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Research Computing Systems Engineer

Penn State University

State College, PAFull-time$92–152K/yrPosted 4mo agoStill listed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$92–152K/yr
Location
State College, PA
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
US work authorization required

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Top Secret clearance, required

Job overview

Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory is seeking a High-Performance Computing systems administrator for its Structural Mechanics Division. The engineer will support HPC systems used by scientists and engineers working on defense capabilities, with opportunities to work across system administration, design, and user support. The position is fully on-site in State College, Pennsylvania, and requires periodic travel to remote locations.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Linux, requiredNetworking, requiredParallel File Systems, requiredSecurity, requiredTeam Collaboration, requiredGoal Setting, requiredDiagnostic Skills, requiredProblem Solving, requiredScripting Languages, requiredBash, requiredPython, requiredPerl, requiredBatch Scheduling, requiredSlurm, requiredTorque, requiredPBS, requiredConfiguration Management, requiredPuppet, requiredChef, requiredAnsible, requiredSalt, required

Qualifications

3+ Years Relevant Experience, requiredBachelor's Degree or Equivalent Experience, requiredSecret or Top Secret Clearance Eligibility, requiredU.S. Citizenship, required

Benefits

Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off
Tuition Assistance

Full job description

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

  • CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

  • CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

  • If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants.

Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.

​

POSITION SPECIFICS​ We are searching for a High-Performance Computing (HPC) system administrator to join the Structural Mechanics Division at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State. You will work with our team of scientists and engineers to develop and advance our nation’s defense capabilities. This position offers broad opportunities for professional growth, including exposure to a range of existing HPC implementations—both in-house and at leading institutions—as well as hands-on involvement in all aspects of HPC administration, from system design to working directly with end-users to resolve computational performance issues.

ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.

You Will:

  • Maintain existing HPC systems by ensuring compute node and storage availability to end-users

  • Develop and deploy various scripts to monitor system health and assess system usage

  • Maintain system firmware and software revisions, including operating system upgrades, updates, and patches

  • Perform component and system diagnostics to resolve hardware failures

  • Work with users and hardware vendors to identify and procure components for both existing and new systems

  • Monitor system performance and usage levels and work with team members to resolve immediate and anticipated future issues

Required Skills/Experience areas include:

  • Extensive experience with Linux operating systems (especially RHEL), networking, parallel file systems, and security

  • Experience collaborating in multi-disciplinary, team-oriented cultures

  • A demonstrated track record of setting and meeting goals

  • Effective diagnostic and problem solving skills

  • Expertise with scripting languages (e.g., bash, python, perl), batch schedulers (e.g., Slurm, Torque, PBS), and configuration management tools (e.g., Puppet, Chef, Ansible, Salt)

  • Current eligibility for access to classified information at the [Secret/Top Secret] level or higher and may be subject to a government background investigation to upgrade clearance eligibility, if required

The position’s working location will be fully on-site located in State College, PA. Questions related to flexible work should be directed to the hiring manager during the interview process. This role requires periodic travel to remote locations.

MINIMUM EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS Bachelor's Degree 3+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience accepted Required Certifications: None

ARL’s purpose is to research and develop innovative solutions to challenging scientific, engineering, and technology problems in support of the Navy, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Intel Community (IC). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION on ARL, visit our website at www.arl.psu.edu.

BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

Notice regarding employment at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL): Employees must be eligible to obtain a government security clearance, participate in the ARL drug testing program, and comply with electronic and physical monitoring requirements applicable to federal contractors. ARL operates in a secure information environment involving Unclassified, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and Classified information. Personal electronic devices brought onsite must be registered and may be restricted from certain areas. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply. SALARY & BENEFITS The salary range for this position, including all possible grades, is $92,100.00 - $152,004.00. Salary Structure - Information on Penn State's salary structure

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children. For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page.

CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here.

EEO IS THE LAW Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814-865-1473.

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How this job compares

Set against the 11,868 open Systems Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 10, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$92–152K/yr
  • Pennsylvania median$99–178K/yr152 salary ranges
  • US median$115–190K/yr8,798 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $122K, is 11% below the Pennsylvania median midpoint ($137K) — in the middle half of Systems Engineer salary ranges in Pennsylvania.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 213 open Systems Engineer jobs in Pennsylvania and 11,868 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Pennsylvania
Experience
This posting asks for at least 3 years of experience; Systems Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (9,801 postings).
Education
4,398 of the 11,868 open Systems Engineer jobs (37%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 10, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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