Storage Administrator

Make your contribution to the development and operation of our Physics Data Archive comprising hundreds of Petabytes, at the birthplace of the world wide web!
 
Join CERN's Storage Group as a storage administrator for a unique challenge as the next step in your career. CERN, take part!
 

Storage administrator in the Information Technology Department (IT), Storage Group (ST), File and Disk Operation Section (FDO)

The Information Technology (IT) Department provides computing services for all aspects of the laboratory's activities. More information about the Department can be found on the following website: http://cern.ch/it

The CERN Storage Group (ST) ensures a coherent development strategy for CERN physics data management components, driven by operational and user needs. A key responsibility of the Group is the operation of the multi petabyte-scale grid-enabled storage solutions for the high-energy physics community.

The selected candidate will join the Filesystems and Data Operations (FDO) section in charge of operating and support of the storage and file system services for physics for CERN and the Worldwide LHC computing Grid (WLCG) community. The section is currently managing more than 1,500 servers with more than 60,000 disks, representing about 300 petabyte of raw storage.

As a member of the Storage Group, the successful candidate will:

• Operate, install, maintain and support the software components for the ST services (initially Ceph and EOS).
• Diagnose and optimise Linux file-systems  (XFS and/or ZFS).
• Troubleshoot anomalies of complex C++ applications (gdb, network tools, ¿).
• Be responsible for major storage service for LHC and the laboratory (proactive service management).
• Provide support for mission-critical services (e.g. Puppet, GitLab, CERNBox and others).

Master's degree or PhD or equivalent relevant experience in the field of engineering, computer science, physics, mathematics or a closely related field.

The experience required for this post is:

• Proven experience and an excellent understanding of large-scale data storage and file system services, more specifically in two or more of the following fields: Linux operating system administration; UNIX shell scripts (Python); Linux cluster management, automation and monitoring tools.

Important assets for this post are:

• Linux system administration (Red Hat or Centos in particular).
• DevOps-style operations (most notably Configuration Management and Infrastructure Automation) for large storage services.
• Service & systems operation (most notably IT Operations and incident management).
• Installation and integration (Systems integration, Porting/software integration, Systems installation/decommissioning, Configuration management, Release management).
• Large disk storage systems, tape systems and/or global file systems; knowledge of disk and tape hardware and technology.

The technical competencies required for this post are:

• System software administration: Red Hat or CentOS in particular.
• Configuration management: devops-style operations (most notably configuration management and infrastructure automation) for large storage services.
• IT operations: service & systems operation (most notably it operations and incident management).
• Design, integration and configuration of modular data processing and storage systems.

The behavioural competencies required for this post are:

• Demonstrating flexibility: adapting quickly and resourcefully to shifting priorities and requirements.
• Solving problems: identifying, defining and assessing problems, taking action to address them.
• Learning and sharing knowledge.
• Communicating effectively.
• Working in teams.

The language competencies required are:

Spoken and written English: ability to draw-up technical specifications documentation and/or scientific reports.

Basic knowledge of French or an undertaking to acquire it rapidly.

Diversity has been an integral part of CERN's mission since its foundation and is an established value of the Organization. Employing a diverse workforce is central to our success.

We welcome applications from all Member States and Associate Member States.

This vacancy will be filled as soon as possible, and applications should normally reach us no later than 19.03.2018.

By applying here, you allow CERN to consider your application for any position it considers relevant with respect to your profile. Please ensure you update your profile regularly with any relevant information and that you inform the recruitment service if you wish your file to be removed from the database.

We offer a limited-duration contract for a period of 5 years. Limited-duration contracts shall terminate by default on their date of expiry.
Subject to certain conditions, holders of limited-duration contracts may apply for an indefinite position.

These functions require:

• Stand-by duty, when required by the needs of the Organization.
• Work during nights, Sundays and official holidays, when required by the needs of the Organization.

Diversity has been an integral part of CERN's mission since its foundation and is an established value of the Organization. Employing a diverse workforce is central to our success.