What are the responsibilities and job description for the Solutions Architect - Enterprise Services position at Inside Higher Ed?
Job Title: Solutions Architect - Enterprise Services
Location: USO-Information Tech Services
Regular/Temporary: Regular
Full/Part Time: Full-Time
Job ID: 283088
About Us
The University System of Georgia (USG) is comprised of 26 higher education institutions as well as the University System Office (USO). Within the USO, our administrative operations are primarily housed in the Trinity Washington Building located in downtown Atlanta. Our Information Technology Services (ITS) division is located in Athens. The University System of Georgia Shared Services Center (SSC) is located in Sandersville. The Georgia Public Library System is located in Atlanta. The Georgia Archives is located in Morrow. The State of Georgia Records Center is located in Austell.
Job Summary This Solutions Architect position performs complex specialized duties in the design, installation and maintenance of systems infrastructure, focused on Microsoft Windows, AD, and Azure technologies. This position designs all aspects of the server infrastructure, including automated operating system and application installation, and performs a variety of other complex systems administration duties. This position generally possesses authority to coordinate work of the Working- and Entry-Level System Administrator positions and mentors these two lower level positions in specific techniques or technical methods for accomplishing work assignments for projects. This position may serve as project leader on special projects.
Responsibilities Administer multiple server environments supporting academic, administrative, and networking applications and services in a 24x7x365 production environment.
Install server operating systems and related software via automation
Serve as Team Lead and technical expert for the Microsoft Systems team
Automate as much as possible, look to automate more, help other people and teams automate
Organization-wide monitoring system
Organization-wide logging system
Infrastructure stats and trend analysis
Respond quickly to hardware, software, network, and system failures. Provide troubleshooting, analysis, and recommendations for corrective action.
Contribute to the research and development of technologies and tools used for system administration.
Assist database administrators, application specialists, and developers with the installation, evaluation, and testing of new products and product versions.
Identify and provide possible solutions to problems confronting database administrators, application specialists, and developers.
Assist in evaluating vendor proposals for software, services, and equipment.
Provide technical assistance and advice to University System of Georgia member institutions running local servers and services.
Participate in on call pager rotation, respond to emergencies after hours
The position often provides team leadership, experienced guidance, and mentoring.
Occasional need to perform maintenance and upgrades after hours and/or on weekends
Occasional need to be in data center troubleshooting and/or installing/de-installing equipment
Performs related duties as assigned
Required Qualifications Bachelor's Degree Required.
A minimum of five years of experience managing servers and services in a production environment.
Or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities Experience architecting complex systems from the ground up.
Experience automating system administration tasks, preferably using Puppet
Experience managing virtualized environments (particularly with VMware ESX).
Understanding of common services and protocols including HTTP, SAML, Git, DNS, TCP/IP, NTP, SSH, SMTP, etc.
Experience writing effective system administration scripts and utilities.
Competency programming in one or more high level programming languages.
Strong working knowledge of patch management and change control practices.
Knowledge of industry best practices for monitoring, tiered storage, backup, and disaster recovery.
Experience diagnosing Local Area Networking problems.
Experience managing a SAML Single Sign-On environment is a plus.
Experience managing complex web servers, including emerging web security standards is a plus.
Experience working in environments with Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle database management systems is a plus.
Experience working in environments with Azure and Office365 is a plus.
Experience with high-availability design (failover systems and data replication) is a plus.
Experience managing SAN and NAS storage environments is a plus.
Experience managing a backup service is a plus.
USG Core Values
The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 26 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#p8.2.18_personnel_conduct.
Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/C2653.
Conditions of Employment
Offers of employment are subject to federal and state laws, as well as the statutes, rules, and regulations of this institution, and the Bylaws and Policies of the Board of Regents (BOR) of the University System of Georgia (USG). These Bylaws and Policies are available for inspection upon request.
Equal Employment Opportunity
The University System Office is an equal employment, equal access, and equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of the University System Office to recruit, hire, train, and promote persons without regard to race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status as required by applicable state and federal laws (including Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, Sections 503, and 504, ADEA, ADA, E.O. 11246, and Rev. Proc. 75-50).
For questions or more detailed information regarding this policy please contact the University System Office Human Resources at 404.962.3242. Individuals requiring disability related accommodations for participation in any event or to obtain print materials in an alternative format, please contact Human Resources.
Other Information
This is not a supervisory position.
This position does not have any financial responsibilities.
This position will not be required to drive.
This role is not considered a position of trust.
This position does not require a purchasing card (P-Card).
This position will not travel
This position does not require security clearance.
University System of Georgia does not sponsor work visas for this position.
This job is not eligible for sponsorship.
This is not a remote position.
Candidates must reside in Georgia or be willing to relocate to Georgia if offered the position.
Background Check
Offers of employment are subject to a background investigation, including criminal records history, to determine eligibility for employment. Additionally, credentials and employment history stated in your application materials are also subject to verification.
For certain positions, a satisfactory credit check, MVR, or other relevant investigations may also be conducted. The University System Office holds the sole discretion in assessing eligibility for employment.
Location: USO-Information Tech Services
Regular/Temporary: Regular
Full/Part Time: Full-Time
Job ID: 283088
About Us
The University System of Georgia (USG) is comprised of 26 higher education institutions as well as the University System Office (USO). Within the USO, our administrative operations are primarily housed in the Trinity Washington Building located in downtown Atlanta. Our Information Technology Services (ITS) division is located in Athens. The University System of Georgia Shared Services Center (SSC) is located in Sandersville. The Georgia Public Library System is located in Atlanta. The Georgia Archives is located in Morrow. The State of Georgia Records Center is located in Austell.
Job Summary This Solutions Architect position performs complex specialized duties in the design, installation and maintenance of systems infrastructure, focused on Microsoft Windows, AD, and Azure technologies. This position designs all aspects of the server infrastructure, including automated operating system and application installation, and performs a variety of other complex systems administration duties. This position generally possesses authority to coordinate work of the Working- and Entry-Level System Administrator positions and mentors these two lower level positions in specific techniques or technical methods for accomplishing work assignments for projects. This position may serve as project leader on special projects.
Responsibilities Administer multiple server environments supporting academic, administrative, and networking applications and services in a 24x7x365 production environment.
Install server operating systems and related software via automation
Serve as Team Lead and technical expert for the Microsoft Systems team
Automate as much as possible, look to automate more, help other people and teams automate
Organization-wide monitoring system
Organization-wide logging system
Infrastructure stats and trend analysis
Respond quickly to hardware, software, network, and system failures. Provide troubleshooting, analysis, and recommendations for corrective action.
Contribute to the research and development of technologies and tools used for system administration.
Assist database administrators, application specialists, and developers with the installation, evaluation, and testing of new products and product versions.
Identify and provide possible solutions to problems confronting database administrators, application specialists, and developers.
Assist in evaluating vendor proposals for software, services, and equipment.
Provide technical assistance and advice to University System of Georgia member institutions running local servers and services.
Participate in on call pager rotation, respond to emergencies after hours
The position often provides team leadership, experienced guidance, and mentoring.
Occasional need to perform maintenance and upgrades after hours and/or on weekends
Occasional need to be in data center troubleshooting and/or installing/de-installing equipment
Performs related duties as assigned
Required Qualifications Bachelor's Degree Required.
A minimum of five years of experience managing servers and services in a production environment.
Or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities Experience architecting complex systems from the ground up.
Experience automating system administration tasks, preferably using Puppet
Experience managing virtualized environments (particularly with VMware ESX).
Understanding of common services and protocols including HTTP, SAML, Git, DNS, TCP/IP, NTP, SSH, SMTP, etc.
Experience writing effective system administration scripts and utilities.
Competency programming in one or more high level programming languages.
Strong working knowledge of patch management and change control practices.
Knowledge of industry best practices for monitoring, tiered storage, backup, and disaster recovery.
Experience diagnosing Local Area Networking problems.
Experience managing a SAML Single Sign-On environment is a plus.
Experience managing complex web servers, including emerging web security standards is a plus.
Experience working in environments with Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle database management systems is a plus.
Experience working in environments with Azure and Office365 is a plus.
Experience with high-availability design (failover systems and data replication) is a plus.
Experience managing SAN and NAS storage environments is a plus.
Experience managing a backup service is a plus.
USG Core Values
The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 26 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#p8.2.18_personnel_conduct.
Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/C2653.
Conditions of Employment
Offers of employment are subject to federal and state laws, as well as the statutes, rules, and regulations of this institution, and the Bylaws and Policies of the Board of Regents (BOR) of the University System of Georgia (USG). These Bylaws and Policies are available for inspection upon request.
Equal Employment Opportunity
The University System Office is an equal employment, equal access, and equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of the University System Office to recruit, hire, train, and promote persons without regard to race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status as required by applicable state and federal laws (including Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, Sections 503, and 504, ADEA, ADA, E.O. 11246, and Rev. Proc. 75-50).
For questions or more detailed information regarding this policy please contact the University System Office Human Resources at 404.962.3242. Individuals requiring disability related accommodations for participation in any event or to obtain print materials in an alternative format, please contact Human Resources.
Other Information
This is not a supervisory position.
This position does not have any financial responsibilities.
This position will not be required to drive.
This role is not considered a position of trust.
This position does not require a purchasing card (P-Card).
This position will not travel
This position does not require security clearance.
University System of Georgia does not sponsor work visas for this position.
This job is not eligible for sponsorship.
This is not a remote position.
Candidates must reside in Georgia or be willing to relocate to Georgia if offered the position.
Background Check
Offers of employment are subject to a background investigation, including criminal records history, to determine eligibility for employment. Additionally, credentials and employment history stated in your application materials are also subject to verification.
For certain positions, a satisfactory credit check, MVR, or other relevant investigations may also be conducted. The University System Office holds the sole discretion in assessing eligibility for employment.
