About Oxford Nanopore Technologies
Oxford Nanopore Technologies is headquartered at the Oxford Science Park, UK, with a global presence across the US, APAC, and Europe.
We bring together expertise from science, engineering, and software to build technology that enables real-time analysis of DNA and RNA at any scale.
The Role
You will take ownership of core infrastructure, ensuring systems are reliable, well-maintained, and continuously improving. The role blends system administration, troubleshooting, and automation, with plenty of scope to simplify and streamline how things are done.
You’ll work closely with other engineers, development teams, manufacturing and compliance and development teams, focusing on keeping environments stable and usable rather than introducing unnecessary complexity.
Key Responsibilities
- Maintain and support Ubuntu-based Linux systems across on-prem and limited cloud environments
- Own system health: patching, upgrades, monitoring, and issue resolution
- Troubleshoot incidents and see problems through to root cause
- Build and maintain Ansible automation for configuration and routine tasks
- Automate repetitive work where it adds value
- Support VMware (vSphere) environments and virtual machines
- Work with physical infrastructure (servers, basic hardware issues, cabling)
- Support Docker / Docker Compose environments
- Maintain storage and file systems (NFS, autofs)
- Monitor systems and respond to alerts (OpenMetrics, SNMP-based tooling)
- Manage SSL certificates and apply security best practices
- Work within ITIL processes (incident, change, problem management)
- Create and maintain clear, useful documentation
What We’re Looking For
Essential Skills
- Strong Linux administration (Ubuntu preferred)
- Bash scripting and practical automation experience
- Ansible (including testing approaches such as Molecule)
- VMware / vSphere experience
- Solid networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, DNS)
- Experience with storage systems (NFS, autofs)
- Familiarity with Docker / Docker Compose
- Monitoring and alerting (e.g. SNMP, OpenMetrics)
- Experience with Git (GitHub or GitLab) and CI/CD pipelines
- Strong troubleshooting and fault-finding skills
- Experience with Active Directory, LDAP, or Samba
- Clear communication and documentation skills
Nice to Have
- Python for automation
- Terraform (basic exposure)
- Experience in controlled and compliant environments such as manufacturing and labs
- Experience working in dynamic environments such as research and development
Practical Requirements
- Own transport for occasional trips to ONT sites (Harwell, Abingdon, Oxford)
- Flexibility to come to site as required for hands-on work and meetings
What Success Looks Like
- Systems are stable, patched, and well understood
- Repetitive tasks are reduced through pragmatic automation
- Issues are resolved properly, not repeatedly
- Improvements are steady, practical, and low-risk
- Documentation is clear and genuinely useful
Summary
This role is ideal for someone who enjoys working close to the systems, taking ownership, and making things better over time. You should be comfortable balancing automation with hands-on operational work and motivated by keeping environments reliable and efficient.
We offer outstanding benefits to include an attractive bonus, generous pension contributions, private healthcare and an excellent starting salary. Based within beautiful, landscaped surroundings with tree-lined walks, water features and a lake, all of which make for a wonderful working environment.
If you are looking to utilise your skills to really make a difference to humankind, then consider joining our team and apply today!
Please note that no terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate on the grounds of a person's gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, age, disability or sexual orientation. Every candidate will be assessed only in accordance with their merits, qualifications and abilities to perform the duties of the job.
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About Us
Oxford Nanopore Technologies: Our goal is to bring the widest benefits to society through enabling the analysis of anything, by anyone, anywhere. The company has developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology for faster, information rich, accessible and affordable molecular analysis. The first application is DNA/RNA sequencing, and the technology is in development for the analysis of other types of molecules including proteins. The technology is used to understand and characterise the biology of humans and diseases such as cancer, plants, animals, bacteria, viruses, and whole environments. With a thriving culture of ambition and strong innovation goals, Oxford Nanopore is a UK headquartered company with global operations and customers in more than 125 countries.
