HPC Architecture Leader

Viridien (www.viridiengroup.com) is an advanced technology, digital and Earth data company that pushes the boundaries of science for a more prosperous and sustainable future. With our ingenuity, drive and deep curiosity we discover new insights, innovations, and solutions that efficiently and responsibly resolve complex natural resource, digital, energy transition and infrastructure challenges.

Shape the architecture scaling science and energy innovation

Viridien is a global HPC and technology leader with over 70 years of working in scientific computing. We operate global high-performance scientific computing infrastructure delivering more than 700 petaflops and executing over one million scientific computing jobs daily across areas including geophysical imaging, materials science, biotechnology and AI-driven research.

Viridien is seeking an experienced HPC Architecture Leader to join our global HPC technology team and shape the strategy, roadmap, and delivery of our high-performance computing platforms. In this role, you will lead end-to-end architecture for next-generation HPC systems, aligning stakeholders across engineering, operations, vendors, and clients to deliver secure, scalable, and cost-optimized solutions that power mission-critical data processing and simulation workloads.

This is a hands-on, highly collaborative leadership role for someone who can set technical direction, lead and develop high-performing teams, influence decisions, and deliver measurable improvements in performance, reliability, and total cost of ownership.

This role can be located in our Crawley office, just south of London—well connected to the capital, the South Coast, and Gatwick Airport for international travel or our Houston office in Texas, US.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a STEM discipline (Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, or equivalent).
• 8+ years of experience designing, implementing, and scaling large-scale HPC compute and storage architectures, with demonstrated ownership of outcomes in production environments.
• 3+ years managing and leading an HPC technology team. Demonstrated people leadership (direct or dotted-line): mentoring, coaching, setting expectations, and building strong team culture.
• Proven expertise in designing performance-optimized, high-density systems utilizing both CPU and GPU technologies.
• Deep technical command of the HPC stack, including next-gen processors, memory subsystems, and high-speed interconnects.
• Comprehensive mastery of Linux-based environments and the broader HPC ecosystem.
• Familiarity with HPC benchmarking, monitoring, and performance-tuning tools.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to align teams and drive decisions across a matrixed organization.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives, including planning, risk management, and driving execution across globally distributed teams and vendors.
• Curious, self-driven mindset with a passion for learning and applying emerging HPC technologies.

Nice to Have

• Experience building and scaling technical teams (hiring, onboarding, and developing talent) in a fast-changing environment.
• Ability to communicate technical trade-offs to senior stakeholders and influence investment and roadmap decisions.
• Change leadership experience (introducing standards, improving processes, and raising engineering maturity across teams).
• Knowledge of high-performance networking and interconnects (e.g., InfiniBand, high-speed Ethernet fabrics).
• Experience with high-performance storage technologies such as Lustre, Ceph, or BeeGFS.
• Exposure to cloud-native and hybrid HPC technologies.

Why work with us?

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience
• Highly attractive bonus scheme
• Initial 22 days annual leave with future increases
• Company pension with generous employer contribution
• Wellbeing Unmind app – puts you in control of your mental health
• A flexible benefits platform with numerous discount schemes - gym membership, restaurants, cinema tickets, and more
• Cycle purchase scheme
• Flexible Private Medical & Dental care programmes
• Bank Holiday Swap - our holiday swap programme allows you to change it for another day of your choice.

Our Hiring Process

At Viridien, we are committed to delivering a respectful, inclusive, and transparent recruitment experience.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may not be able to provide individual feedback to every applicant. Only candidates whose qualifications closely match the role criteria will be contacted for an interview. We do, however, aim to share personalized feedback with those who progress to the first round of interviews and beyond.

We are also dedicated to ensuring that our hiring process accessible to all. If you require any reasonable adjustments to fully participate in the application or interview stages, please don’t hesitate to contact your recruiter directly.

We see things differently. Diversity fuels our innovation, we value the unique ways in which we differ, and we are committed to equal employment opportunities for all professionals.