Systems Administrator

Department: MCC Information Technology
Salary/Grade: ITS/79

Target hiring range for this position will be between $72,339 - $88,683 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Job Summary:

An experienced Linux systems administrator position, in which the occupant provides Ubuntu and RHEL sysadmin expertise in support of the research and academic missions of the engineering school of a top-10 university. This job consists of standard Linux sysadmin duties, and also includes, but isn't limited to, such things as automation evolution, database administration, collaboration with university peers, datacenter management, cloud ops, and script development.

Please note:

As primarily a systems administration position that involves critical infrastructure support, there will occasionally be times when the occupant of this position will be required to work outside of normal business hours or on weekends in order to complete time-dependent tasks.

This position is a three day on-site, two day remote hybrid work schedule in downtown Evanston.

Specific Responsibilities:

Strategic Planning

• Provides recommendations regarding infrastructure planning and budgeting.

Administration

• Ensures data/media recoverability by implementing a schedule of system backups and database archive operations.
• Supports media management through internal methods and procedures or through offsite storage and retrieval services.
• Develops and promotes standard operating procedures.
• Conducts routine infrastructure audits to ensure compliance with established standards, policies, and configuration guidelines.
• Develops and maintains a comprehensive infrastructure configuration database/library of all supporting documentation.
• Creates and maintains user accounts, security, permissions, and file systems in accordance with standards and operational requirements

Development

• Performs infrastructure installations and upgrades.
• Schedules installations and upgrades and maintains them in accordance with established IT policies and procedures.

Performance

• Monitors and tunes the system to achieve optimum performance levels.
• Ensures infrastructure integrity by evaluating, implementing, and managing appropriate solutions.
• In collaboration with system administrators, performs ongoing support and maintenance for systems and related applications.
• Prioritizes, troubleshoots, and resolves issues.

Miscellaneous

Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in a major such as computer science, information technology, or related; OR appropriate combination of education and experience.
• 2 years of system administration or other relevant experience required.
• Professional experience using AI to augment skills, develop tools, research solutions, and help writing email and documentation.

Infrastructure

• Apache
• Code Repositories (Git, Subversion)
• identity management/provisioning
• information security
• Linux Operating System
• System Monitoring (Zabbix, SolarWinds, etc)
• Automation tool (Ansible/Puppet/Chef)
• Server hardware
• SQL: MySQL/Postgres
• Storage hardware
• VMware vSphere
• Other:Docker, DNS, ISC DHCP, SSL cert mgmt

Programming Languages and Frameworks

• Shell Scripting (bash, perl,awk, sed, etc)

Analytical

• critical thinking
• database design/ data structure
• Debugging
• decision making
• judgment
• problem solving
• Troubleshooting

Project

• collaboration and teamwork
• facilitate collaboration
• functional documentation
• organizational skills
• planning
• write proposals and project charters

Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.)

• Mid to advanced level Ubuntu and/or RHEL server and desktop administration
• DNS & DHCP management
• Practical virtualization technology
• Public key encryption
• Data backups systems
• openssl
• Shell script programming
• Strong foundation in OS hardening and system security best practices
• Proven documentation experience for institutional memory, for user & team training, and for procedures standardization
• Excellent written and oral communication skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• 4 years of intermediate level server and desktop Linux systems administration experience.

Preferred Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities)

• Professional experience with:
  • docker
  • Infoblox IPAM
  • LDAP
  • Juniper SRX and Palo Alto network firewalls
  • CrashPlan Pro (or other) cloud backups system
  • WebDAV configuration
  • CUDA
  • python, PHP, & perl programming.
• Vibe coding experience.
• Record of properly setting up commercial SSL certificates on Apache web servers, especially on Virtual Hosts. CertBot TLS cert automation.
• Hands-on experience administering Windows Server and endpoint environments, including Active Directory (users, groups, GPOs), PowerShell automation, and WSUS for patching.
• Knowledge of Windows operating systems, identity and access management, and endpoint management platforms (e.g., MECM/Intune).
• Experience creating, testing, and maintaining application packages in Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (MECM).

Benefits:

At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful and competitive benefits. The available benefits package for this position will include health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance; paid vacation and holidays; paid medical/sick and parental leave; tuition benefits for the employee and dependents; pre-tax and flex spending accounts for commuting and dependent care; generous retirement savings options; and wellness programs. For a comprehensive overview of available benefits, including eligibility details, visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness:
Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.
We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development:
Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics, including disability and veteran status. View Northwestern's non-discrimination statement. Job applicants who wish to request an accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance. View additional information on the accommodations process.