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Position Summary:
The Canadian Centre for Computational Genomics (C3G) at McGill University builds open-source Research Data Management (RDM) solutions that support every stage of the genomics and health data lifecycle. Our portals, APIs, databases and tools are the infrastructure behind national genomics and health data sharing in Canada. Our projects include:
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The Pan-Canadian Genome Library (PCGL)
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The Terry Fox Marathon of Hope Cancer Centre Network (MoHCCN)
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The International Human Epigenome Consortium (IHEC)
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The Quebec COVID-19 Biobank (BQC19)
We also provide bioinformatics analysis software and high-performance computing services to the life sciences research community, including widely used analysis pipelines.
A Cloud Infrastructure Developer will manage and evolve the Kubernetes infrastructure powering the Pan-Canadian Genome Library (https://genomelibrary.ca/), Canada's national genomics data platform.
The PCGL platform encompasses a Research Portal, a Data Access Committee (DACO) portal, a clinical and genomic data submission service, and supporting data infrastructure. All of this runs on an institutional cloud environment and serves researchers, clinicians, and data managers across Canada. This infrastructure handles sensitive genomic data where reliability, security, and compliance are non-negotiable.
The incumbent will have significant ownership over the cluster's architecture and operations, working within a small, focused team rather than a large platform organization. The incumbent will be expected to develop strong intuitions about what the infrastructure needs, proactively surface risks, and contribute meaningfully to infrastructure decisions in an environment where one’s technical judgment shapes outcomes and close collaboration is the norm.
Under the supervision of the Data Team Lead, the Cloud Infrastructure Developer will deploy, manage, secure, and evolve the Kubernetes clusters supporting the PCGL platform on the SecureData4Health (SD4H) institutional cloud. This role works in close daily collaboration with the SD4H DevOps team, coordinating on infrastructure provisioning, network configuration, and cloud resource management. The Cloud Infrastructure Developer is responsible for ensuring high availability, reproducibility, and compliance with data governance requirements across all environments.
Primary Responsibilities:
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Manage day-to-day operations of production, staging, and development Kubernetes clusters, including upgrades, capacity planning, node management, and incident response.
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Design and implement infrastructure-as-code for cluster provisioning and configuration, ensuring reproducibility and auditability.
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Define and enforce network policies, RBAC, secrets management, and security hardening practices across cluster workloads.
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Manage storage solutions for genomic data, including persistent volume provisioning, backup and disaster recovery strategies, and data retention policies.
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Build and maintain CI/CD and GitOps pipelines for application deployment, ensuring smooth, low-downtime releases in collaboration with the development team.
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Monitor cluster health, set up alerting, and conduct post-mortems on incidents to continuously improve reliability.
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Maintain clear operational documentation and runbooks, and contribute to the team's knowledge of infrastructure best practices.
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Use an issue tracking system to document tasks, incidents, and their resolution status.
Other Qualifying Skills and/or Abilities
Hard skills:
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Demonstrated hands-on experience administering Kubernetes clusters in production environments is mandatory. Examples of past infrastructure work, either via a portfolio or references, are highly recommended.
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Proficiency with infrastructure-as-code and GitOps tooling (e.g. Terraform, Helm, Kustomize, ArgoCD, Flux, or equivalent).
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Experience with container runtimes and image management (Docker, Podman, or equivalent).
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Familiarity with networking fundamentals as they apply to Kubernetes (ingress controllers, CNI plugins, DNS, TLS).
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Experience with monitoring and observability stacks (e.g. Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, or equivalent).
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Undergraduate degree in computer science, engineering, systems administration, or a related field.
Soft skills:
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Ability to make sound infrastructure decisions collaboratively, contributing technical judgment clearly within a team context, while knowing when to escalate.
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Interest in developing and operating open-source solutions.
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Attention to detail, strong communication skills, and ability to work in a highly collaborative environment.
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Capable of managing multiple operational concerns simultaneously and advancing them steadily.
Strong Assets:
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Experience operating clusters in sensitive or regulated data environments.
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Familiarity with OpenStack or similar institutional/private cloud platforms.
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Experience with secrets management tooling (e.g. Vault or equivalent).
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Experience with server-side programming, e.g. Python or Bash, for automation and tooling.
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Interest in the field of genetics and bioinformatics.
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English and French (spoken and written).
As one of Montreal's Top Employers, here is what we offer:
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Competitive benefits package (Health, Dental, Life Insurance) (if eligible)
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Defined contribution pension plan (with employer contribution up to 10%) (if eligible)
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Group Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA)
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Competitive vacation policy
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Two (2) personal days
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Two (2) floating holidays
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Nine (9) "Summer Fridays" - paid days off between the St-Jean Baptiste holiday and Labour Day
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Paid time off over the December holiday period
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Tuition waiver for regular employees and their dependents
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Up to two (2) days of remote work per week where the position permits
Before applying, please note that to work at McGill University, you must be both authorized to work in Canada and willing to work in the province of Quebec at the campus where the position is based / located.
Knowledge of English: McGill University is an English-language university where day to day duties may require English communication both verbally and in writing. The level of English required for this position has been assessed at a level #4 on a scale of 0-4.
For a definition of our language proficiency levels, please click here.
Minimum Education and Experience:
Bachelor's Degree 5 Years Related Experience /
(MPEX Grade 06) $82,280.00 - $102,850.00 - $123,420.00
Job Profile:
MPEX-IST3S - Research Software Development - Senior Professional
33.75 (Full time)
Bioinformatics Manager
Position End Date (If applicable):
2027-06-30
2026-06-19
McGill University hires on the basis of merit and is strongly committed to equity and diversity within its community. We welcome applications from racialized persons/visible minorities, women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as from all qualified candidates with the skills and knowledge to productively engage with diverse communities. McGill implements an employment equity program and encourages members of designated groups to self-identify. Persons with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations for any part of the application process may contact, in confidence, [email protected].
