SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR II

Position Summary

Position Overview

The Systems Administrator II position is highly technical in nature. The position involves software installation and upgrades, systems problem resolution, systems security, and planning and recommendations for system upgrades. System duties are performed on a variety of operating systems with a heavy emphasis on Linux.

What will I do in this position?

Essential job responsibilities may include but are not limited to:

• Perform operating system upgrades in Linux environments after developing an upgrade plan and reviewing the plan with supervisor.

• Coordinate with users, central IT, and vendors to resolve issues and maintain/upgrade systems.

• Resolve issues not resolved by Tier 1 and 2 support while cross-training and documenting to enhance skills of users and Tier 1 and 2 support personnel.

• Install new software and software upgrades for all layered products after presenting a plan for user testing and migration to the new product level.

• Monitor system performance and propose software updates or parameter changes to enhance system performance; develop plans for testing, implementing, and measuring the results of system performance.

• Maintain required operating system security on all centralized Linux and Windows machines.

• Assist with backup software installation and configuration, scheduling backup jobs, resting restoration procedures, and completing restore requests.

• Assist with monitoring and alerting software installation and configuration

• Must participate in the team on-call rotation

• Assist, as needed, in network printer set-up, configuration, and troubleshooting.

• Work with hardware and software customer support service organizations as required solving problems.

• Share technical and functional expertise with other members of the team as required.

• Document various processing procedures for use by other IT staff members.

• Attend training sessions, read instructional manuals, and read industry periodicals to maintain a current understanding of the various operating systems and maintained software.

Because our community is a significant part of our mission and the development of our students, all employees act as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ by actively partnering with colleagues of the University to disciple students to help grow intellectually and spiritually and to partner with Northwestern Media to lead people to Christ and nurture believers to mature in their faith.

What will it take to succeed in this position?

Minimum Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree with at least three years’ prior experience as a systems administrator required.
• Maintains a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Is a consistent witness for Jesus Christ and maintains a kind, Christ-like attitude in dealing with and ministering to people within and outside of Northwestern, and faithfully upholds and embraces Northwestern’s mission, doctrinal statement and Declaration of Christian Community.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Experience with Linux and Windows servers in virtualized environments
• Familiarity with the fundamentals of Linux scripting languages
• Ability to build and monitor services on production servers
• Experience installing, configuring, and maintaining services such as Tomcat, Apache, MySQL, etc.
• Proficient with network tools such as iptables, Linux IPVS , HAProxy, etc.
• Knowledge of VMware Virtualization software
• Experience setting up, running, maintaining and troubleshooting servers in a virtualized environment, specifically VMware
• Knowledge of Linux and Windows Administration processes
• Knowledge of Redhat
• Practical experience in testing and installing third party software products
• Practical experience in systems security including an understanding of audit systems, enhanced user security, and Internet security issues
• Experience in performing system tuning, both at the operating system level and the application level
• Excellent time-management and planning skills
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills with strong customer service orientation and ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public
• Ability to effectively manage scope and customer expectations on individual assignments
• Must have the ability to work effectively with end-users, gain their confidence, understand their technical and operational needs and translate them into viable technical solutions
• Strong organizational and leadership skills with ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment
• Willingness to work as a contributing member of the team including other systems personnel, the operations staff, and the account administrators
• Ability to read, analyze and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions
• Ability to function as junior Oracle DBA
• Creative problem-solving abilities
• Adept at reading, writing, and interpreting technical documentation and procedure manuals
• Highly self-motivated and directed
• Keen attention to detail
• Ability to pass a background check upon hire and periodically throughout the course of employment

Working Environment:

The work environment involves working in a suburban, Christian university, working alongside those with a demonstrated commitment and personal relationship with Jesus Christ and a commitment to the mission and values of the University and an agreement to abide by all University policies.

What are the benefits of working at Northwestern?

In addition to being part of a compelling, meaningful mission, we have benefits we believe set us apart from other employers.

For example we have:

• Generous health, dental and other insurance benefits
• Company retirement contributions that exceed levels of many for-profit organizations
• Tuition benefits for employees and their families
• Complimentary access to athletic, music, and theatre events
• Eleven paid holidays per year
• Generous Paid Time Off plan
• Northwestern was one of 100 Minnesota organizations named to the Star Tribune Top Workplaces list in 2010, 2012 and 2014!