IT INFRASTRUCTURE & HPC SYSTEMS ENGINEER
Purpose of the Position
To ensure stable operation of the complete engineering IT infrastructure for the ASPIRE project: from office networks and engineer workstations to HPC clusters and CAE software environments. This role bridges day-to-day IT operations with high-performance computing demands of a modern aerospace engineering organisation.
Key Responsibilities
Office & Network Infrastructure
- Deploy, configure and maintain office IT infrastructure: workstations (Windows/Linux), servers, LAN/Wi-Fi, VPN, internet, printers and peripherals.
- Administer corporate services: Microsoft 365 / Exchange, Active Directory / Entra ID, user accounts, groups, access policies.
- Ensure network segmentation, basic firewall rules, and secure remote access for project partners.
Engineering Workstations & User Support
- Prepare and maintain engineer workstations: OS deployment, CAD/CAE/PLM software installation and configuration (CATIA, SolidWorks, Ansys, 3DEXPERIENCE, etc.).
- Diagnose and resolve engineering application issues: solver launch failures, license checkout errors, environment variables, memory allocation, graphics driver conflicts.
- Provide day-to-day L1/L2 IT support to employees; document solutions and maintain internal knowledge base.
HPC Infrastructure
- Deploy, configure and maintain HPC clusters: compute nodes, high-speed interconnects (InfiniBand), parallel storage.
- Configure and manage job schedulers (SLURM preferred), queues, resource policies and fair-share rules.
- Tune cluster performance for CFD and FEM workloads: MPI configuration, memory allocation, I/O optimisation.
- Monitor cluster health, node availability and job efficiency; troubleshoot failed compute jobs.
CAE Software & License Management
- Install, configure and maintain CAE solvers: Ansys Fluent/CFX/Mechanical, STAR-CCM+, Abaqus, OpenFOAM, or similar.
- Manage solver licensing in both workstation and HPC contexts.
- Deploy, configure and monitor license servers (DSLS / FlexNet Publisher / FlexLM): track usage, debug checkout issues, generate utilisation reports for procurement decisions.
- Organise procurement, renewal, allocation and inventory of all software licenses and IT hardware assets.
PLM Platform Support (Basic)
- Participate in setup and day-to-day maintenance of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
- Administer users, roles, access rights and collaborative spaces under guidance of the PLM Architect.
- Monitor platform health and apply patches/fix packs in coordination with the PLM team.
Data Protection, Backup & Compliance
- Configure and monitor backup for engineering data, PLM databases and simulation datasets.
- Define data lifecycle policies: scratch space management, archival, backup strategy.
- Implement information-security measures: antivirus, endpoint protection, disk encryption.
- Ensure data confidentiality and access restrictions aligned with export-control requirements.
Vendor & Asset Management
- Interface with software vendors, resellers and hardware suppliers for technical support and procurement.
- Maintain accurate registers: IT equipment, licenses, access rights, warranties, support contracts.
Mandatory Requirements
- 4+ years as System Administrator, HPC Administrator, or similar hybrid role in an engineering / R&D / industrial company.
- Windows: Excellent knowledge — OS deployment, troubleshooting, AD/Entra ID, group policies.
- Linux: Confident administration (RHEL/Rocky/Ubuntu) — command line, services, logs, scripting (Bash, Python).
- Networking: TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLAN, VPN, firewall configuration.
- HPC ecosystem: Hands-on experience with job schedulers (SLURM, PBS Pro, or LSF), MPI, and cluster architecture.
- CAE software: Experience installing and troubleshooting at least one major solver suite (Ansys, STAR-CCM+, Abaqus, or similar) in a multi-user environment.
- License servers: Practical knowledge of DSLS, FlexNet/FlexLM, or similar — configuration, debugging, usage analysis.
- High-speed interconnects: InfiniBand configuration and basic troubleshooting.
- Discipline in maintaining documentation, asset registers and user guides.
- English – Intermediate or higher (vendor documentation, support tickets, supplier communication).
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience administering Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
- Familiarity with parallel filesystems: Lustre, GPFS, BeeGFS.
- Knowledge of containerisation for HPC: Singularity/Apptainer.
- Experience with configuration management tools: Ansible, Puppet.
- Background in CFD or FEM (understanding solver types, mesh requirements, typical workflows).
- Experience in aerospace or defence engineering environments.
- Understanding of export-control and data-segregation concepts (ITAR/EAR or EU dual-use).
Personal Qualities
- Problem-solver mindset: tenacity in diagnosing issues from "my mouse doesn't work" to "my CFD job crashed on 256 cores."
- Systematic approach and strong record-keeping habits.
- Ability to prioritise: office tickets vs. cluster-down emergencies.
- Patience in supporting engineers and explaining technical concepts clearly.
- Calm under pressure — especially during critical simulation campaigns.
- Understanding that IT in ASPIRE is mission-critical infrastructure, not a cost centre.
- Comfortable in a growing, evolving environment with shifting priorities.
