System Engineer / System Engineeress for a Cloud-like HPC Infrastructure

ETH Zurich - August 9, 2026

System Engineer for a Cloud-like HPC Infrastructure

100%, Singapore, Fixed-term

The Singapore-ETH Centre was established in 2010 by ETH Zurich - The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Singapore's National Research Foundation (NRF), as part of the NRF's CREATE campus. As ETH Zurich's only research centre outside of Switzerland, the centre has strengthened the research capacity of ETH Zurich to develop sustainable solutions to global challenges in Switzerland, Singapore, and the surrounding regions.

Set in Asia, in a rapidly urbanising region, the Singapore-ETH Centre aims to provide practical solutions to some of the most pressing challenges in urban sustainability, resilience, and health through its programmes: Future Cities Lab Global (FCL Global) and Future Health Technologies (FHT).

The centre serves as an intellectual hub for research, uniting principal investigators and researchers from diverse disciplines and backgrounds. To foster the exchange of ideas and expertise, our researchers actively collaborate with universities, research institutes, industry, and government agencies to translate knowledge into practical solutions for real-world problems.

Project Background

The AIS Instrumentation Gym is a multi-tier ML platform developed collaboratively by the National University of Singapore and the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC) for shared scientific instruments (e.g., electron microscopy, X-ray imaging, and light microscopy). It supports researchers across three compute scales: laptop-based prototyping (S-Gym), single-GPU workstations (M-Gym), and multi-node HPC at the National Supercomputing Centre Singapore (L-Gym).

The Gym's goal is to bridge the gap between high-dimensional scientific data and hypothesis generation. It accomplishes this by transforming raw imaging data into learned, interpretable representations that scientists can navigate: revealing patterns, anomalies, and structures at scales human intuition can no longer grasp unaided.

As a comprehensive ecosystem, the Gym brings together domain scientists, ML researchers, and systems builders around a common platform. We are currently hiring full-time engineers and researchers to build, validate, and scale this initiative.

Job Description

As a System Engineer for a Cloud-like HPC Infrastructure, you will:

  • Manage the HPC backbone for the AIS Instrumentation Gym, serving as a one-stop, end-to-end research platform for AI4S workflows.
  • Implement integrated data mobility protocols to ensure seamless and secure data movement between distributed research sites (e.g., NUS, NTU, NSCC, CSCS).
  • Manage sustainable data retention policies, implementing tiered storage solutions that balance fast access for active training with archival for long-term reproducibility.
  • Support federated reproducibility by developing workflows that allow dataset cloning/forking across multiple HPC locations to reduce duplication of effort.
  • Manage and provision the core IT infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools (Ansible, Terraform/OpenTofu).
  • Install and manage the system management platform (OpenCHAMI) and container orchestration system (Kubernetes).
  • Administer the management plane to support multi-tenant vClusters and dynamic vService creation.

This position requires quarterly travel to Switzerland to collaborate with the core Swiss team. Join us in operating an HPC infrastructure at the forefront of innovation, driving impact within a world-class tech stack.

Profile

Must-haves:

  • A bachelor's degree or higher in computer engineering, computer science, or a relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
  • Knowledge of:
    • Microservice architecture
    • Automation tools and frameworks, including CI/CD processes and ecosystems (e.g., GitLab CI, HashiCorp Vault)
    • Developing Ansible configurations
    • Versioning systems and CI/CD workflows such as ArgoCD
    • Kubernetes
    • Learning OpenCHAMI
    • Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform/OpenTofu
    • Experience with distributed or federated research infrastructure (e.g., cross-site data transfer, secure multi-site authentication)
    • Understanding of HPC workflows and data retention policies in a multi-tenant research environment

Preferred:

  • Experience with data-centric HPC workloads and cross-site research infrastructure.
  • Familiarity with the research lifecycle (data cleaning, provenance tracking, and model lifecycle management).
  • Personal qualities:
    • Self-motivated and proactive team player
    • Strong communication skills or interest in developing them
    • Strong problem-solving mindset with tolerance for uncertainty and change
    • Understanding of user needs and collaborative approach to address them
    • Adaptive and willing to learn new technologies collaboratively
    • Comfortable tackling complex or ambiguous problems
    • Willing to admit when unknown and eager to leverage the right expertise when needed
  • Project management and methodology:
    • Experience working in self-organised teams
    • Familiarity with Agile methodology
    • Experience with test-driven development is a plus

Workplace

We Offer:

  • Accredited with 5 Tripartite Standards by Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) Singapore.
  • A diverse workplace with 32 nationalities, offering ample opportunities for mutual learning.
  • A positive and inclusive working environment.
  • 25 days of annual leave for fixed-term contracts.
  • 1 day of Birthday Leave.
  • Annual dental benefits.
  • Commitment to being a supportive employer focused on your physical and mental wellness.
  • Comprehensive healthcare insurance coverage.
  • Flexible hybrid work arrangement (up to 2 days per week from home).
  • Abundant networking opportunities across various disciplines.
  • Accredited with NS mark certification.

The Singapore-ETH Centre is an equal opportunity and family-friendly employer. All candidates will be evaluated based on their merits and qualifications, without regard to gender, race, age, or religion.

We Value Diversity and Sustainability

In line with our values, ETH Zurich encourages an inclusive culture. We promote equality of opportunity, value diversity, and nurture a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all our staff and students are respected. Visit our Equal Opportunities and Diversity website to learn how we ensure a fair and open environment that allows everyone to grow and flourish. Sustainability is a core value for us - we continuously strive towards a climate-neutral future.

Curious? So Are We.

We look forward to receiving your application. Apply online using the form below. Please note that only applications matching the job profile will be considered.

Work Location: 1 Create Way, CREATE Tower, Singapore 138602 (NUS University Town)

Contract Duration: 2 Years

Salary: Remuneration will be commensurate with the candidate's qualifications and relevant experience.

Further information about The Singapore-ETH Centre can be found on our website.

For additional inquiries, please contact: Prof. Duane Loh (NUS) at duaneloh@nus.edu.sg (strictly no applications).

We would like to point out that the pre-selection is carried out by the responsible recruiters and not by artificial intelligence.

Location : Zürich
Country : Switzerland

Application Form

Please enter your information in the following form and attach your resume (CV)

Only pdf, Word, or OpenOffice file. Maximum file size: 3 MB.