Job Description

Job Description n

Systems Programming Specialist

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Australian citizenship required. Must have an active Negative Vetting Level 2 (or higher) security clearance.

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Location: Fishermans Bend/Edinburgh (Onsite).

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RFQ Details

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- RFQ ID: 92097 (RFx30672)
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- Agency: Department of Defence
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- Closing Date: 6 October 2026 at 10:00am
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- Estimated Start Date: Not specified
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- Initial Contract Duration: 20 months, to 30 June 2028
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- Extension Term: 12 months
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- Number of Extensions: 2
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- Security Clearance: Negative Vetting Level 2
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- Location of Work: Fishermans Bend, VIC and Edinburgh, SA
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- Working Arrangements: Onsite at least 4 days per week
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Job Details n

The INV-5 Supercomputing project is seeking one Systems Programming Specialist to join the Supercomputing Platforms team.

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You will develop, maintain and support the base image and core tooling for the supercomputing platform. The role will deliver operating systems and privileged-space tooling underpinning the Supercomputing Capability, applying best-practice software development services that meet Defence security and performance standards.

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The position also involves knowledge transfer, on-the-job skills training and mentoring for Commonwealth staff, as well as contributing to standard operating procedures and processes.

Key Duties and Responsibilities n

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- Deliver highly complex base image artefacts that meet the design, security and performance requirements of the supercomputing capability.
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- Apply modern DevSecOps methodologies to continuously improve the capability.
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- Develop automation tools, configuration templates and supporting documentation for a reliable, scalable and reproducible supercomputing capability.
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- Deliver tooling supporting user and storage management, cluster management, health monitoring, metrics reporting and security monitoring.
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- Work proactively with project stakeholders and the research community to deliver robust tooling supporting DSTG research projects.
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- Work closely with the Supercomputing Infrastructure team to develop tools for effective and secure system administration.
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- Support and maintain the project’s standard operating processes and security instructions.
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- Comply with Australian Government and Department of Defence information management requirements.
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- Develop and maintain researcher self-management tools.
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- Develop and maintain testing and deployment pipelines.
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- Containerise services.
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- Develop and maintain Role Based Access Control and Host Based Access Control schemes.
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- Develop and maintain disk and filesystem management tools.
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Technical Skills nn
- Linux systems programming and Linux internals
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- Operating system image provisioning and configuration
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- Kickstart, cloud-init, PXE, Packer or similar technologies
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- CI/CD pipelines for system images and automation workflows
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- Configuration-as-code and infrastructure automation, including Ansible
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- HPC schedulers such as Slurm or PBS
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- High-performance networking, including InfiniBand and RDMA
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- Identity and access management, RBAC, LDAP, Active Directory, FreeIPA or IDM
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- Kubernetes
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About the Workplace n

The Supercomputing Branch within DSTG Information Services delivers the operating systems and privileged-space tooling underpinning Defence’s Supercomputing Capability.

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The environment supports a many-user supercomputer and includes base operating-system images, automation, cluster and storage management, monitoring, security controls and tooling for research workloads.

Selection Criteria n

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1. Systems programming experience in Linux environments.
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2. Deep knowledge of Linux internals, OS image, provisioning and configuration – eg Kickstart, cloud-init, PXE, Packer or similar.
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3. Experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines for system images and automation workflows.
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4. Competence with configuration-as-code and infrastructure automation tools – eg Ansible
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5. Familiarity with HPC stack components – eg schedulers like Slurm, PBS.
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6. Familiarity with high-performance networking – infiniband/RDMA
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7. Strong understanding of Identity and access management and RBAC – eg LDAP/AD/FreeIPA/IDM
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8. Experience with Kubernetes
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What you can expect from us... nn
1. Fair, disclosed margins
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2. Clear communication at every stage
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3. Honest advice on fit and competitiveness
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4. Visibility on submissions and process status
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5. A professional and respectful experience
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How you are paid... n

You choose what's best for you.

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1. PAYG through Pinaka
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2. Third-party payroll
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3. Self-employed (own ABN) With a single, transparent and fixed margin, we ensure compliance to all state and payroll laws. So that is one less thing for you to worry about.
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BYO CONTRACT n

Already in a role but not happy with the setup?

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Port in your contract to Pinaka for a simpler and more transparent experience. We also have some exciting limited time offers on top of the incredible margins we offer.

BETTER TOGETHER n

Our referral program for people who introduce strong candidates to us.

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Refer a friend - Earn $1/hr per successful referral as long as you both with us. Refer as many friends as you want; no caps.

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📌 Systems Programming Specialist - Supercomputing | Nv2 | Vic, Sa | Long-TermContract (Melbourne)
🏢 Pinaka Technology Solutions
📍 Melbourne