DevOps Engineer for Large Scale Compute (IT-CD-CC-2026-223-GRAE)

Join the team responsible for the High Throughput Compute systems at the heart of CERN's data processing!

Are you a recent graduate with an interest in large-scale computing, automation, and infrastructure technologies? Would you like to develop your skills while contributing to the evolution of the computing infrastructure supporting the High-Luminosity LHC?

As a member of the team responsible for the batch service and configuration management of IT services, you will have the opportunity to experience a varied role, from helping to automate the delivery of compute, to self healing infrastructure, to evolving the toolset that the IT department uses to manage its services.

The Compute and Devices (CD) group in CERN IT provides a wide range of compute services, all the way from end user devices, through cloud infrastructure-as-a- Service, machine-learning, Kubernetes, configuration management, batch and HPC computing at CERN, together with a set of services that support the whole WLCG.

As a member of the Compute and Configuration (CC) section of the CD group, you will join a team of engineers focusing on services supporting the physics community. We run the compute facility that comprises approximately 20% of the WLCG, using tools such as Puppet, OpenStack and Kubernetes to manage batch systems running HTCondor, HPC systems running SLURM, and the support services keeping everything glued together.

If you enjoy solving complex technical challenges, contributing to open-source software, and working with infrastructure at scale, come join us!

Your responsibilities

• Help manage the fleet of 400k+ cores complete lifecycle from CI provisioning through automated and AI enhanced maintenance.
• Help keep us ahead of LLM enhanced security threats with monitoring.
• Suggest, test, and deploy configuration changes on a large scale to production.
• Contribute to the operation and maintenance of the current configuration management infrastructure, including Foreman, Puppet and OpenVox components.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of Terraform/OpenTofu modules used to provision and configure the supporting infrastructure.
• Improve the quality of the configuration code through testing, validation, code review and standardisation.

Your profile

• Experience administering or working with Linux systems in a server or data centre environment.
• Experience writing scripts or applications for automation or system tasks.
• Experience with configuration management tools such as Puppet or Ansible is a plus.
• Experience with container technologies, CI/CD systems or Infrastructure-as-Code tools is a plus.

Skills

• Knowledge of Linux, programming or scripting languages such as Python or Go.
• Familiarity with git for distributed version control is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of configuration management tools such as Puppet or Ansible is desirable.
• Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform or OpenTofu would be a plus.
• Any knowledge of batch systems such as HTCondor, SLURM or kueue would be a plus.
• Spoken and written English, with a commitment to learn French.

Eligibility criteria:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• By the application deadline, you have a maximum of two years of professional experience since graduation in Computer Science (or a related field) and your highest educational qualification is either a Bachelor's or Master's degree.
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.
• Applicants without University degree are not eligible.
• Applicants with a PhD are not eligible.

Job closing date: 08.10.2026 at 23:59 CEST.

Contract duration: 24 months, with a possible extension up to 36 months maximum.

Working hours: 40 hours per week

Job flexibility: Hybrid

Target start date: 01-December-2026

This position involves:

• Stand-by duty, when required by the needs of the Organization.
• Work during nights, Sundays and official holidays, when required by the needs of the Organization.

Job reference: IT-CD-CC-2026-223-GRAE

Field of work: Information Technologies

Benchmark job: 200020 - Computing Engineer

Global Benefits

• A monthly net stipend of either 5266 or 5793 Swiss Francs per month depending on your degree.
• 30 days of paid leave per year plus 2 weeks annual closure.
• Coverage by CERN’s comprehensive health insurance scheme (for yourself, your spouse and children), and membership of the CERN Pension Fund.
• Family, child and infant monthly allowances depending on your individual circumstances.
• A relocation package (installation grant and travel expenses) depending on your individual circumstances.
• Possibility to extend your contract up to 36 months.
• On-the-job and formal training including language classes.

Overview of CERN - Discover a world where the impossible is made possible!

At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, we are pushing the frontiers of science and technology. Our groundbreaking work brings together not only physicists but also a diverse range of professionals from engineering, technical, scientific, and administrative fields. Together, we foster an environment where innovation and collaboration thrive.

Every day, we face exciting new challenges and opportunities to contribute to cutting-edge research that shapes our understanding of the universe. We meet these challenges through the diverse perspectives within our teams, ensuring every contribution is valued and driving our shared sense of inclusion and purpose. Diversity is a core value of CERN since its foundation, and it remains central to our mission and continued success.

If you are ready to be part of a dynamic, inclusive community pushing the boundaries of knowledge, CERN is the place where your curiosity and skills can thrive. Be part of our mission to uncover what lies at the heart of the universe! TAKE PART!

More information about us, here:careers.cern