Senior Scientific IT Systems Engineer
- Altos Labs
- Full time
- San Francisco, California
- Posted: November 18, 2023
Company
Our Mission
To restore cell health and resilience through cellular rejuvenation programming to reverse disease, injury, and the disabilities that can occur throughout life.
For more information, see our website at altoslabs.com.
Diversity at Altos
We believe that diverse perspectives are foundational to scientific innovation and inquiry.
We are building a company where exceptional scientists and industry leaders from around the world work side by side to advance a shared mission.
Our intentional focus is on Belonging, so that all employees know that they are valued for their unique perspectives.
At Altos, we are all accountable for sustaining a diverse and inclusive environment.
Can be located in Redwood City CA, or San Diego CA
The Altos Labs Scientific and Enterprise IT Team is seeking a Scientific Systems Engineer and Administrator to join our team and help manage the scientific infrastructure of our organization. This role will primarily support the IT connectivity of laboratory instruments, high-performance storage systems and networking, and on-premises / hybrid compute infrastructure. Candidates will collaborate closely with the Altos Scientific Operations, Scientific Computing, and IT teams to facilitate deployment of new instruments, optimize network connectivity and data workflows for all our lab infrastructure, and build technical infrastructure to support data migrations to on-premises and cloud environments. The ideal candidate should have a strong background in IT administration, particularly in scientific environments, and possess the technical expertise necessary to maintain and optimize complex scientific systems.
Responsibilities:
Candidates for this role will join a multidisciplinary team with ownership over a large space of technical and scientific infrastructure with individuals specializing and contributing according to their areas of expertise. Candidates are not expected to have deep technical expertise in all of the following.
- Collaborate with Altos Scientific Operations, OEMs, and other vendors to facilitate connectivity and maintenance of laboratory instruments to the Altos compute and storage infrastructure
- Collaborate with researchers and vendors to ensure seamless integration and migration of scientific data and metadata from instruments to compute and storage systems
- Administer and monitor high-performance storage systems, such as network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area networks (SAN)
- Implement backup and disaster recovery strategies to safeguard critical scientific data
- Design, configure, and maintain the networking infrastructure to support scientific systems and ensure reliable connectivity
- Collaborate with DevOps to implement and enforce GitOps best practices and standards
- Monitor network performance and implement necessary optimizations to meet the demands of data-intensive scientific workflows
- Troubleshoot network-related issues and collaborate with network engineers to resolve complex problems
- Administer on-premises compute systems, both physical and virtual, supporting scientific applications and services
- Implement security best practices around authentication, access controls, and device management
- Perform routine system maintenance, including patch management, upgrades, and security enhancements
- Monitor system performance and proactively identify and resolve performance bottlenecks or issues
- Collaborate with software developers and vendors to ensure compatibility and optimal performance of scientific applications
- Create and maintain comprehensive documentation, including system configurations, standard operating procedures, and troubleshooting guides
- Provide technical support to scientific researchers and end-users, addressing system-related queries and resolving issues in a timely manner
- Conduct training sessions or workshops to educate users on the proper use of scientific systems and equipment
Who You Are
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related quantitative field. Relevant certifications are a plus.
- 5+ years experience as an IT Systems Administrator, preferably in a biotechnology or other life sciences-focused research environment
- Strong knowledge of laboratory instruments, their integration with networking and storage systems, and troubleshooting methodologies
- Experience managing high-performance storage systems, including NAS and SAN technologies
- Experience in networking administration, including TCP/IP, VLANs, routers, switches, and firewalls
- Experience with Windows Server administration, Active Directory, Group Policy Objects, Linux administration, virtualization technologies, and system monitoring tools
- Familiarity with cloud platforms, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), or Azure
- Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently as well as in a collaborative team environment
- Strong communication skills and the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
Preferred Skills
- Experience administering cutting edge laboratory instruments generating high throughput data, including NGS sequencers, Light Microscopes, Mass Spectrometers and Liquid Chromatography instrumentation, cryoEMs, Flow Cytometers, as well as other instrumentation
- Familiarity with laboratory automation and related software/hardware infrastructure relevant to IT support.
- Familiarity with standard laboratory instrumentation (plate readers, qPCR, gel imagers, ect) and common data modalities from a variety of vendors and instrument platforms
- Familiarity with scientific software and data analysis tools commonly used in research environments
- Experience with on-premises/cloud hybrid compute technologies, including AWS DataSync, Transit Gateway, and EKS Anywhere