DevOps Infrastructure Engineer for the integration of the infrastructure of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) at the DZA (m/f/d)

To support the expansion and further development of the IT infrastructure at the German Center for Astrophysics (DZA) in Görlitz, we are looking for an experienced DevOps Infrastructure Engineer. In this role, you support the construction and operation of a high-throughput, virtually real-time system for data processing and archiving in cooperation with the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) project and its international astronomical partners. ZTF monitors the astronomical sky on variable sources and sends warning messages to a network of robotic telescopes almost in real time to enable immediate follow-up. Your task will be to migrate the monitoring and alerting system to the DZA computing infrastructure and improve its performance. Supported by the high-performance computing environment (HPC) of TU Dresden, you work in a newly established operating team responsible for reliable operation, automation and high system availability. In this building phase, you will have great design space to introduce your expertise and to contribute to a scalable, modern and sustainable IT infrastructure.

YEARS: Transfer of an existing (legacy) data pipeline to a current version using state-of-the-art tools

Construction, operation and continuous development of the IT infrastructure

Conception and operation of storage solutions for high data volumes and data-lifecycle management

Implementation and operation of reliable data ingest workflows

Provision and maintenance of support services and interfaces

Integration and operation of batch processing in an HPC environment (e.g. Slurm), including partitions/queues, priorities and capacity planning

Documentation of processes according to DevOps principles

Cooperation with internal departments, TU Dresden (HPC environment) and external project partners (Zwicky Transient Facility)

Completed scientific study of computer science or related technical/nature sciences

Embossed understanding of software development and the resulting requirements for operation

Safe handling of Unix/Linux systems, shell scripting, cronjobs and process automation

Experience with CI/CD pipelines and GitOps workflows

Confidence with high-performance computing (HPC) environments, distributed file systems (e.g. CephFS, Lustre) or job scheduling systems (e.g. Slurm)

Knowledge of cloud technologies and infrastructure as code tools (e.g. terraform, ansible)

Understanding IT security, data integrity, encryption and compliance requirements (e.g. GDPR, BSI IT basic protection)

Experience in the operation of PostgreSQL (operation, backups, tuning) and/or streaming systems such as Apache Kafka

Understanding network bases (TCP/IP, DNS, firewalling concepts) and typical performance issues (Storage/Network/DB)

Experience in the development and operation of productive data engineering pipelines (ETL, Apache Airflow, Spark, real-time processing)

Pearl identifiers for understanding legacy code are advantageous

Proactive, solution-oriented mode of operation and strong team capacity

Good knowledge of English and German in word and writing

A responsible, versatile activity at the interface between science, IT operation and infrastructure management

Active participation in the technological development of a new national research centre

A collegial, interdisciplinary team with high technical expertise

Remuneration by TVöD Bund (E 12) including annual special payment and other social benefits of the public service

A high priority for the reconciliation of family and work, flexible working time models and the possibility of parttime employment

The DZA seeks to increase the proportion of women and therefore expressly asks them for their application. Applications for disabled people are also particularly welcome. With the same suitability, these or them force SGB IX are preferably set by law for equal workers. .