LINUX SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR

$60,000 - $85,000/Yr

University of Missouri - Columbia, MO

Full-time - Entry Level

Columbia, MO

Educational Services

About the position

The University of Missouri's Division of Information Technology is seeking a highly qualified Linux System Administrator to join the Research Support Solutions “X-Team.” This team is dedicated to providing advanced technical support for research computing needs across the campus, which encompasses a wide range of fields and studies. The ideal candidate will be enthusiastic about enabling greater discoveries at MU and will take pride in delivering exceptional customer support. The role involves supporting research computing by building, installing, and managing computer systems, research instrumentation, scientific applications, and security solutions. The successful applicant will provide top-tier customer and technical support both in-person and remotely, utilizing various management tools. Excellent professional written and verbal communication skills, along with strong interpersonal skills, are essential for this position. The Researcher systems managed by the team utilize industry best practices and technologies, including Active Directory (AD), Puppet, Foreman, Ansible, Zabbix, VMWare, and various scripting languages such as bash, tcsh, zsh, Python, and PowerShell. The Linux System Administrator will be responsible for diagnosing and resolving end-user problems, coordinating with vendors for hardware and software procurement, and contributing to the development of customer support strategies. The position requires staying current with emerging IT trends related to research computing and supporting the needs of researchers while promoting institutional policy. This is an in-person position based in Columbia, MO, with potential for occasional travel to other campuses.

Responsibilities

• Frequently work one-on-one with faculty, staff, and students to aid in resolving issues.
• Diagnose and resolve end-user problems using various methods including error messages, analysis of logs, and collaboration with vendors.
• Respond to escalated issues from customers and other support teams; perform triage, provide remote problem resolution, and refer problems to associated groups when appropriate.
• Coordinate with outside vendors for procurement and installation of hardware, software, and research instrumentation.
• Research, recommend, and implement hardware and software purchases to meet customer needs and ensure compatibility with university systems and architecture.
• Contribute to the development of customer support strategies.
• Learn and understand research workflows, investigate best practices, and guide development of workflows for data collection and analysis.
• Investigate and test new tools, systems, techniques, and software products.
• Provide technical guidance, documentation, and training to customers and IT professionals.
• Document system configurations, modifications, and concerns.
• Manage work orders, projects, and track efforts.
• Work well with colleagues, customers, and external organizations in written and verbal communication, both in-person and virtually.
• Advocate for the needs of researchers while promoting institutional policy.
• Stay current with emerging IT trends related to research computing and research support.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• A bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience is required.
• Experience installing, configuring, maintaining, and troubleshooting Linux systems in Academic, Enterprise, or Research environments.
• Experience securing and monitoring Linux systems and educating customers on proper security practices.
• Ability to determine and initiate necessary actions to restore normal services with minimal downtime.
• Experience as a member of a highly technical and customer-service driven team.
• Demonstrated experience with documentation, professional communication, and interpersonal relationships in IT and/or research focused groups.
• Ability to provide and receive honest feedback on team and individual efforts and ideas.

Nice-to-haves

• Direct customer support in an academic or research environment is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated experience managing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Enterprise Linux clones (CentOS/Oracle Linux/Alma/Rocky), Debian, and Ubuntu is highly desirable.
• Experience with web application development is highly desirable.
• Experience with networking, security, and compliance is a plus.
• Experience compiling and installing software on Linux systems without using standard package repositories is highly desirable.
• Experience with database management (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB) is a plus.
• Experience with Python and R languages or development environments is a plus.

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision plans
• Retirement
• Paid time off
• Short- and long-term disability
• Paid parental leave
• Paid caregiver leave
• Educational fee discounts for all four UM System campuses