformatics unit at UPSC (four persons). The platform, in addition to using the national computing infrastructure, has established a local computing environment (with about eight compute servers, a head node for the queueing system, and a server to host RStudio pro) all of which are connected to the same NFS storages and LDAP user management system. As a System Administrator, IT you will be a part of a newly formed bioinformatic support unit, in charge of maintaining the local computing infrastructure, as well as providing support to bioinformatic researchers at UPSC. 


Key tasks:
  • Server maintenance (hardware and software, mainly Ubuntu, but also Debian, CentOS /Rocky), user and group management (add, remove), queueing system management (monitoring and optimizing through QoS)
  • Software installation, preferably through containers (docker, singularity) to minimize the need for server maintenance and augment portability.
  • RStudio server pro management and optimization (enabling the queueing system, integrating Jupyter notebook, etc.)
  • Storage management (HPE and Synology), adding new research groups, archiving old data, ensuring redundancy between the data on-site and remote storage, monitoring performances and if required performing hardware upgrade (SSD cache, RAM, etc.).
  • Documenting all installations, maintenance, issues, etc.
    Optional tasks:
  • In-depth data management, ensuring an optimal use of the resources by automating old data compression, training users on best practices, notifying users of possible storage optimizations. Also help managing data (to be) stored on the national infrastructure (through the NAISS portal)
  • User support, helping them using the servers, training them in simple bash and SLURM usage, possibly also training them scripting in bash and Python.
  • Managing additional systems, such as FileMaker and ProxMow VE servers and containers.

    • Qualifications

    The position requires a university or college education in systems science, computer science, or a related subject relevant to the position or documented experience that can be deemed equivalent. We also demand:

    • Experience in maintaining linux-based environments
    • Experience in deploying, and possibly creating, docker and/or singularity containers
    • Familiarity with queueing system management (e.g. SLURM
    • Familiarity with user management systems (e.g. LDAP, AD)
    • Excellent skills in documenting work
    • Excellent communication skills in English

    Preferred Qualifications
    • Knowledge of programming languages, such as python and R
    • Knowledge about the RStudio environment
    • Knowledge about Synology’s DSM
    • Experience with version control systems, e.g., Git
    • Knowledge about the OPEN and FAIR principles
    • Ability to work both independently and collaboratively with colleagues in different fields

    Employment conditions

    The position is full-time and permanent. Starting date 2 September 2024 or as agreed upon. A probationary period of up to 6 months may be applied.


    Your application should include
    • A cover letter (max two pages) motivating your interest in this position. The letter should also discuss your experience of system administration.
    • A curriculum vitae.
    • Documentation of formal qualifications (degree certificates, course transcripts, certificates, etc.).
    • Documentation of previous positions, relevant experiences, and other qualifications.
    • List of at least two references with contact information

    You can apply via our recruitment system, Varbi. Last application date is August 15, 2024.


    Contact

    Nicolas Delhomme, UPSC Bioinformatics Facility Manager, [email protected] and/or Johannes Hanson, Head of Department, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University, [email protected] +46(0)97866744.


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