Job Title

Job Description

The selected candidate will focus on DevOps and computing infrastructure management within the scope of the International Gravitational Waves Network (IGWN) (EGO/Virgo, LIGO, KAGRA). This role is a critical part of our mission to streamline software development processes, ensure reliable infrastructure, and support the effective operation of our distributed computing systems. This position not only requires hands-on technical expertise but also offers the opportunity to grow into coordination responsibilities. The transition to a more coordination-centered role will be contingent upon the candidate’s demonstrated experience, capabilities, and readiness to take on such responsibilities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Coordination:
  • Collaborate with international teams to align computing policies, and architectures across LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA, with the potential to take on strategic roles.
  • Lead the evolution of computing infrastructure, ensuring scalability, reliability, and alignment with long-term research goals, contingent upon the candidate’s progress and experience.
• DevOps Engineering:
  • Manage and automate deployment processes, focusing on scalability, security, and reliability, while also mentoring teams to improve overall DevOps practices.
  • Collaborate with development teams to optimize the software development lifecycle, focusing on automation, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
• Computing Infrastructure Management:
  • Maintain and enhance the VIRGO cluster to ensure the availability of dedicated software environments using package management tools such as pip or conda.
  • Interface with the underlying distributed, large-scale computing infrastructure tailored to the requirements of the International Gravitational Waves Network (IGWN).
• Software Support:
  • Provide software support to scientists and researchers, including developing and maintaining software for specific purposes.
  • Diagnose and resolve software issues that may arise during commissioning and operations.
• Data Management and Processing:
  • Supervise and maintain low-latency data distribution via Apache Kafka to ensure data availability and investigate any issues.
  • Participate in the setup and maintenance of dedicated low-latency clusters and ensure the efficient operation of data analysis pipelines.
• Quality Assurance and Best Practices:
  • Implement and promote best practices in software development, configuration management, and DevOps within the team.
  • Maintain and improve tools and processes that support code quality, security, and performance, with an opportunity to influence broader policy and standards as experience accumulates.

Restrictions

• Telecommuting is OK
• No Agencies Please

Requirements

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field;
• 36 months of post-graduate activity in public and private institutions in Computer Science or Software Engineering;
• Proven experience in computing infrastructure management or related roles;
• Strong expertise in Python development and experience with Git for version control;
• Experience in configuration management tools;
• Good knowledge of the English language;
• Basic knowledge of Italian and/or French;

One or more of the following will be an asset:

• Experience with software development supporting tools such as CMake and/or Meson build tools;
• Familiarity with the Conda package and environment manager;
• Experience with the GitLab collaborative toolchain, including Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD);
• Experience with platforms for real-time data streaming such as Apache Kafka;
• Knowledge of distributed platforms enabling high-availability deployments of services via orchestration technologies such as Kubernetes;
• Expertise in Python performance monitoring and optimization;
• Experience in C/C++ programming.

About the Company

EGO is a French-Italian consortium, founded by INFN and CNRS to foster European collaboration in gravitational-wave research. EGO is located in Cascina, near Pisa – Italy, and hosts and operates the gravitational-wave detector Virgo, a 3 km-long laser interferometer (ITF). The Virgo project involves the participation of about 130 institutions with more than 800 scientists, engineers and technicians from France, Italy, the Netherlands and other 13 European countries.

Contact Info

• Contact: Franco Carbognani
• E-mail contact: franco.carbognani@ego-gw.it
• Web: https://www.ego-gw.it/