CRC Systems Administrator II

Special Instructions to Applicants: In PDF form, applicants should attach a resume and cover letter in the Supporting Documents section of the application.

About Rice

Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally, and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lecture series, courses, and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff, and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice’s culture. They come through in how we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name — RICE — Responsibility, Integrity, Community, and Excellence.

Rice University Office of Information Technology (OIT)

OIT provides excellent constituent service, acting as a strategic partner to advance Rice University’s priorities and mission of “pathbreaking research, unsurpassed teaching, and contribution to the betterment of our world.” We fuel innovation at speed across the university by building a culture of trust, using an effective operating model, driving seamless experiences, and providing core IT capabilities.

OIT is service-oriented and team-enabling. We seek applicants who will contribute to our mission.

Trust Building and Stakeholder Engagement - Foster trust across the campus by being transparent, reliable, consistent, and solution-oriented in communication and execution. Ensure clear, consistent, and timely communication with all constituents, maintaining a service-oriented mindset and addressing challenges with integrity.

Collaboration and Cross-functional Commitment - Work effectively with colleagues across teams, departments, and roles to support shared goals and a positive work environment. Communicate clearly and professionally with team members throughout OIT and across the campus to ensure smooth coordination of tasks and projects. Build and maintain positive relationships with others by being approachable, reliable, and responsive. Proactively share relevant information and follow up to ensure alignment and efficiency in team efforts.

Agility and Responsiveness - Adapt quickly to evolving needs, technologies, and priorities, ensuring efficiency and relevance. Identify potential challenges in advance and take proactive steps to minimize disruption to end-users. Approach unexpected changes with a problem-solving mindset, balancing speed and thoughtful engagement. Prioritize user experience by delivering seamless, timely, and effective support and potential solutions. Maintain a culture of continuous learning; ask questions from a place of curiosity and possibility to enhance agility and service outcomes.

Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement - Maintain a culture of continuous improvement in all IT operations to ensure efficient and effective service delivery. Regularly assess and optimize processes, systems, and technologies to enhance performance, scalability, and user satisfaction.

Position Summary

The Center for Research Computing, a division of the Office of Information Technology (OIT), is dedicated to delivering and supporting research computing services. We are currently looking to expand our team of professionals in the Research Client Services team with a Systems Administrator II, who will provide front-line technical support for the establishment and continued efficient operation of workgroup Linux computing environments. This includes installation, configuration, maintenance, administration, and customization of systems supporting research.

The ideal candidate must be an accomplished communicator in both oral and written formats. They will perform daily systems management functions on production systems and maintain an efficient and highly valuable computing platform. They will also provide analysis on resource utilization and plan for future growth needs of the platform. The Systems Administrator II works closely with other Linux systems administrators in the Endpoint Management & Services team and will serve as a backup for their job functions.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a self-motivated team member to engage in a positive and creative work environment that offers the chance to grow and contribute to accelerating the research mission of Rice University.

Working Requirements:

This position is exclusively on-site, requiring all duties to be performed in person. Per Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change.

Hiring Range: 

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position, and the proposed salary range is $82,000–$90,000 annually, depending on qualifications and experience.
*Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree
  • In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience beyond what is required may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis
• 2 years of related experience managing and supporting research computing systems and infrastructure related to the computational research needs of faculty, staff, and students
  • In lieu of the experience requirement, additional related education beyond what is required may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis

Skills:

• Ability to manage shared resources and perform moderately complex tasks
• Ability to work well independently and as a team member
• Ability to train others in applications and operating system fundamentals
• Demonstrated knowledge of security protocols

Preferences:

• 4 years of relevant experience with Linux, including a strong background in server builds, scripting, OS installation and configuration, patch management, package and software installs, and performance tuning

Essential Functions:

• Builds, installs, configures, analyzes, tunes, and troubleshoots operating systems to achieve optimum performance levels
• Provides technical support for system users
• Configures and assists in the design of system and network security
• Manages hardware and software for installation, modification, troubleshooting, maintenance, and upgrades of operating systems
• Monitors and analyzes resource usage to recommend and develop enhancements to system capabilities and performance
• Recommends hardware and software upgrades based on growth statistics and disk space forecasts
• Compares, evaluates, and implements new technologies, and integrates systems into the computing environment
• Documents systems infrastructure for users, support and consulting personnel, and developers
• Performs other duties as assigned

Rice University HR | Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits 

Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | Rice University

Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and welcoming the fullness of diversity into our candidate pools. Rice considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status. Rice also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please contact Rice University’s Disability Resource Center at 713-348-5841 or adarice@rice.edu for support.

If you have any additional questions, please email us at jobs@rice.edu. Thank you for your interest in employment with Rice University.