Item 2.A-July 11, 2014
ADMINISTRATIVE FACULTY POSITION DESCRIPTION QUESTIONNAIRE
To expedite and facilitate the PDQ review process, please send the PDQ and Org Chart electronically to
marshag@unr.edu for discussion and for initial review before routing PDQ for approval signatures.
Questions - call UNR Faculty HR at 682-6114
INSTRUCTIONS: See http://www.unr.edu/hr/compensation-and-evaluation for complete instructions.
Incumbent(s) Name (if applicable):
Position #(s):
Current Title:
Current Range:
(JCC: )
Department: Dean’s Office
College/Division: College of Science
Account #(s): 1101-114-0001
Action Proposed: (check all that apply)
(X) New position: Proposed Range: 3
Proposed Title: Administrator, Research Computing System (COS)
( ) Title Change, Proposed Title:
( ) Proposed Reassignment from Range
to Range
( ) Revised PDQ only (no change in range or title)
JCC (Current
( ) Line of Progression (show titles below)
or new HR
Range:
assigned):
I certify that the statements in this description are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge.
____________________________________________________________
Employee’s Signature
__________________
Date
I/we have reviewed the statements in this form and they accurately reflect the job assignments.
____________________________________________________________
Immediate Supervisor’s Signature Katherine McCall, Associate Dean, COS
__________________
Date
____________________________________________________________
Director/Chair/Dean
Jeff Thompson, Dean, College of Science
__________________
Date
Approved for Salary Placement Committee review.
____________________________________________________________
__________________
Pres / Vice Pres / Vice Prov Signature Stacy Burton, Vice Provost, Academic Affairs Date
Action Approved by the Provost/President (Completed by Faculty HR):
67573 Range:
3
Pos #(s):
JCC:
EEO: 3J
Eff: 7/1/2014
Approved Title: Administrator, Research Computing System (COS)
Employee signs on “final” stamped approved PDQ and sends to HR for personnel file.
Employee Signature:_______________________________________________ __________________
Date
Printed Name: ____________________________________________________
Rev: 10/1/2012
Position Description – Administrator, Research Computing System (COS)
Page 2
1. Summary Statement: State the major function(s) of the position and its role in the
university. Attach an organizational chart with positions, ranges, and names for the division
which reflects the position in it as well as those supervised in the department. (This section is
used for advertisement of the position.)
The Administrator for Research Computing System is responsible for infrastructure development and
maintenance for all high performance research computing needs in the College of Science (COS).
Responsibilities include management and administration of multiple high performance research Linux
clusters and Linux servers, and configuration of research network devices. The Administrator
researches and makes recommendations for hardware purchasing decisions, and installs, configures
and maintains hardware and scientific applications software. The individual serves as the point of
contact for college level software license issues (Matlab, Labview, etc.), consult on research software,
and coordinates data management at the college level and for shared facilities. The position consults
and collaborates with campus Information Technology (IT) administrators and supervises student
workers hired for computing support within departments in the College of Science. The position
reports to the Dean, COS.
2. List the major responsibilities, including percentage of time devoted to each. Provide
enough detail to enable a person outside the department to understand the job (percentage
first with heading and then bulleted information).
50% - Technical Support
 Provide advanced technical administrative support for high performance Linux clusters and
servers used for research in the college of science
 Act as a technical resource for researchers with respect to their computational needs
 Deploy new technology and equipment acquired by college researchers
20% - Needs Analysis, Research and Planning
 Research new and emerging technologies
 Participate in needs identification, planning, and development of future systems
15% - Supervision of Graduate Assistants and Student Workers
 Train, mentor and support students hired to provide research computing support within
departments
10% - Documentation
 Document and maintain research cluster, server, and network configurations
5% - Vendor relationships
 Work with approved vendors to procure appropriate systems
 Work with approved vendors to convey current and future research computing needs
3. Describe the level of freedom to take action and make decisions with or without
supervision and how the results of the work performed impact the department, division and/or
the university as a whole.
Level of Freedom:
The Administrator must be flexible and work independently with minimal oversight from COS
Research Instrumentation and Services Committee (RISC). Independent judgment will be used
regularly in problem solving, recommendation development, and maintenance of continuous system
Position Description – Administrator, Research Computing System (COS)
Page 3
operations. Ongoing problems will be brought to the college RISC for discussion and consensus
solution.
Impact:
The Administrator provides essential computing support to researchers in the College of Science.
The success of the research enterprise depends on reliable high performance computing, networking,
and data management. Serious outages, delays, and inadequate support will impact promotion and
funding opportunities for research-intensive faculty members and their students. Thus, the
Administrator must be prepared to take whatever initiative is appropriate to ensure high availability of
all research services.
4. Describe the knowledge, skills (to include cognitive requirement and verbal and written
communication), and abilities (to include task complexity, problem solving, creativity and
innovation) essential to successful performance of this job (in bullet format).
Knowledge of:
 Linux system administration including installation, maintenance, and support of multi-vendor
hardware/software
 Cluster management tools, schedulers and workload managers, version control systems,
parallel libraries
 RAID storage systems and backing up large data drives
 Enterprise or university computing environments
 New and emerging technologies appropriate for the research environment
Skills:




Problem solving
Interpersonal and human relations
Strong written and verbal communication
Organization and time management
Ability to:
 Clearly communicate technical concepts to a non-technical audience
 Organize, manage, and prioritize a diverse workload
 Productively interact with faculty and staff
 Provide technical direction to less experienced computer support staff
 Assess and develop plans to improve the research computing infrastructure
 Independently increase personal knowledge base
5. Describe the type of personal contacts encountered in performing the duties of the job.
Explain the nature and purpose of these contacts: i.e., to provide services, to resolve
problems, to negotiate.
Internal
Faculty
Staff
Graduate students
Undergraduate students
IT
Reason for Contact
Provide research computing support, resolve computing problems
Coordinate purchases and installation of hardware and software
Provide research computing support
Provide research computing support, potentially supervise
Coordinate and consult on research computing needs
Position Description – Administrator, Research Computing System (COS)
External
Vendors
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Reason for Contact
Negotiate hardware, software, and license purchasing
6. Indicate the minimum qualifications which are necessary in filling this position should it
become vacant. Please keep in mind the duties/responsibilities of the position rather than the
qualifications of the incumbent.
a.
Minimum educational level, including appropriate field, if any.
Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited institution with coursework in computer
science, MIS, IT or other related area
b.
Minimum type and amount of work experience, in addition to the above required
education necessary for a person entering this position.
Bachelor’s Degree and four years, or Master’s Degree and two years, of experience in
scientific computing or system administration
Preferred Licenses or Certifications: none
c.
Indicate any license or certificate required for this position.
None