Job Details

Co-Director, CSC, Head Computation Strategies, California Nanosystems Institute

Position Number: 7214889
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Position Type: Computing - Management/Director

Co-Director, CSC, Head Computation Strategies, California Nanosystems Institute

University of California Santa Barbara

Position overview
Position title: Co-Director, CSC, Head of Computation Strategies Salary range: $120,000-$165,000 Percent time: 100% Anticipated start: 7/1/26 or later Position duration: One to three-year appointment with the possibility of renewal. Application Window

Open date: June 5, 2026

Next review date: Monday, Jul 20, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Monday, Aug 31, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI) at UCSB provides a wide base of infrastructure resources, facilitating myriad collaborative research and education endeavors on the UCSB campus. CNSI's mission is to catalyze growth and development in research and education. It plans an aggressive expansion of its programs and facilities. A critical component of this growth is the development of extensive computational tools, leveraging the latest advances in AI as appropriate, to allow the optimal acquisition, storage, manipulation, modeling and simulation of all forms of scientific data. As the science and technology of the fields supported by CNSI develop, the requirements for access to rapid and powerful computational tools will continue to grow. The CNSI is committed to support access to state-of-the-art computational environments to the research labs and facilities housed within CNSI and to the broader UCSB campus.

The Center for Scientific Computing (CSC) is housed within CNSI and managed jointly by CNSI and the Materials Research Lab (MRL). CSC provides High Performance Computing (HPC; both hardware and technical expertise) to the UCSB research community in both campus available, and dedicated condo' clusters. It currently serves approximately 100 campus faculty and 300 individual users, spanning 24 different campus departments and research organizations; the CSC has been cited over 1,000 times in peer-reviewed journals. The CSC Co-Director serves triple roles as the primary system administrator of these clusters (including management of the CSC data center, a 1300 square foot raised-floor dedicated machine room with 40 racks and 66 tons of cooling), as a research computing consultant, and as a partner in the strategic planning of the center, in collaboration with the Director of CNSI and the CSC faculty advisory committee. The Co-Director assists in the writing of grants to replace/upgrade HPC resources, organizes quarterly instructional workshops and occasional conferences on HPC topics and research computing, and is responsible for assuring CSC compliance with applicable federal, state and campus regulations, policies and procedures. As one of the few high-level research computing professionals on the UCSB campus, the Co-Director participates in campus-wide IT governance, through service on various standing and ad hoc committees. The Co-Director oversees a secondary system administrator and a user-support specialist.

The Head of CNSI Scientific Data & Computation Strategies is responsible for managing computer systems within CNSI's shared experimental facilities and individual research laboratories that are integrated with lab equipment and/or workflows (LIMS or data analytics, e.g.), and identifying new technologies and tools that assure CNSI lab capabilities remain at the cutting edge. Elings Hall also has a number of shared facilities managed by other entities and the incumbent works with those facilities managers as well to advance research capabilities. UCSB is known for its wide ranging, cross disciplinary research. As such, this position works closely with other IT groups on campus to assure that researchers enjoy a seamless, easy-to-use IT ecosystem. Further, the Head manages CNSI-UCSB computing interactions with various off-campus organizations, including the CNSI-UCLA sister site and the National Research Platform. The Head is also responsible for developing strategies for CNSI to integrate AI into its research computing infrastructure and to identify new AI-enabled
opportunities for the provision of recharge services.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

Applicants for this position must hold either a Master's degree in a scientific or engineering field or a Bachelor's degree with equivalent experience (five years or more).

Preferred qualifications

Strong preference given to applicants holding an advanced degree and/or with experience in research computing.

A proven track record of systems administration within a Linux environment, familiarity with desktop operating systems (Windows, macOS), strong programming and debugging skills, and a history of using and maintaining HPC systems is desired. There are currently four clusters, with approximately 50-100 nodes each.

Familiarity with HPC systems and software, e.g. Infiniband, Warewulf, Slurm, etc. is also strongly desired.

It is desirable that the applicant have experience working with computer-controlled scientific instrumentation.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Cover Letter

Reference requirements

3-5 required (contact information only)

References will be contacted for the top applicants. We will provide notice to applicants before reaching out to references.
Apply link: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF03110

Help contact: alexis_torres@ucsb.edu
About UC Santa Barbara

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination as defined by the employer.
UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, students and third parties
APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

Additionally, you will be required to comply with the University of California Policy on Vaccination Programs, as may be amended or revised from time to time. Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.
Job location
Santa Barbara, CA

To apply, please visit: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF03110