Field Storage Engineer & Lustre Developer

This is an incredible opportunity to be part of a company that has been at the forefront of AI and high-performance data storage innovation for over two decades. DataDirect Networks (DDN) is a global market leader renowned for powering many of the world's most demanding AI data centers, in industries ranging from life sciences and healthcare to financial services, autonomous cars, Government, academia, research and manufacturing.

"DDN's A3I solutions are transforming the landscape of AI infrastructure." – IDC 

“The real differentiator is DDN. I never hesitate to recommend DDN. DDN is the de facto name for AI Storage in high performance environments” - Marc Hamilton, VP, Solutions Architecture & Engineering | NVIDIA 

DDN is the global leader in AI and multi-cloud data management at scale. Our cutting-edge data intelligence platform is designed to accelerate AI workloads, enabling organizations to extract maximum value from their data. With a proven track record of performance, reliability, and scalability, DDN empowers businesses to tackle the most challenging AI and data-intensive workloads with confidence. 

Our success is driven by our unwavering commitment to innovation, customer-centricity, and a team of passionate professionals who bring their expertise and dedication to every project. This is a chance to make a significant impact at a company that is shaping the future of AI and data management. 

Our commitment to innovation, customer success, and market leadership makes this an exciting and rewarding role for a driven professional looking to make a lasting impact in the world of AI and data storage. 

Job description:

DDN Storage and the largest HPC Customers in the world have been working together to enable large scale parallel filesystems to power large scale compute clusters for many years.

This partnership revolves mainly around High-Performance Storage and Parallel File Systems, such as Lustre, improving and developing cutting edge technologies for HPC and Ai.

We are seeking to hire a Field Storage Engineer with File System development skills.

Please note applicants must have French citizenship to comply with government's security clearance procedure.

The Field Storage Engineer & Developer is a “hybrid” role with an equal time distribution of:

1. System Engineering for the Field:

• Install, optimize DDN’s High-Performance Storage “EXAScaler” solutions (powered by Lustre File System) for Prospects and Customers in France, and possibly Europe and Middle-East when required.
  
  
• Train Partner and End-User on the EXAScaler Solution that has been deployed.
  
  
• Benchmark the said EXAScaler Storage Solution with industry-standard HPC I/O tools such as FIO, IOR, IOZONE, MDT and across the Cluster of HPC / Ai CPU-GPU Compute Nodes.

• Troubleshoot, when necessary, I/O errors at the file level and at the block level.

• The applicant will be interacting with several DDN Departments like Presales, Global Education, L1/L2 Support and Storage / Parallel File System Subject Matter Experts based in the Field.

• The applicant will also engage End-User and when necessary, Partners and Industry Representatives (such as Servers Manufacturers, GPU Vendors, etc.).

• Applicants will receive technical training from DDN Storage experts.

2. File System development for one specific large HPC Customer – The Client:

• For this section of the work, the applicant's will be in direct contact with The Client’s administration team.

• The role here will be to understand, troubleshoot and provide technical support for the various Lustre filesystems in production at The Client premises.

• The applicant will also be required to channel technical feedback and user stories between The Client and DDN to improve the products (hardware and software).

• This will require the applicant to dive into the Lustre filesystem, an industry standard parallel filesystem developed by Whamcloud (a division of the DDN group).

• Whamcloud, a DDN Division, is always releasing Lustre software patches into the Master Branch. The applicant will back-port select patches into The Client’s Lustre distribution.

• Over time, once fluent with back-porting Lustre patches, the applicant will contribute to Whamcloud & The Client Lustre code development efforts for new features or bug fixes.

• Applicants will receive technical training from DDN and Whamcloud experts.

Required Skills and experience:

• Rigorous reporting and communication, both in the French and English languages.
• Experience with the Linux kernel and understanding of certain subsystems (such as the I/O schedulers or network stack).
• Experience in software development like C/C++ or RUST, ideally with Linux Kernel development previous experience.
• Experience of scripting languages such as Python and Bash.
• Knowledge of high-speed interconnect (such as InfiniBand) and TCP/IP networking, not mandatory but appreciated.
• Experience with the Lustre filesystem is appreciated.
• Knowledge and/or experience of storage systems is a plus.

Location: Ile de France

DDN has a very strong orientation towards these 4 characteristics and any successful employee will demonstrate these capabilities: 

Self-Starter - Takes independent action to identify and solve problems. Seeks out relevant information needed to make decisions. Gets involved with new initiatives. 

Success/Achievement Orientation - Delivers quality results consistently. Targets, achieves (or exceeds) measurable results. Sets challenging goals, focuses on critical priorities, and is accountable. 

Problem Solving - Recognizes problems and responds with a systematic assessment that identifies and addresses cause of issue. Practical, realistic, and resourceful. 

Innovative - Builds and improves key business processes that enhance the effectiveness of DDN. Generates new ideas, challenges the status quo, and solves problems creatively.

DataDirect Networks, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender, sex stereotyping, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.