Job Details

DevOps Engineer, Annenberg School

Position Number: 6921815
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Position Type: Computing - Network/System Administration

DevOps Engineer, Annenberg School

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn's distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America's Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title
DevOps Engineer, Annenberg School

Job Profile Title
Application Developer C

Job Description Summary
The Annenberg School IT team is hiring a motivated, entry-level DevOps Engineer who's excited to learn and grow. This role is ideal for someone with a strong foundation in IT and/or software development who wants hands-on experience across the software development lifecycle while building skills in automation, cloud infrastructure, and reliable system operations.
Working with guidance from senior team members, you will support the development and maintenance of research center websites, applications, databases, and cloud environments. You'll help streamline deployments, improve monitoring and alerting, and enhance system reliability and performance, while collaborating with researchers and stakeholders to troubleshoot issues and deliver practical solutions. You'll also contribute to documentation and continuous improvement efforts; occasional work outside normal business hours may be required.

Job Description

We are seeking an entry-level Web/DevOps Engineer who is eager to learn and grow while supporting the full web development stack end-to-end. In this role, you'll work alongside experienced team members to write, test, and maintain code; assist with building and improving CI/CD pipelines; and help monitor system health, performance, and reliability.

This is a hands-on opportunity to gain experience across the infrastructure, application, and deployment layers. You'll contribute to keeping services secure, scalable, and maintainable by helping troubleshoot issues, participating in deployments and releases, improving automation, and documenting processes and solutions. The ideal candidate is curious, collaborative, and excited to develop DevOps best practices and modern web engineering skills in a supportive environment.Below is a collection of services that an ideal candidate will possess. It is our expectation that you will have familiarity in all and expertise on some.

AWS CLI and AWS Management Console
Relational databases: Amazon RDS and/or MySQL
Core AWS services: S3, EC2, CloudFront, Elastic Load Balancing
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Containerization (e.g., Docker)
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) (e.g., Terraform for provisioning and environment management)
Scripting/programming: Python, Bash, or another language
Automation and CI/CD tools (build, deployment, infrastructure automation)
Git-based workflows (source control, branching/merging, code review)
CMS platforms: WordPress and/or Drupal
Pantheon SaaS Platform
PHP and Composer
Front-end fundamentals: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Authentication and identity: SSO (SAML), OAuth 2.0/OpenID Connect, JWT-based auth, and RBAC (role-based access control) integrations

This dynamic role combines maintenance of existing projects with frequent new development initiatives. As a key IT team member, the candidate will also act as a liaison, facilitating development operations among developers and IT support professionals.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and professional experience (experience in higher education or research environments preferred).
Minimum of 2 years of professional experience in application and/or web development (DevOps/WebOps experience strongly preferred).
Demonstrated proficiency with PHP, WordPress, and Git (source control, branching/merging, and code review workflows).
Working knowledge of AWS and common web platform services (e.g., EC2, S3, CloudFront, Load Balancing, RDS) and WebOps/CI/CD deployment workflows.
Familiarity with authentication and identity technologies, such as SSO/SAML and JWT-based authentication.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences and work effectively with customers, colleagues, and stakeholders.
Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills, with a focus on reliability, performance, and security.
Proven ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and produce clear, professional written documentation and status updates.

***Please include a resume AND cover letter in your application***

Job Location - City, State
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School
Annenberg School for Communication

Pay Range
$70,500.00 - $75,000.00 Annual Rate
Salary offers are made based on the candidate's qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job's level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.

Equal Opportunity Statement

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state or local law.

Special Requirements
Background checks may be required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family's health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
Tuition: Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.
Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn's Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.
Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family-whatever your personal needs may be.
Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you're newly hired, you won't have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.
Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That's why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.
Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.
University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University's libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There's always something going on at Penn, whether it's a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you're right in the middle of the excitement-and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.
Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.
Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.
Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.
Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

To apply, visit https://wd1.myworkdaysite.com/en-US/recruiting/upenn/careers-at-penn/job/Annenberg-School-for-Communication/DevOps-Engineer--Annenberg-School_JR00116926