TITLE: Senior UNIX Systems Administrator GRADE: 830
DEPARTMENT: College Computer Center REPORTS TO: Managing Senior UNIX Systems Administrator
BASIC FUNCTION: Administers academic and research computation facilities; supports students, faculty and staff; manages network services.
PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Unix system administration including operating system upgrades and configuration, system and network security, software installation, and providing as homogeneous solution as possible to the users, currently numbering over 4000 on more than 100 networked computer systems.
Designs and implements networked solutions for integration of UNIX workstations, Novell Netware servers, X terminals, and Macintosh and DOS/Windows 3.X/95/NT personal computers into campus network.
Maintains a high level of system and services availability and uptime without sacrificing security or usability.
Manages campus Internet connection and dial-in modem services for off campus users.
Administers campus network services and Internet domains, including electronic mail, domain name server, and world wide web servers.
Helps students, faculty, and staff with problems they encounter with computer systems; reports verified troubles to vendors when appropriate.
Participates in beta tests when such tests will provide rewards for WPI.
Receives general instructions for new responsibilities from supervisor.
Recommends policies on system use and services.
Advises other WPI departments on hardware and software which will best inter-operate with WPI's network and the Internet.
Strong inter-personal and communication skills; capable of writing purchase justifications, training users in complex topics, making presentations to an internal audience, and interacting positively with upper management. Independent problem solving; self-direction.
Ability to solve problems quickly and completely.
Ability to identify tasks which require automation and automate them.
A solid understanding of the operating system; understands paging and swapping, inter-process communication, devices, file system concepts, can use performance analysis to tune systems.
A solid understanding of networking/distributed computing environment concepts; understands principles of routing, client/server programming, the design of consistent network-wide file system layouts.
Ability to program in an administrative language (Tk, Perl, a shell), to port C programs from one platform to another, and to write C programs.
REQUIREMENTS: Three to five years systems administration experience along with a degree in computer science or a related field. Extensive programming background in any applicable language desirable.