Department
PSD Computer Science: Keahey Group
About the Department
The Nimbus team (nimbusproject.org) is an academic leader in cloud computing research, development, and operations. We work closely with scientific communities to provide innovative solutions adapting cloud computing to the needs of science. Among others, we operate Chameleon (www.chameleoncloud.org), an experimental platform for Computer Science systems research where new solutions in cloud computing, machine learning, software defined networking (SDN), and Internet of Things (IoT) are proposed every day by an international research community. The Nimbus team provides a friendly, challenge-oriented environment.
Job Summary
The successful candidate will work on the intersection of development, research, and operations, discovering new requirements through working with scientific users, designing and building solutions that change the way science is done, deploying and operating them, and then supporting and interacting with their users to build communities around them.
Responsibilities
- Work with emergent technologies and user requirements in AI and cloud computing to build and evaluate innovative solutions changing the way we do science.
- Help develop an AI-based conversational assistant that helps computer science testbed users configure scientific computing environments in everyday language: build planning and provisioning agents with built-in checks on resource limits, timing, and hardware compatibility; integrate large language models (LLM) running on open academic hardware through standard tool interfaces; create validation benchmark suites and retrieval pipelines that organize documentation, logs, and help desk tickets into a searchable knowledge base.
- Build and operate research infrastructure for projects such as Chameleon (www.chameleoncloud.org): design and build new solutions based on state-of-the-art technologies such as AI agent frameworks, LLM-integrated tooling, or hardware accelerators; extend open source systems and tools such as OpenStack; develop new features; manage system upgrades and maintenance; and implement security controls.
- Work directly with users to identify new requirements, solve problems, and troubleshoot issues, including participating in user studies and iterative evaluation of AI-assisted tools.
- Collaborate with science researchers nationwide as part of a large supercomputing center and an outstanding academic institution.
- Share experiences with the wider community by contributing to papers as part of a research team that regularly publishes in academic venues.
- Investigates, analyzes and resolves day-to-day technical problems using standard procedures.
- Work with stakeholders to gather and analyze requirements for developmental programs. Receives a moderate level of guidance to design applications to meet University and business requirements.
- Performs code testing on components and works to ensure that appropriate implementation standards are met. Evaluates design alternatives for development cost and solutions using various methods.
- Performs other related work as needed.
Minimum Qualifications
Education:
Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
Work Experience:
Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Certifications:
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Preferred Qualifications
Education:
- Bachelor's degree in computer science or another relevant computer-related field.
Experience:
- System experience with IaaS cloud systems, such as OpenStack or Amazon Web Services, and relevant technologies, whether through work, coursework, or projects..
- Programming experience with Python strongly..
- Demonstrated contributions to open source software.
- Experience with distributed systems, performance analysis, and resource and/or data management systems.
- Experience with remote working and associated practices.
Technical Skills or Knowledge:
- Knowledge of Unix/Linux.
- Familiarity with version control systems such as Git.
- Experience with virtualization technologies (e.g., Xen, KVM) and/or containers (Docker).
- Experience with system administration technologies (e.g., Ceph, MariaDB) and DevOps and CICD tools (e.g., Jenkins, Ansible) strongly preferred.
- Familiarity with front-end frameworks (e.g., React, Vue) and web portal development, including experience with Jupyter notebook environments and interactive scientific interfaces.
- Experience with LLMs, prompt engineering, RAG pipelines, or AI agent frameworks (e.g., LangChain, LlamaIndex).
Preferred Competencies
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to prioritize and manage workload to meet critical project milestones and deadlines.
- Ability to work in a collaborative team environment.
- Ability to work on a flexible schedule, which will include occasional late night and/or weekend hours.
- Ability to think independently and creatively to develop exceptional technical solutions.
- Ability to identify similar or complementary commercial or academic solutions and read scientific literature to fill in knowledge gaps as needed.
- Interest in research and working on challenges that don't have obvious solutions.
Application Documents
- Resume/CV (required)
- Cover Letter (required)
- References Contact Information (3)(required)
The University of Chicago uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions.
When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.
Job Family
Information Technology
Role Impact
Individual Contributor
Scheduled Weekly Hours
37.5
Drug Test Required
No
Health Screen Required
No
Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
No
Pay Rate Type
Salary
FLSA Status
Exempt
Pay Range
$95,000.00 - $110,000.00
The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.
Benefits Eligible
Yes
The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.
Posting Statement
The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.
Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.
All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.
The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.
