Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland

The University of Auckland is New Zealand’s leading university, with a turnover of $1.1bn, including research revenue of over $200m generated across eight diverse faculties and two research institutes. We employ more than 5400 academic and professional staff to support over 41,000 students, making us one of NZ’s largest employers.

Our mission and values place strong emphasis on both our student body and our scholarly community, and we work with both community and enterprise to advance the well-being of the peoples of Auckland and New Zealand, with a clear commitment to pursuing sustainability.

Te Whiwhinga mahi | The opportunity

We are seeking enthusiastic and talented people to join our eResearch group who enjoy interacting with researchers and working in a very dynamic team environment. You will contribute to and benefit from the team’s broad skill base, and be excited by the opportunity to work across multiple disciplines and in a variety of different capacities.

Primarily, you will be responsible for operating and developing of our OpenStack-based research cloud. Our OpenStack instance is part of a federated Australian research cloud, so you will engage and collaborate with other OpenStack operators and the core services team in Australia, and also engage with researchers and IT service providers across the university to enable researcher success.

As a self-motivated person who shows initiative, for this role, we assume you bring a strong grounding in at least two of: (i) Linux System Administration (ii) Administration of OpenStack (iii) Administration of complex service infrastructures, along with strong skills in scripting/programming in bash and Python and general expertise in areas such as: IP networks, Linux virtual networking, solutions architecture, devops, automation, databases, analytics, monitoring, logging, documentation system, and training.

For more detailed information, please refer to the Position Description.

The Centre for eResearch is a cross-faculty research centre at the University of Auckland.

We have three core areas of focus. To grow strategic research infrastructure and resources, to create effective and efficient computing services and workflows to support research and to provide consultancy and help to researchers who need to use advanced computing tools in their research.

We are also committed to providing training opportunities that help researchers learn new computing skills, and community outreach to create a vibrant and supportive culture of digitally-empowered scholarship. This mission applies to the entire range of research disciplines across the university, although the support we provide may vary by community.

He kōrero mōu | About you

Research needs and computational platforms and tooling are always changing, so the support we offer is constantly evolving to keep track of emerging needs and opportunities. Thus we need the people who work with us to be very flexible, possess multiple computational skills and be willing and able to learn new skills and computational environments rapidly.

You will be familiar with working in an open collaborative environment and have demonstrated competency to communicate and work effectively with different teams to help steer work and take ownership to deliver results.

You will help develop, describe and deliver other services and infrastructure like file transfer services, data services, as well as build creative solutions to research support needs.

From time to time you may also deliver educational workshops to help researchers or colleagues to learn new digital skills (we teach Software and Data Carpentry).

You will also develop key functional relationships with colleagues within the Centre for eResearch, within the University’s IT Services, and colleagues in Australia, as we work together to provide the best possible environment for research success.

Nga Pūkenga Motuhake | Important Skills

Our preferred candidate will ideally have demonstrated a passion for research and academic development.

Platforms & Service Experience: OpenStack, Devops, Automation, Linux, Cloud, APIs, HPC, Data Services

Ngā āhuatanga kei a mātou | What we offer

The University of Auckland is New Zealand’s leading university and maintains significant computational, laboratory and analytic facilities. Auckland itself is frequently rated as one of the world’s most liveable cities. 

The University is committed to providing an excellent working environment through:

• Flexible employment practices (including working from home, flexible hours)
• Up to 6.75% company superannuation scheme
• A competitive salary with five weeks’ annual leave

In addition, we also offer career development programmes, discounted car parking, a generous parental leave allowance, childcare and a number of other discounts on internal and external services. 

For more information please visit Staff Benefits.

Me pēhea te tuku tono | How to apply

Applications must be submitted online, by the closing date of 10 April 2022 to be considered. Please include your cover letter and CV highlighting how you can meet the skills and experiences detailed above.

Please reach out to Martin Feller, [email protected]  for a confidential conversation. Please note we are happy to answer your questions but we do not accept applications by email. 

Covid-19 Vaccination

The University of Auckland is committed to protecting the health, safety and well-being of our staff and students. All students, staff and visitors need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, or medically exempt, in order to come onto our campuses or to take part in face-to-face University-managed activities. Therefore, we are only able to consider applicants who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or have a New Zealand Ministry of Health issued medical exemption and evidence of this will be requested as part of your employment. You can read more about the University’s vaccination policy here.

Equity

The University is committed to meeting its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and achieving equity outcomes for staff and students in a safe, inclusive and equitable environment.  For further information on services for Māori, Pacific, women, LGBTQITakatāpui+, people with disabilities, parenting support, flexible work and other equity issues go to www.equity.auckland.ac.nz