At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. Using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments, they study the basic constituents of matter - fundamental particles that are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives physicists clues about how particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature. Find out more on http://home.cern.
Introduction
You will join the Platforms & Workflows group in the IT department (https://information-technology.web.cern.ch/), where ~50 experienced engineers are responsible for providing a wide spectrum of centrally managed services, such as identity and access management, platforms for developers and researchers, as well as solutions for content authoring and websites hosting.
The Platforms & Workflows group is working for thousands of clients across the whole Organisation (Research and Computing, Accelerator and Technology, HR, Finance and Outreach) and is operating a portfolio of widely known products such as Atlassian Jira, GitLab and Kubernetes as well as purpose-built solutions to fulfil specific scientific or engineering needs. Therefore, working for the PW group provides numerous perspectives for professional growth, being in touch with different technologies and interacting with a diverse community of users.
The Web & Authoring section is a dynamic team of developers and infrastructure engineers supporting platforms for CERN’s project collaboration and websites hosting (https://webservices-portal.web.cern.ch). The section maintains and integrates tools for software engineers and content creators in variety of domains, covering the full spectrum of software life cycle, from issue and code management, through deployment, troubleshooting and maintenance of end-user analytics and documentation.
Functions
As a DevOps Engineer you will be responsible for the maintenance and infrastructure evolution for the authoring, collaboration, issue tracking and web analytics services, mostly deployed on premise, used by around 20000 users, such as Atlassian Jira and Confluence, Twiki, GitLab Pages, Google Workspace and Matomo. More specifically you will take on the following responsibilities:
Deploy and configure the in-house hosted instances of authoring, collaboration, issue tracking and web analytics tools while ensuring their smooth integration within CERN's technical environment (OpenShift/Kubernetes, OpenStack, Single Sign On),Ensure that the deployment model and operations are aligned with the technical evolutions of CERN's infrastructure and the internal recommendations from the governing bodies in the IT department, such as the Architecture Review Board and the Change and Release Management Board,Keep the tools up to date, apply the necessary security patches and risk mitigation strategies as required by the CERN security team and the official tool providers,Provide technical expertise and consulting to the user community, communicate service changes,Ensure that the delivered services have adequate backup and recovery strategies,Ensure that an appropriate level of infrastructure automation and monitoring is in place,Contribute to the vision for future technical improvements, service operation optimizations and the service portfolio evolution.Bachelor's degree or equivalent relevant experience in the field of Computer Science or a related field.
Experience:
For this position, we are looking for someone with demonstrated experience in the following areas:
Operating and optimizing mission-critical production services,Supporting, configuring and customising commercial systems,Kubernetes container orchestration, DevOps and GitOps,Dealing with user relations, user support, and user requirements definition.Technical competencies:
Knowledge of programming techniques and languages: such as Bash, Golang, Python, PerlKnowledge and application of software life-cycle tools and procedures: such as Git, GitLab, CI/CD tools, automation and deployment, Helm chartsAdministration of computing systems: upgrades, application of security patches, system and data migrations, backup and recoveryCustomer service: provide end-user supportBehavioural competencies:
Solving Problems: identifying, defining and assessing problems, taking action to address them Producing workable and timely solutions that meet requirements.Achieving Results: having a structured and organised approach towards work; being able to set priorities and plan tasks with results in mind Delivering high quality work on time and fulfilling expectations.Working in Teams: working well in groups and readily fitting into a team; participating fully and taking an active role in team activities.Communicating Effectively: expressing opinions, ideas and suggestions with conviction and in a logical/structured manner; keeping to the point Delivering presentations in a structured and clear way; adjusting style and content to the audience; responding calmly and confidently to questions Ensuring that information, procedures and decisions are appropriately documented.Learning and Sharing Knowledge: keeping up-to-date with developments in own field of expertise and readily absorbing new information Sharing knowledge and expertise freely and willingly with others; coaching others to ensure knowledge transfer.Language skills:
Spoken and written English: Ability to draw-up technical specifications and/or scientific reports and to make oral presentations in English. The willigness to acquire French will be an asset.
Eligibility and closing date:
Diversity has been an integral part of CERN's mission since its foundation and is an established value of the Organization. Employing a diverse workforce is central to our success. We welcome applications from all Member States and Associate Member States.
This vacancy will be filled as soon as possible, and applications should normally reach us no later than 28.03.2024.
Employment Conditions
Contract type: Limited duration contract (5 years). Subject to certain conditions, holders of limited-duration contracts may apply for an indefinite position.
These functions require:
Work during nights, Sundays and official holidays, when required by the needs of the Organization.Stand-by duty, when required by the needs of the Organization.Job grade: 4-5
Job reference: IT-PW-WA-2024-21-LD
Benchmark Job Title: Computing Technical Engineer