Staff Spotlight:
Joseph Biondo
This month we continue our Staff Spotlight series, which highlights the exceptional work of one of the ARCH team members. Meet Joseph Biondo, the Assistant Director, IT Architect, and Operations lead of ARCH. Biondo joined the ARCH team back in 2017.
q. What is you role at arch?
JB: “I am the Assistant Director, IT Architect and Operations lead. I am responsible for the design and operation of the infrastructure, equipment, and everything from the operating system down.”
q. What inspired you to pursue the career you have today?
JB: “Prior to ARCH, my career had bounced between IT infrastructure, system engineering, networking, information assurance, and virtualization. Working across so many fields blurred their lines and left me looking for a way to apply those different disciplines. HPC is a field that encompasses those disciplines and presents constant and ever-changing challenges.”
q. What’s your favorite aspect of your job?
JB: “Designing and deploying a new system has always been the most exciting part of the job. Starting with nothing but written requirements and ending with a new datacenter or system”
q. What is the most interesting project you've worked on here?
JB: “One of the more interesting studies we have conducted was one to assess the level of airborne contaminants, and their effect on the physical server equipment. These sorts of environmental conditions are often overlooked but can have a substantial impact on the function of a system.”
q. What is a skill that’s important to have in your role?
JB: “In my role, the ability to understand and work towards a final larger picture is very important. Creating long term goals and policies that will best serve our many disparate user groups. “
q. What are your goals for the next few months/years?
JB: “We have a number of major feature enhancements in the works for Rockfish but the most important goal for the next year is to start the process for the next major cluster and whatever site work may be required.”
q. What do you like to do outside of work?
JB: “Time outside of work is enjoyed with family or spent on projects around the house, various hobbies. Most recently we have started a few different agricultural efforts including a small orchard, a small plot of produce and possibly a greenhouse.”