Position Type:

Term - Casual (Fixed Term)

Visa Sponsored Job:

No

Relocation Assistance Eligible:

No

Hiring Range:

$23.81/hour

Please note:

• Student Assistants may not work more than 1,000 hours in any 12-month period.
• This is a 1-year term role with the possibility of extension for an additional year, and to qualify, the student must be enrolled and maintain "Student Status" for the entire term.

*Final salary and rates are based on education, experience, and skills relevant to the role.

Application Closes at 11:59pm Mountain Time on:

2026-11-06

About the Role

Great experience opportunity! The Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL) is seeking a motivated Student Assistant to join the CIRRUS platform team.

CIRRUS is a modern, cloud-native, Kubernetes-based scientific computing platform spanning bare-metal clusters across our Boulder and Cheyenne facilities.

In this role, you will work alongside experienced systems engineers and scientific researchers to ensure platform reliability, enhance documentation, and help onboard new scientific workloads.

This position is structured for professional growth: you will begin by verifying workflows and improving documentation usability, then gradually build hands-on experience in cloud-native platform operations and High-Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure.

Job Description

Responsibilities:

• Test and verify platform workflows, new functionality, and supporting documentation before release. Review documentation as an end-user to confirm it is accurate, complete, and easy to understand, and provide written feedback and recommendations for improvement. Validates that documented procedures produce the expected results on the Kubernetes-based CIRRUS environment.
• Develops and maintains reusable, repeatable workflows that validate new workloads onboarded to the platform. Modifies and runs existing workflows, scripts, and manifests, and proposes improvements to the validation process. Documents these workflows so other team members and platform users can reuse them.
• Authors, edits, and improves CIRRUS documentation, including user-facing guides and onboarding material, for an audience of scientific and HPC-background users. Writes clear technical documentation and may help produce technical reports, walkthroughs, or presentations on platform functionality.
• Develops knowledge of the CIRRUS platform and atmospheric and Earth system science workloads. Gains experience with platform operations under the supervision of senior staff. Additional tasks may be assigned from time to time.

Education & Experience:

• Must be enrolled (and intend to enroll in the next regular session) for credit in an accredited secondary or post-secondary school, college or university, or in a trade school that has received a Certificate or Approval from the Colorado State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Basic familiarity with Linux and containers (e.g., Docker or Podman), gained through coursework, personal projects, or prior work.
• Ability to work with a team and convey technical concepts to engineers and platform users.
• Good oral and written communication skills, with an aptitude for clear technical writing and documentation.
• Ability to follow moderately complex procedures/practices.

Desired (but not required):

• Experience with at least one scripting language such as Python or Bash.
• Interest in Kubernetes
• Familiarity with Git and version control.
• Familiarity with scientific or high-performance computing environments.

Application Requirements

Questionnaire, Resume/CV

Submit all required application materials by 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time on the deadline. Only candidates with complete applications (including questionnaires, when required) will be considered.

We recognize that no candidate will meet 100% of the listed qualifications. If you believe your background has prepared you for success in this role, we encourage you to apply.

Candidates selected for hire will complete background checks and/or federal screenings.

Additional Information

UCAR is an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes all applicants. We do not discriminate based on race, age, sex, gender identity, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic. You don’t need to include age-related information, such as birth or graduation dates, in your initial application.

Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, or local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on an employee. Please inform your Recruiter if you need assistance completing this application or to otherwise participate in the application process.

Visa Sponsorship: UCAR can sponsor H-1B status only for candidates already in the U.S. who hold H-1B status or another status that allows a change to H-1B within the country. We cannot sponsor new H-1B visas that require consular processing abroad.

Compliance and Location: All roles must comply with U.S. export control regulations and work location requirements. Hybrid staff work on-site 3 days per week or equivalent, based on their flexible work arrangement. UCAR requires ALL positions to be performed within the U.S., excluding U.S. Territories.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use: AI tools are permitted, but we strongly encourage candidates to submit primarily original work.