Residential Computing

Position Overview

The Unix Systems Administrator (SysAdmin), under the guidance of the student Lead Unix Systems Administrator and the supervision of the Unix Systems Supervisor of Student Affairs - Information Technologies (SAIT), develops and maintains all of SAIT's operational Unix-based systems. The Unix SysAdmin team is responsible for maintaining the integrity and security of SAIT's Unix servers and systems that support the Residential Computing Internet connection program serving over 8,000 student residents, as well as several business systems supporting SAIT's staff. The Unix SysAdmin is expected to conduct system analysis and development, with limited support and direction from career staff, to keep our systems current with changing technologies. The Unix SysAdmin maintains SAIT Linux workstations and educates all SAIT student and career staff in the use of Unix platforms, both as a server and a client operating system.

The Unix SysAdmin is required to assume a weekly rotating on-call role or "Unix Duty Officer." The Unix Duty Officer will be assigned many small to medium operational tasks, e.g. systems monitoring, initial troubleshooting, and emergency responses.

The Unix SysAdmin should possess a strong background in any *nix OS, preferably with FreeBSD and RedHat/CentOS Linux server administration. As new technologies emerge and impact our systems, the Unix SysAdmin is expected to learn these technologies very quickly and resolve any problems involved in integrating new technologies with our systems.

The Unix SysAdmin is a key technical resource for other staff within SAIT, providing advice, training, and technical support for various projects. In addition, the Unix SysAdmin works closely with career technical staff in the IT management team in evaluating current systems and making decisions on future development.

Qualifications

Note: The abilities in the preferred section are not necessary for being hired; after training, it is necessary that the applicant will possess several of the listed skills. It is not expected that every member of the team will possess every skill in the preferred section.

Required: Experience working with any Unix platform; previous programming or scripting experience; experience with troubleshooting hardware; ability and motivation to learn new technologies quickly and with minimal support and guidance; effective communication skills and the ability to interact professionally with a diverse group of clients and staff; ability to work productively in teams; good problem solver; minimum GPA of 2.0.

Preferred: Strong communication skills; proficiency with BSD (e.g. FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD), RedHat Linux (e.g. RHEL, CentOS, Fedora), Windows, and Mac OS X operating systems; familiarity with virtual machines, esp. VMWare; understanding of the administration of SQL database servers such as PostgreSQL, and secure web servers such as Apache with mod_ssl; knowledge of Python, Perl, Java, and CGI scripting; working knowledge of Bourne shell scripting; knowledge of standard backup infrastructures; Unix system and program installation, compilation and configuration; system-level security procedures, familiarity with cryptography tools (e.g. SSH, OpenSSL, IPSec, GPG); experience maintaining servers for standard Internet services such as DNS, NFS, DHCP, printing (e.g. LPR, CUPS), and mail (e.g. Postfix, Sendmail); previous experience teaching or training others; preferred GPA of 2.3 or greater.

Terms of Employment

1. The period of employment for this position commences upon hire and continues through the end of the 2012-2013 academic year.
2. The Unix SysAdmin is paid a wage of $18.25 per hour. The position's classification title is Assistant IV. The Unix SysAdmin must be a currently enrolled UC Berkeley student with a minimum GPA of 2.0 (2.3 or higher preferred). Students with less than a 2.3 may be asked to limit their work hours.
3. Spring training entails 4 hours per week with the possibility of more in consultation with the Lead Unix SysAdmins, and includes required orientation on Friday, April 6, 2012.
4. The Unix SysAdmin is strongly preferred to work a minimum of 20 hours during regular business hours on at least 3 business days per week during the summer of 2012, with a full 40 hour workweek being ideal.
5. Active participation in Senior Staff training (the week of August 6, 2012) and Residential Computing Consultant (RCC) training (the week of August 13, 2012) is required. The Unix SysAdmin must be available for all day training on the day before residence hall move-in, namely August 17 2012.
6. The Unix SysAdmin is required to work 10-19 hours per week during the academic year, with occasional additional hours during busy seasons. A work schedule will be determined in consultation with the Lead Unix SysAdmin.
7. This position is subject to a criminal background check. If driving, a DMV check for valid driver's license and driving record is required. Position meets the following criteria:
• Possession of key or card access to computer storage areas and server rooms.
• Control over campus-wide or departmental business processes, either through functional roles or systems security access, including responsibility for development or maintenance of critical business systems.
• Possible operation of University vehicles as part of assigned job duties.
• Specific job duties: Requires access to both on and off site computer equipment storage as well as server room access and root level access to business systems and databases. Driving may be necessary to get to various units and locations.
8. It is a requirement that anyone in this position work in a safe and responsible manner while not putting him/herself or others at risk. This includes complying with applicable policies and regulations; using personal safety gear; observing warning signs; learning about potential hazards; and reporting unsafe conditions.
9. Employment with the Information Technologies unit is subject to the applicant's ability to provide appropriate documentation and sign necessary papers for employment in conformance with state laws and University regulations.
10. Continued employment is contingent upon satisfactory job performance evaluation by the Lead Unix SysAdmin and Unix Systems Supervisor.

Job Duties

(55%) Technical Duties

• Service, Maintenance, and Support
• Work independently to support over 100 UNIX servers providing network connectivity and other services.
• Maintain DNS, NFS, DHCP, Postfix, Sendmail, Apache httpd, PostgreSQL, and proprietary services for all student and staff clients.
• Ensure secure operation of all servers and services though the use of security and encryption tools such as SSH, SSL, IPSec, GPG and through extensive staff training and documentation.
• Provide desktop support for Linux workstations.
• Monitor system logs and activity on all servers.
• Administrate, verify, and restore from backups.
• Replace defective hardware on clients and servers as necessary.
• Accounts
• Maintain integrity of staff accounts and data on the a variety of systems. Test and perform data recovery.
• Perform maintenance on staff accounts. Add, remove, and modify accounts as necessary.
• Manage UNIX security features to protect confidential information while allowing appropriate access.
• Create and maintain Mailman mailing lists and aliases.
• Development
• Research new technologies and present recommendations and justifications on major hardware and software purchases.
• Develop and test new servers and services, including writing scripts and patching existing source code.

(25%) Training and Communication

• Attend and actively participate in weekly SysAdmin team meetings.
• Write project proposals, design documents and extensive documentation in the department wiki.
• Log and report via email all changes to system software and configurations.
• Participate in discussion on the UNIX Systems Administrator mailing list.
• Provide training and opportunities for learning Unix systems to student and career staff.

(20%) Administrative Duties

• Update and check online calendar regularly.
• Ensure that status is updated for all Bugzilla and Request Tracker requests.
• Update equipment inventory for tracking purposes.
• Assist in hiring and training for new SysAdmins.
• Participate in Duty Officer responsibilities.

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