Head of Scientific Computing

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Ref 81140

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute [WTSI] is at the cutting edge of genetic research with very large scale DNA data production & analysis underpinning the science. Delivering science on this scale requires a large scale HPC infrastructure. The WTSI has one of the largest Life Science data centres globally & is possibly the largest in Europe. Our current storage capacity is 16 Petabytes with 16,500 cores of computational capacity. This is expected to grow extensively over the coming years.

In this challenging role you will lead our Scientific Computing group specialising in large-scale HPC systems administration. In addition to operational responsibilities, these teams undertake research & development & it will be your responsibility to drive this work & liaise with external vendors in taking developments towards production.

Reporting to the Director of ICT you will lead ongoing development of the HPC infrastructure to meet the Institute’s aims over the coming years & will work closely with the Head of ICT Services to coordinate the overall ICT requirements of the Institute & campus.

As part of the long-term succession plan for the Director of ICT role this is an excellent development opportunity for someone who sees their next role as leading a team delivering ICT services & managing a large scale high performance compute facility within a world-leading scientific organisation.

Essential Skills

You will be a self-starter able to work under pressure & will have expert communication skills to write/prepare & present proposals, experienced in collaborating with a broad range of different specialists, influencing senior staff & at Board level.

With proven expertise in a number of disciplines i.e. local & wide-area networking, very large petascale storage, SANS, database, enterprise infrastructures, web, clustered (farm) & distributed computing as well as a background in high performance, scientific/research computing. In addition, you will have knowledge of state-of-the-art technologies such as cloud computing & multi-core technologies as well as a broad understanding of current scientific codes.

You will be able to demonstrate high levels of strategic thinking, deep technical HPC expertise, long-term vision & excellent managerial skills that will enable you to develop motivate & lead this large group of IT specialists.

Ideal Skills

Ideally, you will also have an understanding of state-of-the art technologies such as unified communications, wireless & LAN technologies, security as well as knowledge of Linux, Windows, MAC systems & Helpdesk & ERP service systems.

Other Information

For further information you can speak to Phil Butcher, Director of IT & Telecommunications. In the first instance email Alison King ack@sanger.ac.uk who will arrange a time for you to speak to Phil.

The closing date is 22nd April 2012

Interviews will take place on the afternoons of the 8th and 9th May 2012

Benefits

Details of our comprehensive range of benefits can be found on our website https://jobs.sanger.ac.uk