Deutsche Fassung: Zusammenarbeit
I am a software engineer specialising in C++ and Python on Linux, for HPC and distributed systems. I have been working in HPC since 1999; my focus is workload management systems of the Grid Engine lineage — the kind of software that has to run for months without a restart, on thousands of nodes, under load nobody planned for. Alongside that work I take on a limited number of freelance projects.
What I can do for you
- Code reviews of C++ and Python code bases — correctness, robustness, maintainability, with concrete findings rather than style debates.
- Performance analysis and debugging — crashes, memory errors, race conditions, deadlocks and slow paths in multi-threaded and distributed software.
- Legacy C and C++ — taking over, maintaining and modernising grown code: newer language standards, build systems, tests, removing dead platforms.
- Porting to new Linux distributions, compilers and CPU architectures (x86-64, ARM64, RISC-V).
- Python tooling around C/C++ systems — automation, test harnesses, data extraction, small services.
- HPC and Linux infrastructure — cluster environments, virtualisation, storage (ZFS), test labs.
How I work
- Remote from Germany (CET/CEST); on site by arrangement.
- German and English.
- Clearly scoped engagements: a fixed task, a time budget, or a review with a written report.
- Availability: from January 2027, up to two days per week.
Writing and code
Some of what I write about on this blog gives an idea of how I approach problems:
- Configuration as Code: Bulk Operations and JSON Output in qconf
- Understanding Binding in Gridware Cluster Scheduler
- Compute Nodes with Heterogeneous Topology in Gridware Cluster Scheduler
- Automatically Create, Rotate and Destroy Periodic ZFS Snapshots
Code: github.com/ernst-bablick.
Get in touch
Tell me briefly what you are working on and where it hurts — a few sentences are enough. I will reply within two working days.
Email: ernst (@) bablick.de
Phone: +49 (0)176 78776725