Computing Engineer Data Storage Systems (IT-SD-GSS-2024-158-GRAE)

Job Description

Your responsibilities

Would you like to work on large scientific computing infrastructures and help to evolve the data storage systems used across CERN's experimental programme?

The Storage and Data Management Group (IT-SD) is responsible for enabling data access for the laboratory. The group manages more than one exabyte of storage across about 2,000 data servers, 100,000 disk drives and 50,000 high-capacity tapes.

As a Computing Engineer (Data Storage Systems), you will join the CERNBox team, responsible for providing disk-based cloud storage to the whole CERN community, ranging from Scientists to Engineers or Administrative users.

Your job will include operations, support and development tasks.

On the operations side, you will help to run EOS, a mission-critical storage service, take part in troubleshooting problems and diagnosing the cause of any system failures, and implement software fixes and workaround procedures.

This will include interaction with user support tickets as well as other storage services in the IT-SD group. You will develop tools to assist in service operation, as well as interfaces to other services.

Your responsibilities will include :

• Service operations, troubleshooting and support (as part of a team).
• Optimisation and automation of storage services.
• Capacity forecasts and planning.
• Contributing to procedures and documentation.

Your profile

Skills and / or knowledge

Required skills :

• Linux system administration
• Scripting languages (e.g Python, Bash)

Skills which would be an advantage (but not required; training will be provided where necessary) :

• Troubleshooting of distributed systems
• Configuration management (e.g puppet, Ansible)
• Knowledge of monitoring tools (e.g. Grafana, Prometheus)
• Site Reliability Engineering
• C++ and GO experience

Eligibility criteria :

• You are a national of a .
• By the application deadline, you have a maximum of two years of professional experience since graduation in Computing / Software engineering (or a related field) and your highest educational qualification is either a Bachelor's or Master's degree .
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.
• Applicants without University degree are not eligible.
• Applicants with a PhD are not eligible.

Additional Information

Job closing date : 28.10.2024 at 23 : 59 hrs CET.

Job reference : IT-SD-GSS-2024-158-GRAE

Contract duration : 24 months, with a possible extension up to 36 months maximum.

Target start date : 01-January-2025

This position involves :

• Participation in a regular stand-by duty, including nights, Sundays and official holidays.
• Stand-by duty, when required by the needs of the Organization.
• Work during nights, Sundays and official holidays, when required by the needs of the Organization.

What we offer

• A monthly stipend ranging between 5134 and 5647 Swiss Francs (net of tax) .
• Coverage by CERN's comprehensive health scheme (for yourself, your spouse and children), and membership of the CERN Pension Fund .
• Depending on your individual circumstances : installation grant; family, child and infant allowances; payment of travel expenses at the beginning and end of contract.
• 30 days of paid leave per year .
• On-the-job and formal training at CERN as well as in-house language courses for English and / or French.

About us

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

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.