Systems Engineer II-III

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory seeks a Systems Engineer II-III to design, implement, and support reliable computing and network systems for world-class radio telescopes. In this role, you will architect, deploy, and maintain Linux-based servers, storage, and networking that underpin astronomical data acquisition, processing, and scientific computing. You will collaborate closely with scientists and engineers to ensure system performance, security, and availability, automate infrastructure, document designs, and contribute to continuous improvement in a highly collaborative, research-focused environment.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain Linux-based servers, storage, and network infrastructure for radio astronomy systems
• Ensure high availability, performance, and security of mission-critical scientific and data-processing systems
• Automate deployment, configuration, and monitoring using scripting and configuration-management tools
• Collaborate with scientists, engineers, and IT staff to translate research and operational needs into technical solutions
• Troubleshoot complex system issues, perform root-cause analysis, and implement preventive improvements
• Document system architectures, configurations, procedures, and change histories in a clear, maintainable manner

Required Skills

• Linux/UNIX system administration
• Network configuration (TCP/IP, routing, firewalls)
• Scripting (Python, Bash, or similar)
• Virtualization and containerization (VMware, KVM, Docker)
• Systems monitoring and performance tuning
• Configuration management (Ansible, Puppet, or similar)
• High-availability and redundancy design
• Storage management and backup solutions
• Cybersecurity best practices and hardening
• Technical documentation and change management