System Engineer

W2 Contract Position - Onsite at Pittsburgh, PA

Summary:

• Client is seeking a Temporary Systems Engineer to support day-to-day operations for research data collection environments. This person will help maintain, troubleshoot, and improve the hardware, software, and processes used to collect data for internal teams. The role involves working across multiple projects, coordinating with people from various disciplines (electrical, software, research, etc.), and ensuring systems stay running smoothly during active data collection sessions.
• This is a hands-on operational role — you won't be building systems from scratch, but you'll need to understand how they work well enough to keep them running, fix problems when they break, and improve processes over time. The work is onsite in Pittsburgh research/lab environments and requires strict adherence to data handling and participant privacy protocols.

Responsibilities:

• Support capture operations via hardware and software troubleshooting, root cause analysis, cross-functional collaboration, process improvement, and engineering improvements.
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues across Linux, Windows, and macOS systems using terminal/CLI tools and standard diagnostics.
• Perform basic network debugging and issue triage (e.g., connectivity, DNS, DHCP, routing basics) and support common network protocols.
• Develop and maintain lightweight automation/scripts in bash and/or Python to improve reliability and operational efficiency. (No need to build from scratch — primarily maintaining and improving existing tools.)
• Support and maintain systems used in onsite user study environments, including coordination with internal stakeholders to ensure readiness for sessions.
• Follow established data handling, participant privacy, and operational protocols for user study environments.
• Document procedures, common issues, and fixes to support repeatable operations and knowledge sharing. Update SOPs as issues are resolved or processes change.
• Provide operational support for camera/optical systems, lighting, audio systems, and/or AV equipment (e.g., RME, Blackmagic, AVB), and assist in capture-stage or VR hardware environments as needed.
• Support multiple concurrent data collection projects spanning different disciplines (electrical, software, hardware), prioritizing and context-switching as needed.
• Coordinate with a wide range of cross-functional partners — including researchers, engineers, and non-technical stakeholders — to keep operations running smoothly.

Must-Have Skills:

• Must be able to adhere to data handling and participant privacy Protocols for user study environments.
• Linux/Windows/Mac troubleshooting (terminal & CLI utilities)
• Computer network protocol knowledge and basic network debugging. Scripting ability in bash and/or python
• Strong communication & teamwork skills, can effectively collaborate with many people with distinct job functions (non-engineering)

Nice-to-have Skills:

• Former MAANG experience
• Experience with camera/optical systems, lighting, audio systems, or AV equipment (RME, Black Magic, AVB)
• Ability to build scripts/tools from scratch
• Prior work with capture stage environments or VR hardware is a plus
• Strong documentation & process improvement discipline
• Root cause analysis experience in large-scale hardware/software systems

Years of Experience:

• 2 years of experience in hardware troubleshooting (cameras, networking, PDUs), data collection operations, software scripting, and on-site lab support for complex R&D capture systems.

How many rounds of interviews: 01

Types of Interviews: Technical & Behavioral, No CoderPad.

Interview Duration: 45 Minutes.