Cloud Support Specialist

**Department** Information Services & Technology - Digital Research Services

**Salary range** $75,869.95 to $107,406.50

**Hours per week** 35

**Grade** 13

**Posted date** October 2, 2024

**Closing date** October 10, 2024

**Position Type** Full Time - Operating Funded

**Description**:
This position is a part of the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA).

This position offers a comprehensive benefits package which can be viewed at: Faculty & Staff Benefits.

**Location - **Work primarily takes place at North Campus, Edmonton. This role is hybrid with a mix of remote and in-person.

**Working at the University of Alberta**
- The University of Alberta acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 6 territory, and respects the histories, languages and cultures of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and all FirstPeoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community._

The University of Alberta is a community of knowledge seekers, change makers and world shapers who lead with purpose each and every day. We are home to over 14,000 faculty and staff, more than 40,000 students and a growing community of 300,000 alumni worldwide.

Your work will have a meaningful influence on a fascinating cross-section of people — from our students and community members, to our renowned researchers and innovators, making discoveries and generating solutions that make the world healthier, safer, stronger and more just. Learn more.

**Working for the Information Services & Technology (IST) Department**

Information Services & Technology (IST) is the central support group for the university's technological landscape. IST plays a pivotal role in ensuring the evolution and smooth operation of technology for teaching, learning, research and working at the University of Alberta. Beyond having expansive technical expertise, IST fosters a supportive environment where our staff values include compassion, connection, collaboration, creativity and courage.

If you are passionate about leveraging technology to empower education, research and to drive institutional excellence, join us and be part of shaping the future of the University of Alberta through innovative IT solutions.

**Position**

Reporting to the Director, Digital Research Services, the Cloud Support Analyst (CSA) is responsible for assisting researchers in their use of Advanced Research Computing (ARC) in conducting their research through computational cloud environments. The CSA's clientele are researchers of all levels, from undergraduates through full professors, and in all fields of research. The CSA provides guidance in incorporating ARC cloud resources into research workflows, including but not limited to national cloud systems and support.

The CSA collaborates with the other Research Computing staff and national ARC experts in order to support researchers across the country in their use of cloud environments, with a focus on Western Canadian researchers (MB, SK, AB, and BC).

**Duties**
- Train researchers on how to use these cloud systems and resources, and on best practices to ensure they use the cloud effectively and efficiently, as cloud resources can carry substantial costs, depending on provider. Collaborate with other trainers in the development and delivery of this training.
- Install research software on such cloud environments as required by researchers, according to installation and operational standards of Compute Canada/the Alliance. These installations are not trivial like MS Office on Windows desktop systems.
- Participate in the Cloud National Team within Compute Canada/the Alliance, in video conferences and meetings (national meetings generally occur twice annually). Collaborative coordination of service support among CNT members across Canada to serve thousands of researchers.
- Participate in IST Research Computing group tasks and activities (e.g., deliver presentations at staff meetings, training researchers in workshops).

**Qualifications**
- A Masters Degree in a research-based rather than performance-based field with research experience while earning the degree. PhD in a related field preferred.
- Experience in research in a post-secondary setting.
- Experience with research computing environments: clusters, clouds, and/or research software is required. Experience with OpenStack and commercial cloud platforms, such as GCP or AWS, is preferred.
- Knowledge of cloud resources such as CEPH, containers (Kubernetes), and cloud automation is valuable.
- Knowledge of how to use high-performance computing (HPC) schedulers such as Slurm is helpful, as clusters-in-cloud is a provision here.
- Knowledge of programming languages and scripting languages is useful and preferred.
- Excellent communication/presentation, interpersonal, and written skills.
- Demonstrated ability in delivering and reporting results.
- Ability to work effectively and collegiately within a large, complex enterprise, and to negotiate with and influence a wide range of