Job details
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) is seeking a Senior Storage Infrastructure Specialist for a three-month contract. Following recent infrastructure upgrades, this role will optimise our Dell PowerScale and Isilon environment to ensure maximum performance, efficiency, and scalability.
The specialist will play a key role in supporting the NFSA’s petabyte-scale storage platform, which underpins critical Media & Entertainment workflows, including high-throughput media ingest, editing, archival, and retrieval.
Key duties and responsibilities
Key Deliverables
Produce a comprehensive technical audit report documenting the current storage architecture, operational health, risks, and strategic recommendations.
Develop clear architecture diagrams representing cluster configuration, storage tiering, and data services.
Create operational runbooks to guide administration, troubleshooting, and routine storage maintenance.
Deliver capacity and growth forecasts with actionable recommendations to ensure scalability and efficient storage utilisation.
Conduct structured knowledge transfer sessions with ICT staff to enable ongoing management and operational continuity.
Technical Scope
Review and optimise storage cluster configuration, including all-flash, archive, and legacy nodes.
Analyse and optimise PowerScale data services, including SmartPools, SnapshotIQ, SyncIQ, and tiering strategies.
Identify and address storage performance bottlenecks, including metadata efficiency, I/O, and protocol-level throughput (SMB/NFS).
Recommend architectural changes to improve storage performance, utilisation, and reliability.
Produce clear documentation of the storage environment, including implementation and maintenance guidance.
Skills and Experience
Expert hands-on experience with Dell PowerScale and Isilon (OneFS 8.x/9.x).
Proven ability to design, administer, and optimise enterprise-scale storage environments for high-performance workloads.
Deep understanding of scale-out NAS architecture, storage tiering, and data services.
Experience documenting complex storage environments and producing operational runbooks.
Strong communication skills to present technical findings and recommendations to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Scripting skills (Python/Bash) for automation and data analysis are highly desirable.
Criteria
The agency has specified that each candidate must provide a one page pitch to address all criteria specified. This is equal to 5000 characters.
Essential criteria
Proven experience in designing, administering, and optimising enterprise-scale Dell PowerScale and Isilon storage environments, to support high-performance and large-scale workflows. (60%)
Strong communication and documentation skills, with the ability to translate technical findings into actionable recommendations, engage effectively with stakeholders, and operate within structured change management frameworks. (20%)
Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot and resolve complex technical issues across multi-protocol (SMB/NFS) storage systems, ensuring stability, performance, and data integrity in demanding operational environments. (10%)
Comprehensive understanding of storage security, data protection, and lifecycle management principles, including system hardening, access controls, replication, and backup/recovery strategies. (10%)
Desirable criteria
Scripting skills (Python/Bash) for automation and data analysis are highly desirable