Research Systems Engineer - Computing Services

Are you passionate about research, technology, and securing the future of science? Join our team at Carnegie Mellon University, where innovation and impact meet. We're looking for a Research Systems Engineer who excels at helping researchers solve sophisticated problems—especially those involving sensitive or regulated data.

This is an outstanding opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking research and navigate sophisticated data security. You'll collaborate with world-class faculty and researchers, supporting projects involving personally identifiable information (PII), Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), HIPAA-regulated data, and more. Your mission: ensure secure, scalable, and reliable infrastructure that enables groundbreaking discoveries—without compromising data integrity or privacy.

What You’ll Do:

Build & Maintain Secure Research Infrastructure:

• Design and support IT systems and environments (including servers, storage, cloud, and virtualization) for researchers working with sensitive data.

Build & Maintain a Research Systems Registry:

• Design and support a system for registering systems used for research.

Partner with Researchers:

• Act as a trusted advisor and technical partner. Help research teams meet their data needs, ensure secure computing environments, and navigate compliance requirements.

Security & Compliance Enablement:

• Guide researchers in standard methodologies for secure storage, encryption, access control, anonymization, and secure file transfer. Help develop secure research workflows.

Provide Technical Support & Training:

• From software installation to sophisticated problem-solving, you’ll support researchers through the full project lifecycle. You’ll help craft training and documentation for secure computing practices.

Cloud and Virtualization Solutions:

• Manage secure virtual environments and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP). Experience with FedRAMP-compliant systems, GovCloud, or GCC High.

Work across functions:

• Work with IT teams, the research office, vendors, and researchers to evaluate and implement solutions tailored to academic research needs.

What We’re Looking For:

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, or related field, or equivalent experience.

• 3+ years of IT experience—ideally in academic or research settings.

• Solid understanding of data security, compliance, and cloud environments.

• Proven technical skills across Linux, Windows, scripting, cloud infrastructure, and secure data storage.

• Familiarity with research-specific software and data management tools.

• Outstanding communication skills and a customer-centered approach.

• A combination of education and relevant experience from which comparable knowledge is demonstrated may be considered.

Preferred but Not Required

• Experience in higher education or research environments

• Knowledge of CMMC, virtualization tech, or high-performance computing.

• Certifications like CompTIA Security+, CISSP, or CMMC Certified Professional.

Why This Role Matters:

At CMU, we don’t just support research—we enable discoveries that change the world. Your work will have a direct impact on projects addressing healthcare, climate change, national security, and more. If you’re passionate about helping researchers use sensitive data responsibly and securely, we’d love to meet you. Apply now to become a critical part of a team that blends academic excellence with innovative IT—and helps push the boundaries of what research can achieve!

At Carnegie Mellon University, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse environment. We believe that diversity fuels innovation and creativity and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. As an equal opportunity employer, we strive to provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or veteran status.

Flexibility, excellence, and passion are vital qualities within the Computing Services department. Inclusion, collaboration and cultural sensitivity are valued competencies at CMU. Therefore, we are in search of a team member who is able to effectively interact with a varied population of internal and external partners at a high level of integrity. We are look