Digital Engineer, High Performance Computing

What You Will Do This position is open for external candidates only to apply. The High Performance Computing (HPC) Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory provides scientific computing resources consisting of some of the largest HPC systems in the world, as well as numerous large commodity cluster systems. Our Support Services Team within the HPC Systems Group (HPC-SYS) provides resources for both our internal HPC admin teams and our external users by building and maintaining RHEL systems, managing our admin- and user-facing OpenShift cluster, and supporting around 1,000 users with services such as GitLab. We are expanding this team's charter to include the modernization of our backend infrastructure to support AI-driven and agentic workflows. The Support Services Team is seeking a Digital Engineer who can operate across two closely related domains: traditional Linux/container systems administration, and the design of secure, agent-ready data access architecture across our databases and datastores. This is a hybrid role - roughly half of the position will continue our current systems administration mission (RHEL, OpenShift, GitLab, Ansible), and half will be dedicated to redesigning and hardening our backend so that databases, storage systems, and internal tools can be safely and reliably accessed by AI agents and automated tooling. Core Responsibilities Systems Administration (≈50%) Deploy, maintain, and improve RHEL and container-based systems supporting the HPC DivisionAdminister and grow our OpenShift cluster, including build, test, and troubleshooting of new hardware and workflows Support GitLab and other internal services for approximately 1,000 users Participate in periodic on-call rotation for RHEL servers and OpenShift systems Develop and maintain configuration management via Ansible Mentor students, junior staff, and peers; produce technical documentation, presentations, and reports AI-Ready Backend & Agentic Infrastructure (≈50%) Assess and redesign backend infrastructure - databases, object storage, and other datastores - to support secure, structured access by AI agents and automated systemsDesign and implement role-based access control (RBAC) across multiple heterogeneous databases and storage systems, exposed via APIs or Model Context Protocol (MCP) interfaces Build, deploy, and manage MCP servers that expose internal data and tools to agentic AI systems in a controlled, auditable manner Establish patterns and guardrails for how agentic tools discover, query, and act upon internal data, ensuring least-privilege access and traceability Evaluate and integrate API gateways, service meshes, or proxy layers as needed to mediate agent-to-datastore communication Collaborate with data owners, security, and application teams to define access policies, authentication/authorization models, and data governance appropriate for AI/agent consumption Stay current on the evolving agentic AI tooling landscape (e.g., MCP, function-calling frameworks, agent orchestration platforms) and translate that knowledge into practical backend design decisions This position will be filled at the HPC Engineer 2 level. What You Need Minimum Job Requirements: Demonstrated experience building, configuring, and administering production Linux systems, including strong command-line skills and working knowledge of hardware/software security practicesStrong scripting/automation skills in Bash, Python, Perl, or similar Experience with a centralized configuration management system such as Ansible Experience using Git for version control Strong understanding of containers and one or more orchestration systems such as Kubernetes or OpenShift Practical experience with relational and/or non-relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, or similar), including access control and permissions models Experience designing or implementing role-based access control (RBAC) for data systems, whether via native database roles, API gateways, or identity/authorization frameworks Familiarity with API design principles (REST, GraphQL, or gRPC) and secure API authentication (OAuth2, API keys, mTLS, etc.) Some hands-on exposure to MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers, agentic frameworks, or AI tool-calling architectures - or strong, demonstrable ability to quickly ramp up in this space Experience diagnosing system and application-level issues using tools such as perf, strace, tcpdump, vmstat Education/Experience: Position Requires a bachelor's in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field, and 3 years of relevant experience in high performance computing or scalable AI computing, or data center environments or equivalent combination of education and experience in related field. Desired Qualifications: Direct experience building or operating MCP servers, or integrating datastores with agentic AI systemsUnderstanding of how autonomous/agentic AI tools reason about, select, and invoke external tools and data sources Experience running virtual machines and administering OpenShift clusters Knowledge of cloud technologies and cloud-native identity/access management Experience integrating operational metrics into monitoring systems such as Splunk Familiarity with data governance, audit logging, and compliance considerations relevant to AI/automated data access Demonstrated effective communication skills and ability to work productively across technical and non-technical teams High attention to detail, strong organizational and problem-solving skills, and the ability to independently multi-task in a fast-paced environment An active DOE Q Clearance Work Location: This position will be located in Los Alamos, NM, with the potential for a hybrid work arrangement (60% onsite/40% offsite) from a location within 2 hours ground commute of this location. Reporting onsite will be required. Hybrid is at the discretion of management and can change at any time with appropriate notice. Position commitment: Regular appointment employees are required to serve a period of continuous service in their current position in order to be eligible to apply for posted jobs throughout the Laboratory. If an employee has not served the time required, they may only apply for Laboratory jobs with the documented approval of their Division Leader. The position commitment for this position is 1 year. Note to Applicants: For consideration, applicants should submit a cover letter addressing how their knowledge, skills and abilities meet the minimum requirements along with a resume. Due to federal restrictions contained in the current National Defense Authorization Act, citizens of the People's Republic of China-including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau-as well as citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), and the Russian Federation, who are not Lawful Permanent Residents ("green card" holders) are prohibited from accessing facilities that support the mission, functions, and operations of national security laboratories and nuclear weapons production facilities, which includes Los Alamos National Laboratory. Where You Will Work Located in beautiful northern New Mexico, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security. Our generous benefits package includes: PPO or High Deductible medical insurance with the same large nationwide networkDental and vision insuranceFree basic life and disability insurancePaid childbirth and parental leaveAward-winning 401(k) (6% matching plus 3.5% annually)Learning opportunities and tuition assistanceFlexible schedules and time off (PTO and holidays)Onsite gyms and wellness programsExtensive relocation packages (outside a 50 mile radius) Additional Details Directive 206.2 - Employment with Triad requires a favorable decision by NNSA indicating employee is suitable under NNSA Supplemental Directive 206.2. Please note that this requirement applies only to citizens of the United States. Foreign nationals are subject to a similar requirement under DOE Order 142.3A. Clearance: Q (Position will be cleared to this level). Selected applicants will be subject to a background investigation conducted by or on behalf of the Federal Government, and must meet eligibility requirements* for access to classified matter. This position requires a Q clearance, and obtaining such clearance requires US Citizenship except in extremely rare circumstances. Dependent upon the position, additional authorization to access classified information may be required, which may or may not be available to dual citizens. Receipt of a Q clearance and additional access authorization ultimately is a decision of the Federal Government and not of Triad. Eligibility requirements: To obtain a clearance, an individual must be at least 18 years of age; U.S. citizenship is required except in very limited circumstances. See DOE Order 472.2 for additional information. New-Employment Drug Test: The Laboratory requires successful applicants to complete a new-employment drug test and maintains a substance abuse policy that includes random drug testing. Although New Mexico and other states have legalized the use of marijuana, use and possession of marijuana remain illegal under federal law. A positive drug test for marijuana will result in termination of employment, even if the use was pre-offer. Regular position: Term status Laboratory employees applying for regular-status positions are converted to regular status. Internal Applicants: Regular appointment employees who have served the required period of continuous service in their current position are eligible to apply for posted jobs throughout the Laboratory. If an employee has not served the required period of continuous service, they may only apply for Laboratory jobs with the documented approval of their Division Leader. Please refer to Policy Policy P701 for applicant eligibility requirements. Equal Opportunity: Los Alamos National Laboratory is an equal opportunity employer. All employment practices are based on qualification and merit, without regard to protected categories such as race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status or spousal affiliation, physical or mental disability, medical conditions, pregnancy, status as a protected veteran, genetic information, or citizenship within the limits imposed by federal, state, and local laws and regulations. The Laboratory is also committed to making our workplace accessible to individuals with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations, upon request, for individuals to participate in the application and hiring process. To request such an accommodation, please send an email to applyhelp@lanl.gov or call (505)-664-6947.