Senior System Administrator - Genomics

We are seeking a Senior System Administrator who is passionate about building resilient, secure, and scalable cloud environments that support mission-critical systems, genomics workloads, and high-impact client engagements. The ideal candidate thrives in fast-paced environments, balances best practices with pragmatism, and is excited to help build infrastructure that supports AI-driven, genomics, and data-intensive platforms.

Senior System Administrator - Genomics

About BigRio
BigRio is a Boston-based, remote-first technology consulting firm specializing in AI/ML, data engineering, cloud transformation, genomics platforms, and custom software development. We partner with healthcare, life sciences, biotech, and enterprise organizations to design scalable, secure, and high-performance technology platforms that drive innovation and business growth.
At BigRio, we believe strong infrastructure is the backbone of successful digital transformation. We are seeking a Senior System Administrator who is passionate about building resilient, secure, and scalable cloud environments that support mission-critical systems, genomics workloads, and high-impact client engagements.

Role Summary
The Senior System Administrator will play a key role in designing, implementing, and maintaining modern cloud infrastructure environments, primarily within Azure and Linux ecosystems. This role requires strong technical expertise, a continuous improvement mindset, and the ability to collaborate effectively across engineering, DevOps, bioinformatics, and client stakeholders.
The ideal candidate thrives in fast-paced environments, balances best practices with pragmatism, and is excited to help build infrastructure that supports AI-driven, genomics, and data-intensive platforms.

Qualifications
Education

• Bachelor's degree preferred.

Experience & Skills

• 5+ years of experience as a System Administrator with a focus on Azure and Linux environments
• Strong understanding of modern infrastructure and cloud best practices
• Proven expertise managing Azure services and resources
• Experience with Epic Aura or similar healthcare platforms preferred
• Experience supporting genomics, bioinformatics, or life sciences environments preferred
• Experience working with Illumina sequencing platforms, Illumina Connected Analytics, Illumina BaseSpace, genomics pipelines, or related genomics infrastructure strongly preferred
• Familiarity with genomic data workflows, sequencing data storage, and high-throughput data processing environments
• Strong Linux administration skills including shell scripting and system optimization
• Experience working with HPC environments and distributed computing clusters
• Proficiency in automation and scripting (Python, Bash, PowerShell)
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Ansible, or similar)
• Experience supporting large-scale storage systems and data-intensive workloads
• Experience collaborating with engineering, infrastructure, bioinformatics, and leadership teams
• Strong communication and documentation skills
• Self-motivated with attention to detail and ownership mindset

Key Responsibilities
Cloud & Infrastructure Management

• Design, deploy, and manage Azure resources ensuring availability, security, and performance
• Monitor infrastructure with focus on cost optimization and resource efficiency
• Implement and maintain backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity plans
• Perform performance tuning and capacity planning to support scalability
• Support infrastructure for genomics and bioinformatics workloads including large-scale sequencing data environments
• Manage secure storage, transfer, and archival strategies for genomic datasets

HPC & Systems Optimization

• Manage and optimize HPC environments
• Ensure efficient job scheduling and resource allocation
• Support compute-intensive genomics and sequencing analysis pipelines
• Maintain system health, patching, and compliance standards
• Optimize storage and compute performance for high-throughput sequencing workloads

Automation & DevOps

• Develop automation scripts to improve operational efficiency
• Implement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for scalable deployments
• Support CI/CD workflows and cross-team deployments
• Automate deployment and operational processes for genomics and bioinformatics applications

Security & Compliance

• Implement security best practices and system hardening
• Maintain compliance across healthcare and life sciences environments
• Support audits and documentation requirements
• Ensure proper handling and protection of sensitive healthcare and genomic data

Collaboration & Leadership

• Work closely with cross-functional teams across engineering, bioinformatics, and client environments
• Provide technical mentorship to junior team members
• Research and recommend new technologies to improve infrastructure maturity
• Partner with stakeholders to support scalable AI/ML and genomics platforms

Preferred Experience

• Experience with Illumina sequencing environments and associated infrastructure
• Exposure to genomics pipelines such as BCL conversion, FASTQ processing, alignment, and variant analysis workflows
• Familiarity with tools and workflows used in bioinformatics environments
• Experience supporting HIPAA-compliant or regulated healthcare/life sciences environments

Work Environment

• Remote-first environment
• Primarily sedentary (desk-based work)
• Regular use of computer systems and communication tools