City : Hamilton

Category : Other

Industry : Education

Employer : McMaster University

Should the successful applicant be a Unifor Unit 1 bargaining unit member, who meets the eligibility conditions of Article 19.02 of the Unifor Unit 1 Collective Agreement, then the Limited Term Assignment will be defined as a Career Growth Opportunity in accordance with Article 19 of the Unifor Local 5555 Unit 1 Collective Agreement.

The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging is a large, national, long-term study of more than 50,000 individuals who were between the ages of 45 and 85 when recruited. These participants will be followed until 2033 or death. The aim of the CLSA is to find ways to help us live long and live well and understand why some people age in healthy fashion while others do not.

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Linux Systems Administrator to architect, implement, and maintain our local and cloud-based infrastructure. This role requires expertise in system design, security, performance optimization, and compliance. The ideal candidate will provide technical leadership, resolve complex issues, and ensure the reliability and scalability of our IT environment.

Job Summary:

The Senior Systems Administrator acts as a technical and consulting resource for complex issues related to various University departments and units with respect to the implementation and maintenance of information technology systems. Supports the University's academic and administration departments by acting in a technical capacity in all phases of the Project Life Cycle for small to medium projects and components of large projects, including post-production support and ongoing maintenance. Continuously gains an understanding of the University's operations and processes and how systems are used in support of those operations. Works under general direction within a clear framework of accountability and exercises substantial personal responsibility and accountability to deliver results to the University.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Provide design and support for technology in server and related environments, data network infrastructure and related environments, datacenter technology and facilities, storage area network and other storage related environments, voice network infrastructure and related environments, and information security infrastructure and other related environments.
• Critically evaluate information gathered from multiple sources, reconcile conflicts, decompose high-level information into details, abstract up from low-level information to a general understanding, and distinguish user requests from the underlying true needs.
• Elicit requirements using interviews, document analysis, requirement workshops, surveys, site visits, business process descriptions, use cases, scenarios, business analysis, and task and workflow analysis.
• Perform advanced levels of analysis, problem solving and research skills to formulate solutions to complex business needs.
• Conduct gap analyses.
• Develop strategies for implementing new services and upgrades on production systems.
• Troubleshoot computer system issues that may require an end-to-end evaluation of University wide systems often spanning multiple heterogeneous hosts and locations across the University and with external service providers.
• Ensure the availability and performance of the current production storage, information processing, and computing environment in assigned and related areas of the organization.
• Test system architecture in order to minimize risks to the production systems.
• Investigate, evaluate, compare, and demonstrate new hardware and software products, and new computing techniques which could enhance the University’s computing, information processing, and network environment.
• Undertake study and pilot projects to assess and select commercial technology alternatives.
• Provide technical assistance to individual user groups, user support, and operational staff in the introduction and development of specialized systems and services.
• Ensure individuals conform to organizational information processing, use of network, and computing standards through the proper publication and awareness of policies.
• Plan and coordinate the technology refresh for large and complex interconnected systems.
• Contribute to the development of cost and time estimates for the technical architecture components of project implementation.
• Deliver workshops and demonstrate new technologies to campus staff as systems are being implemented.
• Prepare and present training for user support and operational staff through technical seminars and documentation.
• Prepare procedures for restoring systems to full operation after hardware and software component failures on both production and test systems.
• Prepare contingency plans for recovering services and operations after incidents including, but not limited to, power blackouts, water damage, or structural building failures and contribute to the planning and development of disaster recovery scenarios.
• Undertake projects such as performance monitoring and capacity planning to monitor the overall reliability and effectiveness of the computing systems and information processing architecture including storage area networks.
• Liaise with computer vendors, other institutions, and associated computer user groups as a means to maintain communication between all parties involved in technical projects and day-to-day operations.
• Design, implement, and document support processes, procedures, and mechanisms that inter-connect heterogeneous systems in support of the integration of processes and data flow.
• Gather and compile information and create reports and graphs for capacity planning, and performance metrics.
• Prepare technical specifications and requests for quotes from suppliers and requests for proposals.
• Participate in negotiations with suppliers to discover options and acquire the most cost effective solutions for technology requirements.
• Utilize the appropriate control tools to coordinate small and medium size projects according to Project Management Office methodologies.
• Develop success criteria and risk assessments for small to medium size projects and changes.
• Develop, implement, and document best practices to align with departmental and University strategies and processes.
• Work independently with users to define concepts.
• Ensure that projects meet specified functionality requirements.
• Prepare and review recommendations and other project initiation documents.
• Document system functionality, particularly related to new enhancements.
• Develop and maintain information technology process flow, methodology, and control documentation.
• Assist with the development of project proposals and estimates.
• Resolve problems in the test, production implementation, and post-implementation phases in coordination with other technical and business groups.
• Liaise between the technology and support teams.
• Communicate project, issue, and system status to others.
• Communicate testing results to other stakeholders.
• Facilitate effective dialog between user community and technical staff.
• Interact with and exchange information with colleagues.
• Follow a test script and document defects.
• Work with others to prioritize and schedule issues resolution.
• Plan, schedule, and monitor own work within short time horizons.
• Organize individual time, work and resources to accomplish objectives in the most effective and efficient way.
• Understand and use appropriate methods, tools, and applications to complete work tasks.
• Demonstrate a rational and organized approach to work and identify development opportunities.
• Absorb technical information when it is presented systematically and apply it effectively.
• Use measurement methods to monitor progress toward goal attainment, tenaciously working to meet or exceed those goals, while deriving satisfaction from the process of goal achievement and continuous improvement.
• Ensure that the internal and external customer perspective is a driving force behind decisions and activities.
• Follow service practices that meet customers’ and University needs.
• Interact with others in a way that gives them confidence in one’s intentions and those of the University.
• Work collaboratively with others to achieve departmental and institutional goals. Actively participate as a member of a team to move the team toward the completion of goals.
• Perform a range of varied work activities in a variety of structured environments.
• Successfully engage in multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Apply and enforce department change control policies and procedures.
• Read and understand a complex project plan and develop simple project plans.
• Remain current with relevant development and project methodologies.
• Remain current with security policies and procedures and work with System Administrators to implement security changes.
• Remain current with the different levels of testing and develop simple use cases and test scripts.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Business, or a related field of study.
• Requires 4 years of relevant experience.

Assets:

• Architect and implement CLSA local and cloud computer systems (AWS or Azure) and network infrastructure.
• Provide technical assistance to the IT team and resolve complex issues.
• Design, implement, and maintain security measures.
• Plan and execute server and network upgrades, including backup strategies.
• Analyze system performance and usage trends; recommend improvements.
• Create and maintain technical documentation and procedures.
• Monitor and manage system capacity and performance proactively.
• Provide training and guidance to IT staff to ensure best practices.
• Ensure compliance with industry regulations and standards.
• Participate in project planning and implementation as a technical lead.

Additional Information:

• 5 years’ experience as a Senior Linux Systems Administrator in an enterprise environment.
• Proven experience in system and network architecture (local and AWS/Azure cloud environments).
• Strong knowledge of security frameworks, compliance standards and IT governance, CISSP Certified.
• Expertise in Linux server upgrades, backup strategies, performance tuning and disaster recovery planning.
• Excellent troubleshooting and problem-solving skills for complex technical issues.
• Ability to create clear technical documentation and procedures.
• Strong communication and leadership skills for team training and guidance.