Summary

The Academic IT division within Health Information Technology & Services (HITS) seeks a Research Computing Lead for their Academic Devices & Computing team to provide high performance computing (HPC) consultations, training, and support for Michigan Medicine affiliates. This role will work closely with the Academic IT Devices & Computing manager, the Academic IT Technical Services & Engagement director, and faculty to determine a strategic direction to support research by engaging with Michigan Medicine researchers, proactively seeking to understand their needs, and advocating for the research community within HITS. Mentor others on the team to help strengthen the technology skills and knowledge across the team. Collaborate and gather echnical requirements with cross-functional teams to provide robust and sustainable solutions for research needs utilizing existing services where applicable. Contribute by identifying and quantifying customer requirements, delineating the gaps between customer requirements and the capabilities of existing technology.

Responsibilities*

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Operational/Production Support (30%)

Collaborate with members of the Academic Computing team coordinating teamwork assignments.
Help researchers subscribe to the shared campus high performance computing resources.
Assist with the provisioning of accounts on the shared campus high performance cluster.
Troubleshoot research customer issues with file services and system access.
Assist with user management as appropriate within Linux and Active Directory groups.
Build and install research software packages on the shared campus high performance computing clusters.
Troubleshoot research software installation and usage on the shared campus high performance computing cluster.
Consult with researchers on appropriate technologies for compute-intensive research
Troubleshoot customer job submission scripts on the shared campus cluster to identify problems.
Diagnose and troubleshoot cluster job failures.
Monitor and ensure the production support requests are following healthy ticket practices.
Assist in the development and delivery of end-user training for constituents, helping shift workflows from devices in the lab to the shared campus cluster or datacenter.
Contribute by identifying and quantifying customer requirements, delineating the gaps between customer requirements and the capabilities of existing technology.
Participate in workgroups, governance committees, and projects, as assigned.
Provide recommendations to the Academic IT Devices & Computing Manager around performance, resources, and team procedures modifications.
Understand security policies and procedures (e.g., SPG 601.27, HIPAA, FISMA, FERPA).
Seek an understanding of research and educational IT needs and influence as necessary closer alignment to safe computing practices (SPG 601.27).

Relationship Building/Communications (30%)

Work closely with manager to determine priorities and scope of work
Connect academic customers to appropriate service providers that fall outside the scope of the team.
Maintain an excellent working relationship with peers and trusted service providers who the team partners with to deliver services.
In the performance of all job duties, at all times, be responsible for delivering optimal customer service and providing clear concise communications.
Proactively manage customer expectations and provide clear and timely communication.
Communicate directly with academic and research stakeholders, trusted service providers external to HITS, and any required vendors to ensure that services are accurately aligned to the business needs of our academic and research customers.

Service Improvement/Reporting Analysis (25%)

Understand academic and research workflows, providing secure and supportable solutions to our faculty and staff we support.
Partner with technical peers across Michigan Medicine, and the University, to identify or develop solutions while being mindful of existing IT services.
Stay current with advances in relevant technologies. Responsible for maintaining and sharing knowledge of policies, procedures, hardware, software, and technical services.
Develop and document procedures and maintenance plans for the team.

Project/Management (15%)

Be the technical lead for teammates, peers, and other IT staff on assigned projects, providing technical guidance, consultation, and support.
Apply project management skills to advance small-sized projects through deployment.
Work collaboratively with project stakeholders to ensure good requirements are captured and agreed upon.
Required Qualifications*

Requirements for Lead Level

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent combination of education and experience
Minimum of seven (7) years of related professional experience
Requirements for Senior Level

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent combination of education and experience
Minimum of five (5) years of related professional experience
Desired Qualifications*

A Bachelor’s degree in information systems or a related field and/or a combined experience in the research, or medical education field
Experience in a related role requiring confidentiality, timeliness, customer service, organization, prioritization, troubleshooting, analysis, problem-solving, and working independently to successfully design services and workflows to implement server, storage, networking, and infrastructure technologies
Experience mentoring and developing staff
Experience leading large-scale customer-focused projects
Possess excellent verbal and written communication skills
Working knowledge of Linux/*NIX operating systems and command-line interface
Ability to convey technical information to novice customers
Experience building software in a Linux/*NIX environment
Demonstrated ability to consistently meet or exceed expectations for exemplary customer service
Strong organizational skills with the ability to successfully prioritize and complete multiple tasks within established and changing deadlines
Ability to work with many different OS versions (including Linux), older and proprietary systems
Demonstrates an understanding of server infrastructure, including TCP/IP networking, virtualization environments, or enterprise application design and delivery
Proficient in one or more programming languages, scripting languages, or automation platforms
Experience in developing, managing, running, and improving information technology services
Familiarity with research systems, complex peripherals, large data sets, data and analysis methods, research applications, and older computing hardware
Demonstrated effective and creative problem solving; flexibility when collaborating with customers, team members, support teams, external vendors, and technical organizations
Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with internal and external customers in a manner that consistently meets the organization’s expectations for exemplary customer service
Flexibility to adapt to a changing environment
Possess critical thinking skills and be a lifelong learner
Experience with Active Directory management tools
Experience with HPC environments and tools (e.g. SLURM, Moab/Torque)
Experience with automated software build tools (e.g. EasyBuild, spack)
Experience supporting customers in a distributed computing environment