At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. Using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments, they study the basic constituents of matter - fundamental particles that are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives physicists clues about how particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature. Find out more on http://home.cern.

Introduction

Work with us to extend our data handling systems for the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) physics programme and the whole of CERN. CERN is the birthplace of the World Wide Web and one of the world leading laboratories for particle physics! Join CERN's Storage Group in the IT Department as a Computing Technical Engineer for a unique challenge as the next step in your career. CERN, take part!

The CERN IT Storage Group (ST) is responsible to enable data access for the laboratory, most notably to archive, preserve over the long term and distribute to the worldwide scientific community the LHC experimental data. Today we operate a disk/tape hybrid system (CASTOR: cern.ch/castor optimised for archiving), several large disk farms (EOS: cern.ch/eos for data analysis) and a Ceph infrastructure. In total ST handles more than 200 petabyte of data across about 2,000 data servers (30,000 disks) and 20,000 high-capacity tapes.

The present data infrastructure has been evolved to extend its functionality and rationalise its deployment. New access protocols (POSIX file access, WebDAV) have been added to simplify data access for our clients (Linux, Mac and Windows), to increase the user experience (disconnected operations, cloud synchronisation, flexible web access) and to enable new ways to process data combining local access, batch processing and web-based data systems.

More information on the IT Department is at: http://cern.ch/it.

Functions

The selected candidate will join the operation and support activities of the Filesystems and Data Operations (FDO) section of the ST Group.

As a Computing Technical Engineer, you will:

• Install and operate the storage services for the CERN laboratory and experiments.
• Support the CERN storage services (user support and incident response) including the participation of on-call duties.
• Maintain/improve system documentation (procedures; regular reports; incident analysis; user documentation) together with other members of the FDO section.
• Contribute to the evolution of the CERN storage services (service evolution, service or data migration).

Bachelor's degree or equivalent relevant experience in the field of computer engineering or a related field.

Experience:

The candidate should have demonstrated practical experience in at least some of the following areas:

• Linux and Windows operating system administration.
• In-depth practical experience in scripting languages, such as Python.
• Experience with testing and troubleshooting distributed systems.

The following additional experience would be an asset:

• Disk hardware technologies (SAS/SATA HD, SSD); global filesystems or object stores; external storage networking.
• Linux cluster management, automation and monitoring tools.
• Database technologies (SQL).

Technical competencies:

• Knowledge of system configuration tools.
• Knowledge and deployment of computing hardware.
• Installation, operation and maintenance (preventive and corrective) of computing systems.
• Operation and maintenance (preventive and corrective) of storage systems.

Behavioural competencies:

• Achieving results: delivering high quality work on time and fulfilling expectations.
• Communicating effectively: providing others with timely information.
• Demonstrating flexibility: adapting quickly and resourcefully to shifting priorities and requirements.
• Working in teams: working well in groups and readily fitting into a team; participating fully and taking an active role in team activities.

Language skills:

• Good knowledge of English is required; ability to draw-up technical specifications and/or scientific reports and to make oral presentations.
• Basic knowledge of French or an undertaking to acquire it rapidly.

Eligibility and closing date:

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. (https://home.cern/about/member-states)

This vacancy will be filled as soon as possible, and applications should normally reach us no later than 03.04.2019.

Employment Conditions

Contract type: Limited duration contract (5 years). Subject to certain conditions, holders of limited-duration contracts may apply for an indefinite position.

These functions require:

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

Contract type: Limited duration contract (5 years). Subject to certain conditions, holders of limited-duration contracts may apply for an indefinite contract.

Job grade: 4-5

Job reference: IT-ST-FDO-2019-18-LD

Benchmark Job Title: Computing Technical Engineer

Please make sure you have all the documents needed to hand as you start your application, as once it is submitted, you will not be able to upload any documents or edit your application further