Position Title:
Systems Engineer

Position Type:
Regular

Hiring Range:

$91,800.00 - $114,785.00, Compensation will be based on education, experience, skills relevant to the role, and internal equity.

Pay Frequency:
Annual
A. POSITION PURPOSE

The Systems Engineer collaborates with the ECC team to implement, maintain, and support the operations and scaling of the Engineering Computing Center (ECC) within the School of Engineering. This includes supporting software and applications, physical lab workstations (both physical and virtual), and the underlying infrastructure. The environment utilizes virtualization technologies (including VirtualBox, VMware vSphere, and cloud VM vendors), with infrastructure managed via Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and configuration management using Ansible, alongside legacy Unix custom scripting. As part of a collaborative team, this position shares responsibility for Windows and Linux operating systems, virtualization services, backup, storage, networking, application support, and information security.

The position supports the School of Engineering's varied and dynamic instructional, research, and operational computing needs. This involves working directly with staff, students, and faculty within the School of Engineering, as well as collaborating with Cyberinfrastructure Technologies, the Information Security Office, other campus divisions, and external vendors.

B. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Desktop and infrastructure administration

• Desktop & Infrastructure Administration: Responsible for the deployment, configuration, and day-to-day maintenance of Linux and Windows desktops. Collaborates with the ECC team to support infrastructure deployment and implementation projects.
• Environment Maintenance: Assists in maintaining the operational readiness of the ECC environment, including physical and virtual servers, workstations, and remote access systems for ECC labs.
• Application Support: Installs, updates, configures, and provides technical support for Linux and Windows-based applications.
• Proactive Monitoring: Monitors system performance and environment health to identify and resolve issues promptly, minimizing impact on end-users.
• Security & Usability Balance: Implements established security protocols and standards while maintaining system usability to foster an environment of learning and innovation.
• Incident Response: Performs initial investigation and troubleshooting of reported security incidents involving computing and network resources. Escalates complex issues to Senior Engineers and assists with remediation.
• Documentation: Creates and updates technical documentation, user guides, and standard operating procedures related to applications and systems.
• Team Support: Provides technical escalation support and mentorship to the Tier 1 student Help Desk team, acting as a resource during high-volume periods.

New technologies and process improvements

• Works with Engineering faculty and staff to understand the computing requirements for new instructional, research, and operational initiatives
• Seeks and implements operational efficiency improvements and automation
• Participates in long-term strategic and budget planning
• Advises School of Engineering students, faculty, and staff on computing tasks
• Research needs and provide recommendations for system and infrastructure upgrades and replacements
• Work with ECC staff to design, build, test, and deploy changes to the ECC infrastructure
• Communicate with vendors for software and hardware requirements as well as technical support

Troubleshooting and customer support

• Responds rapidly to outages and service interruptions
• Proactively notifies end users of outages, changes, and upgrades
• Provides professional, timely, and courteous support to end users

Other duties as assigned

• Accepts that on occasion and depending on the situation will be required to work beyond and in addition to the traditional work schedules/hours including project work and responding to failures/emergencies
• Required to support the School of Engineering during emergencies as needed to meet operational requirements
• Other duties/tasks as assigned by this person's supervisor

C. PROVIDES WORK DIRECTION

May provide direction to and/or mentor student employees

D. QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The items below are representative of the knowledge, skills, abilities, education,

and experience required or preferred.

This position requires the ability to effectively establish and maintain cooperative working relationships within a diverse multicultural environment.

1. Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of Linux server administration in a large, heterogeneous environment that includes Windows
• Strong knowledge of Windows and Linux desktop administration
• Knowledge of Windows Server services (Active Directory, WSUS, Powershell)
• Knowledge of administration and deployment of virtualization clusters and desktop clients (VDI/VMware workstation/Virtual Box)
• Strong knowledge of application installation, deployment, and troubleshooting in both Linux (Rocky Distro) and Windows OS.
• Good experience writing, debugging, and maintaining scripts (such as PowerShell, Bash, or Python) to automate administrative tasks
• Good knowledge of TCP/IP networking
• Good experience with hardening systems for security
• Practical knowledge of administration of VMware Workstation, Virtual Box, LDAP, Apache, SSL, Licensing (flexlm), SAMBA, AD, DNS, WSUS, Powershell, backups, and storage technologies
• Familiarity with basic macOS usage is a plus

2. Skills

• Good troubleshooting skills in complex, heterogeneous environments
• Good organizational skills and ability to multi-task
• Effective interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to initiate, manage, and complete projects and goals
• Self-starter who shows initiative to proactively identify and resolve issues
• Demonstrated experience working as a team member in an environment requiring strong customer service
• Willingness to accommodate a flexible work schedule, including nights and weekends

3. Abilities

• Handles multiple, concurrent projects and deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment
• Demonstrated ability to acquire and apply new skills quickly
• Works effectively under limited supervision

4. Experience/Education

• At least 3-4 years of relevant experience in the design, operation, administration, and support of large, heterogeneous Linux/Windows environments required.
• Bachelor's Degree in applicable field of study (or equivalent experience) required.

E. PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
• Must be able to handle and operate equipment which can be located in racks or on tall shelves up to 8 feet in height and weighing up to 75 pounds
• Must be able to work in confined spaces: above ceiling spaces, in and under furniture
• Considerable time spent at a desk using a computer
• May be required to travel to other buildings on the campus
• May be required to attend conference and training sessions within the Bay Area or at in- or out-of-state locations
• May be required to occasionally travel to outside customers, vendors, or suppliers

F. WORK ENVIRONMENT

• The work environment characteristics described below are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.
• Typical office and computer lab environment
• Mostly indoor office environment with windows
• Offices with equipment noise
• Offices with frequent interruptions
• Data centers, server rooms, wiring closets, and other locations where equipment is located, including exposure to loud noise, varying temperatures, low light, and tight spaces

Telecommute

Santa Clara University is registered to do business in the following states: California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and Illinois. Employees approved to telecommute are required to perform their work within one of these states.