DevOps Engineer

The Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) develops and operates a high-performance computing and data research infrastructure that supports world‑class science in Switzerland. Its user laboratory is available to domestic and international researchers in academia, industry, and the business sector. The centre is operated by ETH Zurich and has offices at its data centre in Lugano and in Zurich.

For this position the preferred work location is Lugano, but it could also be Zürich.

Project background

We are seeking a versatile and driven DevOps Engineer to help design, build, and operate the software‑defined infrastructure and services powering advanced scientific computing and AI/ML workloads at scale.

You will work at the intersection of systems engineering, software engineering, cloud‑native infrastructure, and high‑performance computing (HPC), contributing to platforms and services used by researchers and engineers tackling complex scientific and AI challenges.

We value strong engineering fundamentals, curiosity, adaptability, and willingness to learn more than a perfect initial match of technical requirements. We welcome engineers from diverse backgrounds who are eager to contribute and grow. If you are motivated by challenging technical environments and enjoy understanding systems deeply, we strongly encourage you to apply even if your experience does not cover every area listed below.

We are offering a contract initially limited to two years, which will provide the opportunity to contribute to a fast‑evolving AI landscape in which CSCS plays a key role and to support high‑impact initiatives both nationally and internationally. This includes contributions to the Swiss AI Initiative and similar programs, such as lending support for the development and release of the Apertus models.

The initial two‑year contract could potentially be extended or even become permanent.

Job description

• Design, deploy, automate, and operate scalable infrastructure and cloud‑native platform services
• Contribute to Kubernetes‑based AI/ML and HPC platforms, including CI/CD, GitOps, observability, security, and operational tooling
• Collaborate with researchers and engineers to support complex workflows, troubleshoot production environments, and improve reliability and performance
• Contribute to platform engineering, automation, and developer productivity initiatives across evolving systems and services
• The technologies and areas below illustrate the breadth of our environment and interests. They are not a checklist of requirements, and experience in only some of these areas is expected

Profile

The technologies and areas below illustrate the breadth of our environment and interests. They are not a checklist of requirements, and experience in only some of these areas is expected.

Technical environment and areas of interest:

• Linux systems engineering, scripting, troubleshooting, and software development (e.g., Python, Bash)
• Containers, Kubernetes, CI/CD, GitOps, and Infrastructure as Code (e.g., Terraform, Helm, Ansible, ArgoCD)
• Distributed systems concepts, APIs, scalability, observability, identity and access management, and security
• AI/ML platforms and supporting infrastructure services
• HPC systems, GPU clusters, and large‑scale infrastructure environments
• Platform engineering and developer productivity tooling
• Secure or confidentiality‑sensitive operational environments

Personal qualities:

• Curious, hands‑on, and eager to understand systems inside‑out
• Strong engineering mindset and problem‑solving attitude
• Comfortable learning new technologies and working across disciplines
• Effective communicator and collaborative team player

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

• Experience supporting research or scientific computing environments
• Familiarity with HPC systems and services
• Exposure to GPU clusters and accelerated computing
• Experience with SRE practices or on‑call operations
• Advanced Linux security knowledge

Ability to leverage AI‑assisted software development for increased productivity

Our core values as guiding principles:

• Curiosity: You enjoy learning and understanding systems deeply
• Openness: You collaborate effectively and value different perspectives
• Courage: You are willing to tackle difficult or unfamiliar problems
• Supportive: You help colleagues and users succeed
• Integrity: You act responsibly, reliably, and transparently

We offer

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive engineering team and particularly encourage applications from groups underrepresented in tech. If you are technically adept, curious, and eager to grow, we want to hear from you.

• Your job with impact: Become part of ETH Zurich, which not only supports your professional development, but also actively contributes to positive change in society
• You can expect numerous benefits, such as public transport season tickets and car sharing, a wide range of sports offered by the ASVZ, childcare and attractive pension benefits
• You can look forward to an exciting working environment, cultural diversity and attractive offers and benefits.
• We value the diversity of our team and, to further enhance the diversity of our workforce, we particularly encourage women to apply.

We value diversity and sustainability

In line with our values, ETH Zurich encourages an inclusive culture. We promote equality of opportunity, value diversity and nurture a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all our staff and students are respected. Visit our Equal Opportunities and Diversity website to find out how we ensure a fair and open environment that allows everyone to grow and flourish. Sustainability is a core value for us – we are consistently working towards a climate‑neutral future.