Job Details

Senior Systems Engineer
Go to our website »

Position Number: 5088469
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Position Type: Computer and Information Technology

Senior Systems Engineer

Position Title:
Senior Systems Engineer

Position Type:
Regular

Hiring Range:

$83,500.00 - $98,200 per year; commensurate with experience.

Pay Frequency:
Annual
POSITION PURPOSE

The Senior Systems Engineer is responsible for the design, implementation, operation, and growth planning of the School of Engineering's Computing Center (ECC) environment and critical infrastructure including: storage, virtualization, VDI, networking and firewall. The role also involves security administration and incident response for the computing and networking infrastructure of the School of Engineering.

The position will work with staff and faculty in the School of Engineering (SoE), the College of Arts and Science (CAS), Cyberinfrastructure Technologies (CIT), the Information Security Office (ISO), and other campus divisions, as well as with external vendors to coordinate efforts in support of the School of Engineering's varied and dynamic instructional, research, and operational computing needs.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Linux and backend infrastructure administration
Responsible for architecture, deployment, and reliable operation of the ECC environment, including physical and virtual servers and workstations, supporting both local and remote access
Architects, implements, and maintains critical infrastructure including backend virtualization, VDI, network block and file storage, and job/resource schedulers
Designs, configures, and operates specialized network infrastructure supporting storage, virtualization, maintenance, cluster/HPC, and research sandbox networks
Installs, updates, configures, and supports an installed base of over 100 different academic applications and associated network licenses
Creates, improves, and debugs Ansible playbooks, scripts, and custom software to automate recurring tasks and support smooth operation and management of the ECC environment
Upgrades, updates, and patches administered systems and applications
Performs utilization measurement, capacity and growth planning
Liaises with the CIT Networking and Telecommunication Group on matters related to general networking requirements and issues
New technologies and process improvements
Works with Engineering faculty and staff to understand the computing requirements of new instructional, research, and operational initiatives
Designs, builds, tests, deploys, integrates, and maintains complex systems and applications in support of new instructional, research, and operational initiatives
Seeks and implements operational efficiency improvements and automation
Researches, evaluates, and makes purchase/budget recommendations for system and infrastructure components in need of upgrade/replacement
Participates in long-term strategic and budget planning
Communicates and interacts with various hardware and software vendors and support
Security administration
Balances usability and security, taking into account the need to foster an environment of learning, experimentation, and innovation
Investigates, remediates, and responds to reported security incidents involving computing and network resources
Administers departmental firewalls
Maintains the technical staff's maintenance VPNs
Liaises with the Information Security Office
Advises SoE faculty, staff, and students on secure ways to accomplish computing tasks
Troubleshooting and third-tier customer service and support
Responsible for providing support, troubleshooting, and resolution for complex/interconnected system, networking, and infrastructure issues
Proactively monitors environment to be aware of and address issues quickly and with minimum user impact
Provides professional, knowledgeable, timely, and courteous third-tier support to end users including faculty, staff, and students
Proactively notifies end users of outages, changes, and upgrades
Responds rapidly to outages and service interruptions
Documentation and training
Creates and updates various documentation related to systems, infrastructure, and software administered
Provides training to other staff and student workers
Other duties as assigned
Accepts that on occasion and depending on the situation will be required to work beyond and in addition to the traditional work schedules/hours including project work and responding to failures/emergencies
Supports the environment during emergencies as needed to meet operational requirements
Other duties/tasks as assigned by this person's supervisor

PROVIDES WORK DIRECTION

May provide direction to and/or mentor less-experienced system administrators and student employees

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The items below are representative of the knowledge, skills, abilities, education, and experience required or preferred.

This position requires the ability to effectively establish and maintain cooperative working relationships within a diverse multicultural environment.

Knowledge

Extensive practical knowledge of Linux/Windows server and workstation administration in large, heterogeneous environments (CentOS/Rocky/Windows 10/11/Windows Server 2016/2019)
Strong experience supporting a Linux-based research focused HPC environment, including job/resource schedulers (SLURM), environment modules (LMod), software management (EasyBuild), high-speed/low-latency interconnects (Infiniband), and secure containerization (Singularity/podman) preferred
Familiarity and experience with TCP/IP and Ethernet networking; ScienceDMZ experience preferred
Strong experience writing, debugging, and maintaining scripts (Bash, Python, Powershell)
Strong experience with configuration management systems (Ansible) including the creation, debugging, and improvement of playbooks and roles, combined with the use of source control (git) to implement infrastructure as code
Strong experience with PDQ application deployment with Windows environment
Strong experience with Microsoft patch deployment using WSUS
Strong knowledge of Windows imaging using MDT on top of iPXE for network centralized imaging
Strong experience with Microsoft Active Directory, DNS and Roaming Profiles
Strong knowledge and experience with system and network security, including firewall administration, system hardening, exposure minimization, monitoring, intrusion detection, and incident response
Strong understanding of and practical experience with centralized, network-based Linux system and application deployment (PXE/kickstart), configuration, authentication (LDAP/Kerberos), and management
Strong familiarity with and experience administering virtualization (VMware vSphere/Linux KVM) and VDI (VMware Horizon) clusters
Strong practical knowledge of network storage administration, including block-based (iSCSI) and file-based (NFS/SMB)
Strong practical knowledge of Linux concepts and services including but not limited to: command-line administration, configuration management (Ansible), remote access (SSH/NoMachine), directory services (LDAP/Kerberos), name resolution (DNS) and addressing (DHCP), web (Apache/NGINX) and database servers (MySQL), regular expressions, source control (git), and packet capture/analysis/filtering (iptables/tcpdump/wireshark)
Familiarity with C/C++ programming and debugging
Strong knowledge with Windows desktop and Server administration
Strong knowledge of Windows application management and troubleshooting in reduced user privileged environment

Skills

Demonstrated expertise in designing, evaluating, and integrating new technological solutions into existing complex environments
Strong troubleshooting skills in complex systems and production environments spanning multiple technologies
Strong organizational skills and ability to multi-task
Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
Self-starter who shows initiative to proactively identify and resolve issues
Relies on experience and independent judgment to determine, plan, and complete projects and goals

Abilities

Ability to handle multiple projects and deadlines
Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment
Demonstrated ability to acquire and apply new skills quickly
Ability to mentor more junior staff
Works effectively under limited supervision

Experience/Education

Bachelor's Degree in applicable field of study (or equivalent experience)
At least 5-6 years of experience in the design, operation, administration, and support of large, heterogeneous Linux/Windows environments
At least 3 years of experience in the support of a Linux-based HPC environment (preferred)

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, the California Fair Employment & Housing Act, and all other applicable laws, SCU provides reasonable accommodations for qualified persons with disabilities. A qualified individual is a person who meets skill, experience, education, or other requirements of the position, and who can perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.

Must be able to handle and operate equipment which can be located in racks or on tall shelves up to 8 feet in height and weighing up to 75 pounds
Must be able to work in confined spaces: above ceiling spaces, in and under furniture
Considerable time spent at a desk using a computer terminal
May be required to travel to other buildings on the campus
May be required to attend conference and training sessions within Bay Area or in- or out-of-state locations
May be required to occasionally travel to outside customers, vendors, or suppliers
Must be able to handle and operate equipment which can be located in racks or on tall shelves up to 8 feet in height and weighing up to 75 pounds
Must be able to work in confined spaces: above ceiling spaces, in and under furniture
Considerable time spent at a desk using a computer terminal
May be required to travel to other buildings on the campus
May be required to attend conference and training sessions within Bay Area or in- or out-of-state locations
May be required to occasionally travel to outside customers, vendors, or suppliers

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described below are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

Home office
Typical office and computer lab environment
Mostly indoor office environment with windows
Offices with equipment noise
Offices with frequent interruptions
Data centers, server rooms, wiring closets, and other locations where equipment is located, including exposure to loud noise, varying temperatures, low light, and tight spaces

COVID-19 Statement

The health and safety of the university community is a top priority. All Santa Clara University students, and employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or request a medical or religious exemption. Please visit our COVID-19 webpage for additional information.

EEO Statement

Equal Opportunity/Notice of Nondiscrimination

Santa Clara University is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action employer fully committed to achieving a diverse workforce and complies with all Federal and California State laws, regulations, and executive orders regarding non-discrimination and affirmative action. Applications from members of historically underrepresented groups are especially encouraged. For a complete copy of Santa Clara University's equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policies, see https://www.scu.edu/title-ix/policies-reports/

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

Santa Clara University does not discriminate in its employment practices or in its educational programs or activities on the basis of sex/gender, and prohibits retaliation against any person opposing discrimination or participating in any discrimination investigation or complaint process internally or externally. Information about Title IX can be found at www.scu.edu/title-ix. Information about Section 504 and the ADA Coordinator can be found at https://www.scu.edu/oae/, (408) 554-4109, oae@scu.edu. Inquiries can also be made to the Assistant Secretary of Education within the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Clery Notice of Availability

Santa Clara University annually collects information about campus crimes and other reportable incidents in accordance with the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. To view the Santa Clara University report, please go to the Campus Safety Services website . To request a paper copy please call Campus Safety at (408) 554-4441. The report includes the type of crime, venue, and number of occurrences.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Santa Clara University affirms its commitment to employ qualified individuals with disabilities within the workplace and to comply with the Americans with Disability Act. All applicants desiring an accommodation should contact the Department of Human Resources, and 408-554-5750 and request to speak to Indu Ahluwalia by phone at 408-554-5750 or by email at iahluwalia@scu.edu.

To view the full job posting and apply for this position, go to https://wd1.myworkdaysite.com/en-US/recruiting/scu/scu/job/Santa-Clara-CA/Senior-Systems-Engineer_R4263