Cloud Networking Services Engineer (IT-CD-CLI-2024-43-LD)

Company Description

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.

Job Description

Introduction

Join the team operating and evolving the cloud infrastructure service at CERN IT! The service provides the virtual and physical infrastructure underpinning the majority of IT and experiment services across multiple data centers. 

As a Cloud and Network Services Engineer in the Compute and Devices (IT-CD) group, you will contribute to the efficient provisioning of compute resources to CERN users and experiments via CERN IT’s private cloud offering. Specifically, you will: 

• Join the team operating and evolving the OpenStack based private cloud service in CERN IT and contribute to secure compute resource delivery via virtual and physical machines to users, services, and experiments; 

• Drive the evolution of Software Defined Networking (SDN) across our two data centres to enhance the network related offerings for our user communities and to increase CERN’s security posture.

As a Cloud and Networking Services Engineer, you will join a passionate team, and take an important role in the management and evolution of CERN IT’s private cloud infrastructure deployment. You will have a full spectrum of responsibilities, from the administration, operation and maintenance of several thousand servers through to aiding users to interface with our service offering.  

You will be involved in all aspects of system life cycle, including gathering user requirements, analysis of service Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to help plan infrastructure design and evolution, and the development where necessary of system software such as monitoring, support services and configuration. 

Functions

You will be responsible to oversee and drive the evolution of the cloud service in the area of Software Defined Networking, and maintain service offerings like load-balancing-as-a-service, private networks, or security groups for cloud and cloud-native applications. 

In particular you will: 

• Be co-responsible for running the OpenStack based cloud deployment at CERN, ensuring appropriate operations and support to our communities; 

• Contribute to the design and development of “Software Defined Networking” components to address the needs of cloud and cloud-native applications and to strengthen the security posture of the infrastructure-as-a-service offering;

• Engage and collaborate with the various CERN user communities throughout the organisation and the experiments, as well upstream developers and community members; 

• Provide user support, including analysing user requirements, providing advice on best practices, understanding usage patterns in order to plan for service improvements. 

Qualifications

Master's degree or equivalent relevant experience in the field of Computer Science or a related field.

Experience:

We are looking for someone with the following demonstrated experience/skills:

• Good knowledge of current network technologies, protocols, and tools in cloud and cloud native environments.
• Experience in operating and optimizing large-scale, mission-critical production services.
• Good knowledge of system administration, in particular Linux environments.
• Knowledge of configuration management tools such as Puppet, and monitoring of distributed systems.
• Experience in programming techniques and languages, in particular Python programming.
• Experience in dealing with user relations, user support, and user requirements definition.
• Familiarity with Agile/Scrum methodologies and DevOps practices.

Additional experience/skills in the following areas would be an asset:

• Experience with cloud computing platforms, such as OpenStack, or SDN solutions, such as OVN, would be an asset.

Technical competencies:

• Knowledge of operating systems
• Knowledge of system configuration tools
• Architecture and design of ICT systems
• Knowledge and application of software life-cycle tools and procedures
• Monitoring and responding to security threats and incidents for ICT systems

Behavioural competencies:

• Working in Teams: working well in groups and readily fitting into a team; participating fully and taking an active role in team activities Cooperating constructively with others in the pursuit of team goals; balancing personal goals with team goals.
• Solving Problems: addressing complex problems by breaking them down into manageable components Recognizing what is essential; discriminating between important and peripheral information and being able to see the whole picture Testing solutions for long-term suitability, cross-checking with all concerned before implementation.
• Managing Self: taking initiative beyond regular tasks and making things happen Working well autonomously; taking on activities and tasks without prompting.
• Building Relationships: showing appreciation for the ideas and contributions of others and encourages others to express their views, even if controversial Being able to put self in the shoes of others in order to understand their needs and interests.

Language skills:

Spoken and written English: ability to understand and speak the language in professional contexts. Ability to draw-up technical specifications and/or scientific reports and to make oral presentations. The willingness to acquire French language would be an asset. 

Additional Information

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.

This vacancy will be filled as soon as possible, and applications should normally reach us no later than 12.05.2024.

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.

Job grade: 6-7

Job reference: IT-CD-CLI-2024-43-LD

Benchmark Job Title: Computing Engineer