Systems Administrator

About Ropes & Gray Ropes & Gray is a preeminent, global law firm. The firm has been ranked in the top-three on The American Lawyer's prestigious "A-List" for seven years and is ranked 1 on Law.com International's "A-List" in the U.K. - rankings that honor the "Best of the Best" firms. The firm has approximately 2,500 lawyers and professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology, and government in Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. The firm has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, including asset management, private equity, M&A, finance, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring. Ropes & Gray is an equal opportunity employer. Overview The Systems Administrator is a member of the Enterprise Systems team in IT Operations. The Systems Administrator is responsible for the technical administration of specific enterprise applications at the firm used by the firm's attorneys and business support professionals. The Systems Administrator manages application servers, performance, stability, uptime, and security. The Systems Administrator is responsible for the analysis and resolution of problems affecting the system, including those related to data, software, servers, connectivity, and functionality. The Systems Administrator performs installation, configuration, and maintenance of system software including upgrades and patches. The Systems administrator monitors system health and performance and creates and maintains technical documentation. The System Administrator interacts with business support department members serving as the systems' product managers, and with end users. The System Administrator coordinates with other technical teams within IT Operations to deliver outstanding support and customer service. The Systems Administrator is a technical subject matter expert in the applications they support. While working on projects to perform upgrades or implement new systems, the System Administrator ensures adherence to firm procedures, manages third-party resources closely, and ensures system health and security. Responsibilities ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Perform day-to-day administration and support of the Firm's enterprise systems in production and multiple levels of pre-production environments. The specific systems covered may change depending on the expertise of the candidate and the firm's evolving needs. Examples include CRM, Document Management, Experience Management, Performance Management, Business Intake, Conference Room Reservation Systems, and other law firm applications. Perform system upgrades and routine maintenance. Team with the Networks group to oversee the operation of servers and storage dedicated to systems described above, including hardware and software installation, upgrades, service packs and patches, system monitoring and job scheduling. Work closely with the Database Administrators to provision, maintain and secure database components for supported applications. Troubleshoot application issues and serve as an escalation point for User Support. Manage support escalations to software vendors. Implement security patches and maintain system configurations according to firm technology best practices. Work with Desktop Engineering team to package client software. Create and maintain system documentation and diagrams demonstrating a total understanding of the application architecture and configuration items. Conduct ongoing knowledge transfer to ensure depth of coverage, thorough documentation of systems and shared understanding of systems by administrators, User Support teams and end users. Participate in DR planning and perform regular testing for systems. Participate in the Change Management process and follow all the firm's technical procedures. Qualifications EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS REQUIRED: Minimum two years experience administering on-premises application servers. Fluency in administering Windows Server, fluent understanding of Windows Server operating system and administrative tools. Outstanding application installation, configuration and troubleshooting skills. Experience with web server/web site administration and Microsoft IIS and Apache strongly desired. Experience with server clustering and load balancing techniques. Strong understanding of common law firm applications and technology environment a strong plus. Experience moving systems to the cloud and designing or supporting cloud applications a plus. Proficiency with SQL databases and servers a plus. Linux experience a plus. Excellent technical writing and documentation skills. Outstanding listening skills and written and oral communication skills, including effective presentation skills. ESSENTIAL CAPABILITIES: Outstanding troubleshooting skills Ability to relate to non-technical users in user-friendly language Sense of urgency and persistence Ability to manage multiple concurrent objectives or activities, and effectively make judgments in prioritizing and time allocation in a high-pressure environment Ability to gauge one's strengths and limitations Superior organizational skills, bias for action and strong initiative Ability to deal with changes and adapt to a changing environment Must demonstrate the ability to maintain strict confidentiality of the firm's internal and personnel affairs Ability to work well with others, harness different skills and experience, and build a strong sense of team spirit Highly self motivated and directed Ability to work in a multi-office environment and willingness to travel to other offices as required Ability to work effectively in a culturally and educationally diverse environment Compensation and Total Rewards Package Ropes & Gray is proud to offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package to our business support team members. The firm also offers comprehensive health and well-being benefits, personal and professional development, career growth opportunities and a collegial and supportive culture. The anticipated pay range for this role is listed below and represents our good faith and reasonable estimate of the starting salary range at the time of posting. In addition, this role is eligible for a discretionary bonus based on performance. The actual offered rate for this position will be determined based on job-related, non-discriminatory factors, including qualifications and experience, geographic location, education, external market data and consideration of internal equity. Boston and Chicago: $86,500 - $131,000 New York: $91,000 - $137,000 Working Conditions This position requires hybrid on-site presence as an essential function of the role. Consistent and predictable on-site presence is required for ongoing business continuity, professional development and effective collaboration with colleagues and management.