Team Lead, Research Computing Operations (RCO)

Requisition Id 15591 

 

Overview:

We’re hiring a Team Lead, Research Computing Operations (RCO) who will guide a high-impact team dedicated to supporting ORNL’s research community through expert computing support, infrastructure alignment, and strategic engagement. In addition to leading technical operations, this individual will serve as the ITSD liaison for the scientific computing environment, acting as the primary point of contact between the computing teams and senior leadership including Chief Operating Officers (COOs), Associate Laboratory Directors (ALDs), and other leadership across ORNL’s research directorates. 

 

This position resides in the Emerging Technologies, AI & Computing group in the Research Computing division in the Information Technology Services Directorate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

 

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

• Team Leadership & Strategy: Lead and mentor the institutional scientific computing support team. Work with ITSD leadership to develop and execute strategic plans to enhance user support, training, and service delivery. Align team goals with laboratory-wide research priorities and computing initiatives.
• Business Relationship Management: Serve as the central point of contact for COOs and ALDs regarding scientific computing needs, priorities, and challenges. Translate research directorate goals into actionable computing strategies and resource plans. Advocate for researcher needs in infrastructure planning, policy development, and cross-functional coordination.
• Researcher Support & Engagement: Oversee institutional computing operations, interactions, and workflow troubleshooting. Ensure researchers can efficiently access and utilize IaaS and HPCaaS systems, software, and data resources. Promote reproducibility, scalability, and compliance in computational research.
• Workflow Optimization & Integration: Partner with the HPC engineering team to guide researchers in optimizing scientific codes and workflows for HPC environments. Collaborate with the HPC engineering team to ensure seamless integration of data resources. Support deployment of AI-enhanced scientific workflows.
• Data Engineering & Management: Partner with the DEMAT team to support the design and maintenance of research data pipelines. Ensure data is structured, accessible, and aligned with scientific computing workflows. Promote best practices in data governance, metadata standards, and secure data handling across research projects.
• Training & Outreach: Organize workshops, tutorials, and documentation to educate users on best practices. Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous learning, and technical excellence.
• Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote equal opportunity by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

 

Basic Qualifications:

• A BS degree in computer science, computer engineering, information technology, information systems, science, engineering, business, or a related discipline.
• A minimum of 8 to 12 years of aligned professional experience, or a MS degree with a minimum of 7 to 11 years of relevant and aligned experience, or a PhD degree with a minimum of four to six years of relevant and aligned experience.
• An overall combination of equivalent education and experience may be considered.
• Proven experience in scientific computing, HPC environments, business relationship management, or/and user support.
• A minimum of three years leading or managing staff/teams.
• Experience building and maintaining customer relationships in a technical environment.

 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Active DOE Q, active DOD Top Secret, or active DOD TS/SCI clearance.
• Proven experience in scientific computing, HPC environments, business relationship management, or/and user support.
• Familiarity with scientific software, Linux systems, and parallel computing frameworks.

 

Special Requirements:

• Q or L Clearance: This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain clearance from the Department of Energy. As such, this position is a Wor