HPC ENGINEER SKILLS, EXPERIENCE, AND JOB REQUIREMENTS

Published: Jul 14, 2025 - The HPC (High-Performance Computing) Engineer has experience with programming languages such as Fortran, C/C++, Python, and Shell scripting in Linux/Unix environments, as well as expertise in building, installing, and running scientific software on HPC systems. This role requires proficiency with HPC schedulers, user documentation, training delivery, and strong technical and communication skills. The engineer also has a customer service focus, team coordination experience, and familiarity with DOE, DoD, or NSF HPC center requirements.

Essential Hard and Soft Skills for a Standout HPC Engineer Resume
  • Performance Monitoring
  • Cluster Administration
  • Job Scheduling
  • Software Installation
  • Task Automation
  • Hardware Testing
  • System Integration
  • Security Auditing
  • Technical Support
  • Application Installation
  • Team Collaboration
  • Issue Resolution
  • End-User Support
  • Technical Assistance
  • Vendor Coordination
  • Research Collaboration
  • Needs Analysis
  • Relationship Building
  • IT Support
  • Market Intelligence

Summary of HPC Engineer Knowledge and Qualifications on Resume

1. BS in Software Engineering with 3 years of Experience

  • Experience in using software applications, design tools, and languages.
  • Ability to apply analytical and problem-solving skills.
  • Experience in designing software applications running on multiple platform types.
  • Knowledge of software applications testing methodology, including execution of test plans, debugging, and testing scripts and tools.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, mastery of English and local language.
  • Ability to effectively communicate design proposals and negotiate options.
  • Strong task leadership/coordination skills.
  • Proactive problem-solving ability to identify and address issues before they escalate.
  • Excellent critical thinking skills to analyze system performance and suggest improvements.

2. BS in Computer Science with 4 years of Experience

  • Related experience supporting scientific computing and/or high-performance computing (HPC) platforms
  • Experience compiling, delivering, and supporting software codes on an HPC cluster
  • Solid engineering and coding skills, and the ability to write quality code/scripts, with prior experience with Python and Bash
  • Solid understanding of Linux operating system fundamentals
  • Basic understanding of HPC schedulers, job optimization, and best practices
  • Experience in working with source control management systems such as Git
  • Experience with software packaging tools such as EasyBuild, Spack, and Homebrew
  • Experience with DevOps software engineering practices, including continuous integration and testing frameworks
  • Experience with software distribution solutions such as the CernVM File System
  • Experience with public cloud platforms and managed services
  • Experience as a product owner or technical lead at the team or project level
  • Prior experience in the Pharma/Biotech industry

3. BS in Information Technology with 6 years of Experience

  • Experience for server development, 2 socket and above systems
  • Experience in designing electronic components, integrated circuitry, and algorithms
  • Must have solid hands-on schematic design and review capability.
  • Familiar with electrical design tools and software packages.
  • Solid experience in the EE role
  • Working knowledge of PCB layout
  • An understanding of the SI experience with storage controllers
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
  • Effective time management to prioritizing tasks and meeting tight project deadlines.
  • Flexibility to adapt quickly to changing project requirements and emerging technologies.

4. BS in Computational Science with 7 years of Experience

  • Experience in HPC Admin environment.
  • In-depth knowledge of HPC Hardware architectures, including CPUs, GPUs, memory, network hardware, disk arrays, UPS, etc.
  • Experience in High Performance Computing (HPC) Cluster and associated high-performance networks such as InfiniBand.
  • Experience with cluster management, batch systems (e.g., SLURM, PBS, LSF), and parallel file systems
  • Experience with benchmarking and performance tuning, as well as parallel programming interfaces (e.g., MPI, OpenMP)
  • Hands-on expertise along with debugging and configuration in RHEL/CentOS/UNIX operating systems, including scripting and programming proficiencies.
  • Experience in programming languages related to system maintenance, such as C/C++, Perl, and bash/shell.
  • Working experience with Python
  • Experience with processes, file structure, directory structure, memory management, networking services, and protocols (TCP/IP, SSL, SSH, FTP, SFTP, etc.) in RHEL or CentOS.
  • Can communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

5. BS in Data Science with 10 years of Experience

  • Ability to drive technical leadership and management of complex, large-scale HPC system projects.
  • Experience in planning and deploying additional compute and storage in the cloud and on-prem data centers.
  • Effective and skilled at communicating/collaborating with multiple internal groups and business units located around the world.
  • Experience with Platform LSF or other scheduling and resource management technologies.
  • Experience in supporting web-based systems performance analysis, recommending modifications, and executing system changes to improve efficiency, reliability, and performance.
  • Working knowledge of ASIC design flow, EDA, and design simulations with large compute jobs across multiple machines and cores
  • Experience in installing and configuring IC Design/EDA software tools in a primarily Linux-based environment
  • Ability to create TCL/Tk modules and wrappers.
  • Fluent in Python, Perl, Ruby, PowerShell, Bash, Chief, or other scripting languages.
  • Cloud automation and workload experience (AWS, Azure, OCI, or GCP).
  • Linux systems administration experience.
  • Experience leading projects both as a project manager and technical lead
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills (English).
  • Ability to multitask effectively in a dynamic environment, and manage without authority

6. BS in Computer Engineering with 5 years of Experience

  • Previous working experience in a DevOps environment
  • Previous working experience in building and supporting COTS applications in pharma and Biotech environments
  • Working experience with Docker and/or container services
  • Experience with Packer and Terraform
  • Independent, self-motivated, and results-driven individual
  • Willingness and ability to acquire quickly new technical skills and business principles
  • Working experience with Productivity tools such as VISIO, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Microsoft Project
  • Strong written and oral communication skills
  • Strong knowledge and understanding of storage and network aspects in Linux environments
  • Ability to build high-performance computing concepts on-premises or cloud.
  • Experience in using AWS cloud components, especially creating VPCs, EC2 instances, EBS volumes, S3, Glacier, load balancing, auto scaling, and HPC clusters
  • Expert knowledge in at least one of the grid engine software (Slurm, UGE, etc), preferably UGE
  • Familiarity with configuration management software such as Puppet, Chef, and Ansible 

7. BS in Computer Science with 8 years of Experience

  • Hands-on experience with designing, building, and configuring private cloud-like computing infrastructure to adapt to custom requirements, utilizing open-source software
  • Expert programming knowledge in C/C++11 and newer, data structures, and operating systems.
  • Experience implementing high-quality software in C++ in the field of High Performance Computing (HPC).
  • Experience in network programming, distributed systems.
  • Experience with Linux and Python for test execution and scripting purposes.
  • Skilled in developing automated tests that reused on virtual platform changes and upgrades, ensuring no regression impact is caused.
  • Experience with Cloud Computing, Virtualization, Containers, and Parallel Computing.
  • Familiar with a Linux/Unix working environment with software releases.
  • Knowledge in the semiconductor field
  • Can observe and respond to people and situations, and interact with others encountered in the course of work.
  • Can learn and apply new information or skills.
  • Must be able to read and interpret data, information, and documents.
  • Strong customer focus and commitment to customer satisfaction through prioritization, quality, efficiency, and professionalism.
  • Ability to complete assignments with attention to detail and a high degree of accuracy.

8. BS in Applied Mathematics with 7 years of Experience

  • Experience in Oil and Gas Engineering and Production
  • Proven work experience as a Linux Engineer, Technical Support Engineer, or similar in a Linux production environment.
  • Expert-level experience with server-level operating systems, Unix/Linux, facilitating high-level engineering.
  • Experience with HPC, including workload managers such as Platform LSF, PBSPro, or Slurm
  • Advance understanding of Windows Enterprise environments, with Active Directory experience
  • Good understanding of distributed storage systems, particularly performance/parallel file systems
  • Good understanding of low-latency networks such as Infiniband, Omni-Path, or RoCE
  • Knowledge of networks, routers, switches, firewalls, and a good understanding of the TCP/IP stack
  • Advanced skills with server hardware, and be able to both repair failed components and architect hardware solutions
  • Experience with backup solutions and SAN
  • Ability to learn new technology in a fast-paced environment.
  • Ability to diagnose and troubleshoot complex technical issues.
  • Excellent problem-solving and communication skills.
  • Self-driven, motivated, and results-oriented, customer-centric mindset.

9. BS in Information Technology with 11 years of Experience

  • Experience in one of the following fields: information technology, HPC system administration, network engineering, or large-scale HPC file systems.
  • Familiarity with cloud computing and container technologies.
  • Familiarity with low-latency/high-bandwidth, interconnected infrastructure (including Infiniband, 10/100GigE, and others).
  • Expertise with HPC system software cluster management tools, job schedulers, and other HPC tools, including Slurm, Ansible, and more.
  • Proficiency with fundamental programming skills (Bash, Python, C/C++ or similar languages).
  • Expertise with administration, monitoring, and maintaining secure Linux/Unix operating systems (CentOS).
  • Knowledge of HPC storage (FC, SAS) principles, file systems (NFS, Lustre, BeegFS, ZFS, etc.), and compute node storage.
  • Familiarity with shared and distributed memory parallelism (OpenMP, MPI), and accelerators (GPUs).
  • Ability to drive technical leadership and management of complex, large-scale computing system projects.
  • Proficiency with multi-vendor management, security, and network/Internet protocols.
  • Expertise in design configuration and planning, with excellent organization skills, and the ability to identify and resolve problems and manage performance.
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills, with experience presenting technical topics to non-technical audiences.
  • Ability to establish processes for maintaining system performance and managing best-in-class standards.

10. BS in Software Engineering with 4 years of Experience

  • Proven work experience as a software engineer
  • Experience working in a continuous integration/continuous development (CI/CD) DevOps environment, and with a Linux distribution (SUSE, RedHat)
  • Working knowledge of Linux System Administration (system boot, systemd)
  • Strong background with C programming.
  • Understanding of and working with the Linux installation process.
  • Experience troubleshooting issues found with the base Linux version.
  • Solid analytical and problem-solving skills.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Familiarity with Nexus
  • Experience working with an Agile/Scrum team (GIT, Jira, Confluence).
  • Experience working on customer issues.

11. BS in Computational Science with 9 years of Experience

  • Experience supporting high-performance clusters with Grid Engine (in any variant) or Slurm Workload Manager
  • Experience with assisting researchers with configuring job submission scripts
  • Hands-on experience supporting IBM Spectrum Scale (formerly known as IBM GPFS)
  • Experience in architecting and supporting InfiniBand networks
  • Experience running parallel jobs with OpenMP or MPI
  • Knowledge of GPU computation and CUDA
  • Experience supporting LDAP/IPA, NFS, Samba, and Web servers
  • Well-versed in science and scientific software, life science tools, and bioinformatics
  • Experience working and collaborating in an academic environment
  • Experience in customer collaborations involving scientific research supported by high-performance computing infrastructure
  • Experience with Linux/Unix variants, especially RedHat/RHEL and its derivatives
  • Experience supporting scientific applications and the ability to compile, package, install, and upgrade software, as well as troubleshooting application issues
  • Scripting experience in Python and other languages (e.g., bash, R, Perl, Ruby)
  • Automation/configuration management experience (e.g., Puppet, Ansible, Chef, Salt)
  • Experience with revision control tools, such as Git/Github, CVS, and SVN.
  • Ability to present ideas to both technical and non-technical users in formal and informal settings
  • Good decision-making skills and leadership ability to assist with the management of the project portfolio and daily operations for the team
  • Experience managing HPC software with Spack, EasyBuild, Modules, or other common HPC tools

12. BS in Data Science with 5 years of Experience

  • Experience working with multiple programming languages and technologies, including at least one of the following: Fortran, C, C++, Perl, Python, and Shell scripting (e.g., Bash, ksh) in a Linux or Unix environment
  • Experience building and installing scientific software and other 3rd party software applications on HPC systems
  • Experience with HPC schedulers and resource managers
  • Experience executing scientific software on HPC systems
  • Experience writing user documentation
  • Experience developing and delivering training for users
  • Strong technical and analytical skills
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills
  • Must maintain the highest level of professionalism at all times when interacting with internal and external customers
  • A high-energy, positive attitude, and commitment to quality customer service
  • A strong work ethic, effectively communicating with others, and proactively anticipating center and user needs
  • Experience coordinating and running support teams
  • Understanding of the requirements of a DOE, DoD, and/or NSF HPC center
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