RIPE: Coordinating the Internet in Europe. Due to the continuing explosive growth of the European Internet there is an immediate opening at the RIPE NCC for a full time N e t w o r k E n g i n e e r Every host directly connected to the Internet needs an address. The RIPE NCC plays a key role in the distribution of the Internet address space throughout Europe and surrounding areas. To deal with the explosive growth in the Internet, to improve the reliability of our services, and to reduce the amount of tedious work involved in the distribution of Internet address space, we aim to (continue to) automate our processes where suitable. The Network Engineer will play a fundamental role in automating our processes. Duties The general duties of the Network Engineer are: - to develop and document software tools for use in house - to develop and document software tools for customer use - to maintain and improve existing software - to report to the manager of the Systems and Software department The specific duties of the Network Engineer are: - to maintain and further develop work-flow software - to develop tools for submission of IP address space requests - to design and implement interactive tools for the RIPE database - to develop tools for billing and other administrative functions - to backup basic systems management functions Almost all communications with customers and other organisations involved in Internet address space assignment is via the Internet itself. The position provides an excellent opportunity to work at the very heart of the European Internet industry. Qualifications Software development is performed on a network of UNIX systems. The majority of our software tools are written in PERL and make use of common UNIX tools such as the shell, MH, RCS, make, sed, awk, etc.. Much of the network software to be developed will allow our customers to submit and retrieve data from our database via the World Wide Web. Essential Qualifications - programming experience in the UNIX environment - knowledge of written and spoken English - good communication skills - desire to work in an international environment - ability to work both independently and in a team - user friendly Desirable Qualifications - Bachelors/Masters degree preferably in Computer Science - experience with UNIX systems administration - background in computer networks (preferably Internet) We hope to find an experienced programmer to fill this position, however recent graduates are also welcome to apply. Moreover female applicants and applicants from all European countries are explicitly encouraged to apply. Depending on their ambitions and abilities, network engineers can eventually be promoted to senior positions at the NCC. R I P E RIPE (Reseaux IP Europeens) is a collaborative organisation open to all European Internet service providers. The objective of RIPE is to ensure the necessary administrative and technical coordination to allow the operation of a pan- European IP network. RIPE does not operate a network of its own. RIPE has been functioning since 1989. Currently more than 350 organisations participate in the work. The result of the RIPE coordination effort is that the individual end-user is presented with a uniform IP service irrespective of the particular network his or her workstation is attached to. In December 1995, there were 2206360 hosts registered on the networks coordinated by RIPE. R I P E N C C The RIPE Network Coordination Centre supports all those RIPE activities which cannot be effectively performed by volunteers from the participating organisations. In addition to supporting RIPE activities in general the NCC provides the following services to network operators: o NETWORK MANAGEMENT DATABASE containing information about address space, routing, DNS domains and contact persons o REGIONAL INTERNET REGISTRY a clearing house distributing IP address space o RIPE INTERNET ROUTING REGISTRY o RIPE DOCUMENT STORE o RIPE INTERACTIVE INFORMATION SERVICE A detailed description of these activities can be found in the RIPE NCC Activity Plan (document ripe-133). This document can be obtained from the RIPE document store. The RIPE NCC is currently staffed as follows: one NCC manager one business manager one registration services manager five junior hostmasters (some part time) two network engineers two administrative staff The NCC is funded by all Internet service providers in Europe who operate local Internet registries. NCC staff are formally employed by TERENA. TERENA TERENA is the European Association of research networking organisations and their users. TERENA has been created by a merger of the RARE and EARN associations. TERENA carries out technical activities and provides a platform for discussion and education to encourage the development of a high-quality computer networking infrastructure for the European research community. Conditions RIPE NCC personnel is employed by the TERENA association under their standard employment conditions. The salary will depend on qualifications and experience. Costs of relocation to the Netherlands will be met. The appointment will be for one year with possible extension. Location The RIPE NCC is located at the Scientific Center Watergraafsmeer (WCW) in Amsterdam. The offices are situated at NIKHEF, the Dutch National Institute for Nuclear Physics and High Energy Physics. Further Information For further information about the RIPE NCC, please see the RIPE document store at http://www.ripe.net/ ftp://ftp.ripe.net/ gopher://gopher.ripe.net/ telnet://info.ripe.net/ For further information about this position please contact: Daniel Karrenberg RIPE NCC Manager Kruislaan 409 NL-1098 SJ Amsterdam Netherlands Tel.: +31 20 592 5065 <Daniel.Karrenberg@ripe.net> How to Apply Applications, including a CV and references should be submitted in confidence to the address above and should be received no later than Tuesday, April 17, 1996.