IT Security Engineer - Basel-Stadt

Salary: CHF 90'000 - 120'000 per year

Requirements:

• Masters degree in computer science, cybersecurity, information systems, computational science, or equivalent professional experience
• At least three years of experience in IT security, systems security, or secure infrastructure operations in Linux-based environments, preferably in research computing, HPC, cloud, large-scale storage, or web-application environments
• Strong practical experience with core IT security processes, including risk assessment, vulnerability management, system hardening, logging, monitoring, auditing, control validation, penetration testing, evidence collection, and technical documentation
• Familiarity with networking technologies and architectures such as VLANs, DMZ, firewall management, and virtual environments
• Experience with identity and access management in complex environments, including SSH, MFA, service accounts, privileged access, group- or project-based access controls, and access reviews
• Familiarity with security frameworks and compliance-oriented controls such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, CIS Controls, and ISO 27001, with consideration of data classification, data protection regulations, and audit requirements
• Experience with automation and reproducible infrastructure practices, including infrastructure as code, version control, configuration management, shell scripting, and Python
• Ability to write clear technical documentation, reports, and audit-oriented evidence for technical and non-technical audiences
• Strong communication and coordination skills, with the ability to work effectively with technical peers, researchers, management, institutional security teams, SOCs, and external partners
• High level of integrity, reliability, discretion, and accountability
• Practical understanding of HPC or research computing environments, including multi-user systems, batch schedulers, shared file systems, scientific workflows, data-transfer services, and their specific security challenges
• Familiarity with software supply-chain security, including package managers, software container images, dependency risks, code provenance, vulnerability scanning, and reproducible deployment practices
• Understanding of backup, recovery, and ransomware-resilience concepts in large-scale Linux and storage environments
• Ability to understand and adapt code, queries, or configuration in other languages commonly encountered in research computing environments
• Knowledge of the rapidly evolving AI/LLM landscape
• Working knowledge of Windows and macOS

Responsibilities:

• Act as the primary security subject matter expert for our sciCORE infrastructures and research-support services
• Contribute proactively to the secure architecture and operation of our sciCORE services, including security-related tools, HPC systems, web applications, trusted research environments, networking and related tools, identity and access management, shared filesystems, data-transfer services, and scientific software environments
• Perform risk assessments and security reviews for new services, research projects, infrastructure changes, and external collaborations
• Translate security requirements into practical, researcher-friendly solutions that preserve scientific usability while managing institutional and technical risk
• Align technical security measures with data classification, data protection requirements, institutional policies, and relevant security frameworks
• Identify and address security gaps in our sciCORE systems by monitoring current threats, reviewing vulnerabilities and configurations, and validating the effectiveness of security controls
• Conduct and review vulnerability scans, hardening assessments, configuration checks, access-control reviews, and other security-control validations
• Maintain and improve security practices, policies, procedures, technical documentation, and audit evidence for our sciCORE environments
• Support secure identity and access management practices, including user and project access lifecycles, SSH key and MFA policies, privileged access, service-account governance, and periodic access reviews
• Collaborate closely with the Systems Team, the Head of sciCORE, university security bodies, researchers, and external partners on security-related projects and operational security topics
• Advise researchers and internal service teams on secure implementation of scientific workflows, especially where sensitive data, external collaborations, automated data transfers, cloud services, or AI/ML tools are involved
• Participate in regional, national, and international research IT security communities, including working groups, conferences, and workshops

Technologies:

• AI
• Cloud
• Firewall
• Support
• LLM
• Linux
• Python
• Security
• Web
• Windows
• Embedded
• macOS
• Network

More:

We are sciCORE, the center of competence for scientific computing at the University of Basel. We provide advanced infrastructure and expert services for data- and compute-intensive research, including high-performance computing, scientific data processing and storage, secure research data environments, consulting, and training. Our work supports a community of over 2000 researchers across disciplines and connects large-scale technical infrastructure with sensitive data environments, national and international research initiatives, and close collaboration with university and external partners. You will join a highly motivated and collaborative team of specialists, including systems administrators, scientific software engineers, data infrastructure managers, data analysts, and research-support professionals. We offer an essential role securing research infrastructure, the opportunity to work at the interface of high-performance computing, sensitive research data, cybersecurity, and scientific innovation, and a collaborative interdisciplinary environment. We also support professional development through training, continuing education, and participation in conferences, workshops, and professional networks. The position is 80–100%, based at the University of Basel, and we are committed to excellence through diversity as an equal opportunity and family-friendly employer.

last updated 31 week of 2026