Search for the Director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center and Appointment of Interim Director

UC San Diego is pleased to invite nominations and applications for the position of Director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center. We have enlisted the assistance of executive search firm Opus Partners to help us manage the search process. Al Pisano, Dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering, has agreed to chair the Search Advisory Committee, whose members are listed below.

Reporting to the Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs within the office of the Executive Vice Chancellor, the new Director will be responsible for the strategic direction and operational management of SDSC, the leadership of its 220+ employees, the management of its $40 million+ annual budget, and the development and maintenance of its state-of-the-art office and technology space on the UC San Diego campus. The Director will play a key role in shaping the future of research computing nationally and will contribute to the next wave of computing innovations in a collaborative and competitive global arena. At the same time, SDSC’s new Director will strengthen its engagement and alignment with UC San Diego’s academic mission.

SDSC’s new Director will be a strategic, transformative leader with a compelling vision for the future of high-performance computing, cyberinfrastructure, and the applications and services that enable researchers to make full use of leading-edge, world-class resources to advance human knowledge and health. The successful candidate will be someone who combines this breadth of vision with a leadership style characterized by collaboration, transparency, and community engagement and a management practice that is inclusive, consultative, and empowering.

Additional details regarding the position and qualifications for Director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center are outlined in the position profile. The Search Advisory Committee will begin reviewing candidates immediately, and will continue until the position is filled. Confidential inquiries and nominations may be sent via email to Thomas Lapierre, Senior Associate at thomas.lapierre@opuspartners.net. You need not contact the individual to ascertain if they are willing to be considered as a candidate. All nominees will be contacted in confidence, to discuss their willingness to have their names put forward to the search advisory committee.

Complete applications, including a CV with cover letter, and a statement addressing aspirations and contributions to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion may be submitted via the UC San Diego Recruit website and to Opus Partners at thomas.lapierre@opuspartners.net. Electronic submission of materials is required. For best consideration, please submit materials by July 15, 2021.

As current Director Michael Norman’s outstanding tenure as Director will conclude July 1, I am pleased to announce that Professor Frank Wuerthwein (Physics) has agreed to serve as Interim Director, effective July 1, until a new Director is appointed. Please join me in thanking Dr. Wuerthwein for agreeing to serve in this role. EVC Simmons and I sincerely appreciate his willingness to lead the Center during this interim period.

Robert E. Continetti
Sr. Associate Vice Chancellor - Academic Affairs

SEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE SAN DIEGO SUPERCOMPUTER CENTER:

Al Pisano, Dean, Jacobs School of Engineering, Chair
Ilkay Altintas, Chief Data Science Officer, SDSC
Nuno Bandeira, Associate Professor, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Anders Dale, Professor, Neuroscience
Virginia De Sa, Professor, Cognitive Science
Terry Gaasterland, Professor, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Gillian Hemingway Asch, Deputy Chief of Staff, EVC Office, Staff Consultant
Vince Kellen, Chief Information Officer
Christine Kirkpatrick, Division Director, Research, SDSC
Miroslav Krstic, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Research
Vincent Nijs, Associate Professor, Rady School of Management
Francesco Paesani, Professor, Chemistry-Biochemistry
Mica Pollock, Professor, Education Studies & Director, CREATE
Jude Poole, Director, IT Services, Biological Sciences
Sharokh Yadegari, Professor, Music

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Scope/Responsibilities:

In consultation with the SDSC Executive Committee and campus leadership, builds on the established success of SDSC by developing a vision and establishing priorities for its future that are mutually beneficial to SDSC, the UC San Diego campus, the UC System, and the broader international field of supercomputing.
Consults and collaborates with campus academic leaders in areas of mutual interest and on major new undertakings and investments that will further enhance the University’s deployment of innovative computing infrastructure, resources, techniques, and services to advance its mission in research, education, and health.
Provides leadership in defining, obtaining funding for, and implementing new research, educational, and community engagement activities consistent with SDSC's mission.
Serves as a leading spokesperson for research cyberinfrastructure at UC San Diego, within the UC System, and nationally and internationally.
Maintains an inclusive environment that supports the professional development of a diverse, talented, and ambitious technical staff.
Weaves a measurable commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and access throughout the core mission, culture, and activities of SDSC.
Sustains an organizational structure that is flexible, appropriate to the mission and size of SDSC and that optimizes SDSC's local, state, national, and international impact.
Develops and manages SDSC's budget in a manner that is consistent with University policies.
Recruits and retains, supports and develops, and leads a staff of approximately 220 managers, academic researchers, and professional, technical, and administrative staff.

Skills and/or experience necessary to perform this position:

A distinguished record of scholarship, teaching or training and engagement appropriate for a tenured Full Professor appointment at UC San Diego.
A widely recognized record of leadership in areas of scientific computing pertinent to a research, development, and service enterprise whose programs span or may in the future span high performance computing, high-throughput computing, data-intensive computing, cloud computing, quantum computing, security policies and solutions, and applications across a broad range of research disciplines.
Integrity, fairness, candor, selflessness, and the highest ethical standards.
Broadly recognized national and/or international stature.
A commitment to excellence and a vision for the future of the San Diego Supercomputer Center.
A commitment to and success in advancing organizational priorities related to equity, diversity, and inclusion that will be manifest in experience working with diverse communities, creating an inclusive culture, and integrating practices and programs that foster equity, diversity, inclusion, and access in the core priorities of a technically and scientifically focused enterprise.
Leadership skills for team building and for accomplishing successful collaborative programs and projects.
Management skills required to direct a large, complex, and swiftly evolving organization, including evidence-based decision-making and process-improvement experience.
The ability to communicate and interact effectively with faculty, administrators, and staff at UC San Diego, across the UC System, and with other U.S. and international universities, government agencies, and industrial organizations.