HPC Orchestration Architect

Job description

The Company NorthMark Compute & Cloud (NMC²) is backed by dedicated leadership and investment, with a clear mission as it operates at the bleeding edge of technology. Its goal is to scale and enhance the high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud infrastructure that supports its clients' research, production, and delivery, enabling breakthroughs that shape the industries of tomorrow. Its engineers build critical infrastructure to eliminate friction in scientific research, simulations, analysis, and decision-making, accelerating discovery and driving faster innovation. The Position As the Manager of HPC Solutions Architecture, you will oversee a team of domain-specialist architects spanning compute, storage, security, Kubernetes, networking, and systems integration. This team engages directly with customers to design and deliver high-performance computing (HPC) solutions that are secure, scalable, resilient, and optimized for workload-specific needs. You will guide your team through the entire customer lifecycle — from early engagement and requirements discovery, through solution design, proof-of-concepts, and deployment, to ongoing optimization and adoption. Your role will ensure that customers achieve measurable value at every stage while maintaining the flexibility to scale as their workloads evolve. In addition to managing delivery, you will serve as a trusted advisor and strategic partner, building strong customer relationships and ensuring architectures align with both technical priorities and business objectives. You will also collaborate closely with product and engineering teams, turning field insights into reference architectures, reusable design patterns, and platform enhancements that strengthen the overall ecosystem. This role offers the opportunity to shape the strategic direction of HPC solutions, influence product innovation, and establish best practices that drive customer success, platform scalability, and architectural excellence. Responsibilities: Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of Solutions Architects across compute, storage, Kubernetes, networking, security, and systems integration Act as the strategic link between customers, your team, and engineering, ensuring alignment between customer outcomes and platform evolution. Build and maintain trusted advisor relationships with customers, enabling them to maximize the value of HPC architectures. Oversee the creation of reference architectures and design blueprints to ensure repeatable, scalable solutions. Guide proof-of-concept initiatives, validating solution performance and accelerating customer confidence in adoption. Conduct technical design reviews and workload assessments, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, resilience, and cost-effectiveness. Recommend strategic design choices across compute, storage, networking, data pipelines, and security to align with customer-specific workloads. Act as a trusted partner to product and engineering, providing field insights that shape platform roadmaps and features. Encourage prototyping of new architectural approaches for emerging HPC and AI/ML workloads, translating innovation into production-ready solutions. Ensure the team maintains high-quality documentation, reusable patterns, and best practices for consistent delivery. Stay current with emerging technologies (GPUs, accelerators, interconnects, distributed storage, orchestration frameworks) and guide clients in adoption. Represent the organization at client workshops, technical deep-dives, and industry events, occasionally requiring travel. Champion a culture of customer success, technical excellence, and continuous improvement across the Solutions Architecture team. Requirements Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent Experience 10+ years of experience in HPC, Solutions Architecture, or large-scale systems design. 3+ years of technical team leadership (managing architects/engineers across domains). Proven leadership experience managing multi-disciplinary architecture or engineering teams within HPC, cloud, or large-scale distributed systems. Strong architectural expertise across compute, storage, networking, Kubernetes, and security, with the ability to integrate domains into cohesive solutions. Hands-on understanding of HPC technologies, including GPU acceleration (CUDA, NVIDIA ecosystem), workload schedulers (Armada, Slurm, Kubernetes), and distributed storage (VAST, Lustre, GPFS, object stores). Experience designing secure and compliant architectures, covering identity management, encryption, and regulatory frameworks. Proven success in customer-facing communication and engagement, with the ability to capture detailed technical requirements and translate them into tailored, scalable HPC system designs. Skilled at articulating complex solutions across AI/ML, scientific computing, simulation, and data-intensive workloads to both technical stakeholders and executive audiences. Proven track record of driving solution adoption and enabling measurable customer success. Preferred Experience Experience delivering or supporting HPC or AI/ML workloads at scale, with a focus on performance, optimization, and lifecycle management. Familiarity with data and analytics platforms (Kafka, Spark, or similar) integrated with HPC workflows. Knowledge of automation and DevOps practices, including CI/CD (GitLab, Jenkins) and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Ansible). Background in customer-facing engagements, such as leading workshops, technical reviews, or industry presentations. Awareness of emerging compute technologies (next-gen GPUs, interconnects like InfiniBand/RDMA, and container runtimes for HPC). Advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, or related technical field. Relevant certifications such as AWS Solutions Architect, Azure Solutions Architect Expert, GCP Professional Cloud Architect, Cisco CCNP, Red Hat RHCE, Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), or Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS). It is impossible to list every requirement for, or responsibility of, any position. Similarly, we cannot identify all the skills a position may require since job responsibilities and the Company’s needs may change over time. Therefore, the above job description is not comprehensive or exhaustive. The Company reserves the right to adjust, add to or eliminate any aspect of the above description. The Company also retains the right to require all employees to undertake additional or different job responsibilities when necessary to meet business needs. Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship, now or at any time in the future. Benefits & Perks: Company-Paid Lunch Stipend : Lunch is provided via GrubHub Company-Paid Benefits: 100% Employer-Paid Medical in our High Deductible Health Plan, Dental and Vision benefits for employees and their families, 16 weeks of Paid Parental Leave, Employee Assistance Program, Life insurance, Short-Term Disability and Long-Term Disability 401(k): Company will match 100% of your contributions up to 6% Optional Employee-Paid Benefits: Medical insurance in our PPO plan and a variety of other benefits such as Health Savings Accounts (with Company Contribution!), Flexible Spending Accounts, Supplemental Life Insurance, Wellhub and more. Time Off: 25 days of Paid Time Off plus 12 company holidays EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER NORTHMARK STRATEGIES LLC IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. THE COMPANY'S POLICY IS NOT TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ANY APPLICANT OR EMPLOYEE BASED ON RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, AGE, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION, MARITAL STATUS, MENTAL OR PHYSICAL DISABILITY, AND GENETIC INFORMATION, OR ANY OTHER BASIS PROTECTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. THE FIRM ALSO PROHIBITS HARASSMENT OF APPLICANTS OR EMPLOYEES BASED ON ANY OF THESE PROTECTED CATEGORIES.