Logo
Colorado State University

Lead Systems Administrator

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, us, 80523


Posting Details

Posting Detail Information

Working Title Lead Systems Administrator

Position Location Fort Collins, CO

Work Location Position is fully in-office/in-person

Research Professional Position No

Posting Number 202402000AP

Position Type Admin Professional/ Research Professional

Classification Title Prof/Indiv Contrib III

Number of Vacancies 1

Work Hours/Week 40

Proposed Annual Salary Range $105,000 - $126,000/year; salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Employee Benefits

Colorado State University is not just a workplace; it's a thriving community that's transforming lives and improving the human condition through world-class teaching, research, and service. With a robust benefits package, collaborative atmosphere, commitment to

diversity, equity and inclusion , and focus on work-life balance, CSU is where you can thrive, grow, and make a lasting impact.

Review our detailed benefits information here. Explore the additional perks of working at CSU here . For the total value of CSU benefits in addition to wages, use our compensation calculator . Lastly, click here for more information about why Fort Collins is consistently ranked in the top cities to live in ! Desired Start Date 01/01/2025

Position End Date (if temporary)

To ensure full consideration, applications must be received by 11:59pm (MT) on 12/09/2024

Description of Work Unit

The Department of Computer Science has 1100 undergraduate majors and 279 graduate students in our Masters and Ph.D. programs as of Fall 2023. The department's 22 tenure-track faculty conduct research in algorithms, artificial intelligence, software engineering, big data, bioinformatics, computer vision, distributed systems, augmented and virtual reality, networks, parallel computing, security, and computer science education. It has 10 non-tenure track faculty members who assist with the department's teaching mission and 15 staff members who support the overall teaching and research missions of the department.

Colorado State University is a Carnegie Research I institution located in Fort Collins, Colorado - a beautiful city approximately 65 miles north of Denver and situated at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. While living in Fort Collins, you can expect world-class hiking, skiing, camping, and biking at your doorstep, in a location boasting the community of a small town with the amenities of a big city. You can tour our 28 world-famous craft breweries, observe the beauty of the Horsetooth Reservoir, or visit our historic Old Town for its family-friendly common space. With over 300 days of sunshine each year, Fort Collins offers an ideal climate for outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers. Further strengthened by relationships with CSU, Fort Collins has become a thriving center for high-tech as well as world-class outdoor recreational opportunities, courtesy of the Rocky Mountains. Its vibrant arts scene, excellent schools, and thriving job market make it a perfect place to live, work, and play.

Position Summary

This is an IT and systems administration Lead Support position for a leading university computer science department. The systems support group in the Department of Computer Science is a collaborative, energetic, and hard-working team, with a reputation for providing strong systems and user support. The group is composed of three full-time Systems Administrators and one part-time graduate student systems assistant. Although this is a team leadership position, it is very much hands-on, working and collaborating, while providing direction. The position also collaborates regularly with CS faculty, staff, students and other stakeholders to support the instructional and research missions of the department.

The Department of Computer Science hosts close to 900 computer systems and several thousand users. Included with these are two open instructional computer labs, four computer classrooms, a variety of research labs, and a large central server room. Supported systems include a variety of servers, server clusters, networked and networking devices, workstations and laptops and an extremely large and diverse set of software applications and tools. This position will serve as the lead team member to support these facilities and will oversee the maintenance, support, configurations, and enhancement of systems, labs, applications, tools, and computing environment, as well as oversee tool development and infrastructure to facilitate the support effort.

Required Job Qualifications

Degree:

Masters degree in Computer Science and at least 10 years relevant experience supporting Linux computing, -OR-

Bachelor's of Science degree in Computer Science, or closely-related field, and 15 years relevant experience supporting Linux computing in a university environment. Experience:

Extensive knowledge of the Linux operating system and Linux systems administration. A demonstrable knowledge of networking technologies and TCP/IP. C or C++ programming ability. Shell scripting experience. Working knowledge of computing hardware componentry configuration and related performance tradeoffs. Leadership, management, and communication skills. Preferred Job Qualifications

Experience supporting computing in an academic computer science department. Experience supporting HPC and GPU hardware and computation. Experience supporting virtualization. Experience configuring clusters of systems. Experience with server room power distribution and HVAC requirements and configuration. Fund raising and budgeting experience.

Diversity Statement

Reflecting departmental and institutional values, candidates are expected to have the ability to advance the Department's commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Essential Duties

Job Duty Category Daily Operations, Maintenance, and Revision of Computing Facilities

Duty/Responsibility •Supervise and coordinate activities of CS Department IT staff, assuring department goals are met. The staff currently consists of two other full-time systems administrators, and a half-time graduate systems assistant. •Configure, deploy, and maintain department file servers, HPC clusters, virtualization servers, computation servers and workstations. •Configure and support file services, print services, email service, systems security, networking, and network security. •Implement fair and reasonable computing resource allocation and access policies. •Develop, deploy, automate, and maintain efficient systems to install, integrate and maintain secure, and consistent system images supporting thousands of programming tools, applications, and inter-dependent programming environments across hundreds of Linux computer workstations and servers. •Install applications, tools, and programming environments as needed by a technically diverse and sophisticated user community. •Keep abreast of and maintain current best practices for systems and network security. •Maintain a disaster recovery plan including offline and off-site data backups. •Troubleshoot technical problems.

Percentage Of Time 45%

Job Duty Category Plan & Provision: Computing Facilities and Infrastructure

Duty/Responsibility •Keep abreast of leading-edge technologies and plan for current and future department technology needs. •Assess requirements, specify, purchase, configure, deploy, and upgrade computing and networking equipment and infrastructure. •Assess requirements, specify, configure, deploy, and upgrade software applications and tools, operating systems, and computing environments. •Plan and provision other technologies, such as presentation, recording, or lecture capture, as needs arise. •Provision capable and reliable power and HVAC facilities for department server rooms, laboratories, and other areas as needed within the CS building(s).

Percentage Of Time 20%

Job Duty Category Advise & Assist Researchers, Instructors, and Students

Duty/Responsibility •Help researchers with specifying, purchasing, configuring, installing, or supporting specialized computing equipment to support their research projects. •Assist researchers by setting up, configuring and securing custom hardware and software mechanisms and services, such as clustered machine configurations, experimental networks, secure websites, firewall exceptions, software environment integration, etc. •Assist instructors with deploying tools and mechanisms to support programming classes, such as custom virtual machine configurations, custom virtual network configurations, shared resource allocation mechanisms, program auto-testing or auto-grading tools, etc. •Assist researchers and instructors with trouble-shooting complex systems problems. •Manage and participate in effective user-support and help-desk operations. •Maintain a high level of user satisfaction.

Percentage Of Time 20%

Job Duty Category Plan & Provision: Instructional Labs and Classrooms

Duty/Responsibility •Keep abreast of and plan for current and future department classroom and student laboratory needs. These include computing workstations, Audio/Video facilities, other technologies as required, and physical facilities such as furniture (podiums, lab desks, etc), remodeling and reconfiguration needs. •Coordinate and obtain funding for computer equipment, lab and classroom facilities, and upgrades to both by working with the CS Dept Chairman, CS Operations Committee, CNS College Council, University Technology Fee Advisory Board, University Facility Fee Advisory Board, and other potential funding sources. •Coordinate, implement and install upgrades.

Percentage Of Time 10%

Job Duty Category Daily Operations and Maintenance of Instructional Labs & Classrooms

Duty/Responsibility •Manage daily operations of seven (primarily Linux) student computing Labs. Manage and schedule Lab operations staff for primary Linux lab (50 teaching assistants each serving several hours per week) •Provide first-level support for classroom and lab presentation and lecture capture equipment. •Deliver rapid response solving problems which impact classes or lab recitations.

Percentage Of Time 5%

Application Details

Special Instructions to Applicants

To apply, please submit: a cover letter that speaks to the required and preferred qualifications of the posting, a current resume, and the names and contact information for three (3) professional references. (References will not be contacted without prior notification to candidates).

CSU is committed to full inclusion of qualified individuals. If you are needing assistance or accommodations with the search process, please reach out to the listed search contact. Please note, applicants may redact information from their application materials that identifies their age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.

Conditions of Employment Pre-employment Criminal Background Check (required for new hires)

Search Contact Bruce.Draper@colostate.edu

EEO Statement

Colorado State University is committed to providing an environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based on race, age, creed, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, or pregnancy in its employment, programs, services and activities, and admissions, and, in certain circumstances, marriage to a co-worker. The University will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. Colorado State University is an equal opportunity and equal access institution and affirmative action employer fully committed to achieving a diverse workforce and complies with all Federal and Colorado State laws, regulations, and executive orders regarding non-discrimination and affirmative action. The

Office of Equal Opportunity

is located in 101 Student Services.

The Title IX Coordinator is the Director of the Office of Title IX Programs and Gender Equity, 123 Student Services Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523-0160, (970) 491-1715,

titleix@colostate.edu .

The Section 504 and ADA Coordinator is the Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity, 101 Student Services Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523-0160, (970) 491-5836,

oeo@colostate.edu .

The Coordinator for any other forms of misconduct prohibited by the University's Policy on Discrimination and Harassment is the Vice President for Equity, Equal Opportunity and Title IX, 101 Student Services Building, Fort Collins, Co. 80523-0160, (970) 491-5836,

oeo@colostate.edu .

Any person may report sex discrimination under Title IX to the

Office of Civil Rights, Department of Education .

Background Check Policy Statement

Colorado State University strives to provide a safe study, work, and living environment for its faculty, staff, volunteers and students. To support this environment and comply with applicable laws and regulations, CSU conducts background checks for the finalist before a final offer. The type of background check conducted varies by position and can include, but is not limited to, criminal history, sex offender registry, motor vehicle history, financial history, and/or education verification. Background checks will also be conducted when required by law or contract and when, in the discretion of the University, it is reasonable and prudent to do so.