High Performance Computing Application Scientist

As a member of our Information Technology Department, you will join a dynamic team of dedicated individuals committed to delivering forward thinking solutions with a focus on continuous improvement. At UMASS Medical School IT we recognize and reward independent thought and innovative ideas. We have fostered an environment where the team dynamic is embraced and collaboration and FUN are core components of our culture! Due to our continued growth, we are seeking a dynamic High Performance Computing (HPC) Scientist who will be responsible to follow best practices as related to High Performance Computing in projects related to: Medical Physics, Protein Structure, RNAi, Molecular Dynamics, Comparative Genomics, Computational Biology, and Next Gen Sequencing. The candidate will work with the research community to optimize existing, and new scientific based software packages suited for HPC based research (including HPC GPU based software).  This candidate will also actively participate in the design and development of software tools and algorithms to address challenges in the following research at UMASS that can include Bio-Informatics, Radiology based research, Crystallography, Computational Modeling and Simulations, Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, and Computational Biology.  The candidate will work with the Research Computing staff to design, implement, and provide production level services for the research community. The Following Competencies Are Essential

• Critical thinking in the Computer Science field as applied to: Software Engineering, Programming Languages, Database programming, Distribution, Threading, and
• Networking.
• Confirm project requirements by reviewing objective, input data, and output requirements with customers.
• Encode project requirements by converting work flow information into computer language.
• Project based and long term goal planning
• A strong ability to arrange project required needs into a logical programming layout by analyzing project requirements; applying these requirements using logic and algorithmic expertise.
• The candidate will actively participate in the design and development of software tools and algorithms to assist with UMass based research. These areas include, but are not limited to:
• Computational modeling and simulation (ex: Monte-Carlo), data capture and data analysis (high throughput), data storage and overall workload optimization.
• Ensure optimum performance, reliability, and scalability of these applications.
• Work with labs ranging from: Medical Physics, Protein Structure, RNAi, Molecular Dynamics, Comparative Genomics, Computational Biology, and Next Gen Sequencing.
• Work with Research Computing staff on new projects which will make HPC a commodity service to users
• Make critical business decisions daily with minimal supervision.

MS in Computer Science, or equivalent experience and 8 years of experience programming in: C/C++, Java, Python, Perl programming languages, and shell scripting (BASH) with a Physics or Math background are essential.  Working knowledge working with High Performance Computing Scheduling (LSF, scheduler experience helpful) and HPC based systems, including understanding optimal techniques on HPC storage is also essential. Must Also Have General Programming Skills Including

• Analyzing Information
• Problem Solving
• Software Algorithm Design
• Software Performance Tuning
• Software Design
• Software Debugging
• Software Development Fundamentals
• Software Documentation
• Software Testing (including source control, etc.)

Solid interpersonal skills, with ability to work well with people of all levels of information technology expertise and comfort in varied organizational relationships and ability to travel to off-site locations are also a must. Working knowledge with MPI, and distributed techniques (OpenMPI, Pthreads, OpenMP) with Hadoop/Map-reduce experience, CUDA (GPU programming), strong knowledge integrating databases with development projects, and knowledge of setup, support, and schema for the following DBs:  Mysql, Oracle, PostgresSql, MongoDB would be beneficial. The University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) offers a very competitive compensation and benefits package including four weeks paid vacation, free tuition at any Massachusetts state school, a robust and affordable variety of health and dental plans, participation in the state retirement plan, and a rewarding environment driven by distinctive work in progressive education and research. If challenging and competitive work in a fast paced environment appeal to you, consider sharing your talents with one of the fastest growing academic health centers in the country. Ranked 5th in primary-care education and 48th in research among the United States' 125 medical schools in the 2014 U.S. News & World Report annual guide, "America’s Best Graduate Schools,” UMMS is also a world recognized research center. Beyond its core mission of distinction in health sciences education, UMMS has exploded onto the national and international scene as a major center for research with UMMS researchers making pivotal advances in HIV, cancer, diabetes, genetic disorders, infectious disease and in understanding the molecular basis of disease.