Schools, Senior Systems Administrator - Hybrid

HEAnet & EduCampus; Dublin; Hybrid; EUR 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A national education network organization in Dublin is seeking a Senior Systems Administrator to manage Linux systems and virtualization. This role offers flexible hybrid working conditions and requires strong skills in Linux administration, scripting, and networking. Ideal candidates should have over 4 years of experience and a collaborative mindset while providing essential IT services to schools.

Benefits

Health insurance

Hybrid Working

Flexible working hours

Defined contribution pension scheme

Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge and experience in Linux system administration.
• Strong understanding of security best practices in system administration.
• Ability to work in a team with a friendly collaborative approach.

Responsibilities

• Manage virtual infrastructure and physical servers.
• Develop network monitoring tools and systems.
• Support first-level IT services to schools.

Skills

Linux system administration

Scripting (Python, Bash, Perl)

Container maintenance and deployment

Understanding of firewalls and load balancers

Networking protocols

Excellent interpersonal skills

Customer service focus

Education

4+ years industry experience

Tools

Docker

Ansible

VMware NSX-T

Job description

Overview

HEAnet is Ireland’s National Research and Education Network, providing internet connectivity and ICT shared services across all levels of the Irish education system, reaching 1,000,000 end users. We connect learners and researchers across Ireland to education resources and to fellow national educational and research networks in Europe, and the rest of the world.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Systems Administrator who is proficient in Linux systems administration and virtualization with an understanding of networking to join our Schools team on a permanent contract basis.

This role is based in our office in Dublin 1; however, we have a hybrid work framework in place which will allow you to do some work from home if you choose to do so. On different days of the week, any team member may be working from home, so we use Microsoft Teams to keep in touch.

What the Schools team does

We provide all of Ireland’s primary and post-primary schools (approx. 4,000 schools) with high-availability Internet and network-security services to more than 900,000 teachers and students. Along with connectivity, the HEAnet Schools team provide a range of essential services to both primary and post-primary schools, including Internet content-filtering, IP address allocation & firewall services. These essential services make the HEAnet Schools Network one of the largest proactively managed networks in the country.

To support these strategic initiatives and the portfolio of network services, we are seeking to appoint a Senior Systems Administrator to join the Schools team. Reporting to the Schools Network Director, the successful candidate will drive the deployment and maintenance of the Schools team systems and services.

What the Senior Systems Administrator does

Core Infrastructure: This is a combination of managing virtual infrastructure, physical servers, and appliances, spread across our datacentres, and now an increasing foothold in containerisation and the Cloud. Essential for smooth operation is the automation and management of these resources. Developing our network monitoring tools and systems is a key component of our work.

Services: All the pieces that go on behind the scenes to be able to deliver services, such as monitoring, logging, load balancers, database clusters, storage, authentication, as well as providing tools and services to the Schools team and the Broadband Service Desk who provide first-level support to schools.

Technology stack

For information this is a view of our wider technology stack, both current and in development:

• OS: Ubuntu / CentOS / Redhat
• Virtualisation: VMWare NSX-T
• Infrastructure: Physical Datacentres/ AWS / Azure
• Containerisation: Docker Swarm / Kubernetes (RKE)
• Databases: PostgreSQL & MySQL
• Orchestration & Automation: Ansible / Terraform / GIT
• Logging & Monitoring: Elastic (OpenSearch) / Icinga2 / Cacti

How we do it

Our company values underpin how we do things in HEAnet. We believe in and live by our values and understand they are integral to making HEAnet a great place to work.

COLLABORATION - EQUALITY & FAIRNESS - FUTURE FOCUSED - POSITIVE IMPACT

For further information about who we are and our core values, see our website.

What you get from us

We promote a healthy work/life balance. Work outside of standard hours is rare and agreed in advance. We take the care of our team members\' mental health seriously.

We value knowledge-sharing and communication. We start each day with a SCRUM to cover outstanding issues and planned work for the day, combined with fortnightly team stand-ups to ensure no one is hitting any roadblocks and to identify progression or delays in any of the major company projects HEAnet is involved in.

We encourage critical thinking and the exploration of new ideas. We often form cross-team special interest groups for specific topic discussions, both ongoing and for fixed projects. We also have regular presentations from across the company on a wide range of topics from technical demos to project management to mental health.

Company Benefits

• Hybrid Working
• Flexible start/finish times
• Health insurance for employees
• Defined contribution pension scheme
• Ongoing well-being initiatives
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
• Tax Saver Ticket scheme
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Professional education support
• Comprehensive group and individual training & development initiatives

What we need from you

Core Technical Skills:

• At least 4+ years’ industry experience working in a similar role.
• Advanced knowledge and experience in Linux system administration (e.g. Ubuntu, CentOS) including file systems, configuration management, and networking.
• Scripting (Python, Bash, Perl) and system troubleshooting.
• Experience of container maintenance and deployment (e.g. Docker, Swarm).
• Familiarity with automation and configuration management tools like Ansible, Puppet or Chef.
• Experience with Linux system administration covering areas such as high availability, LAMP stacks, application support, scripting, troubleshooting and debugging.
• Strong understanding of firewalls and load balancers.
• Strong understanding of security best practices in system administration.
• Good understanding of network and Internet protocols and infrastructure.

• Communication & Collaboration: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Ability to work in a team, with a friendly and collaborative approach.
• Strong customer focus and a sincere desire to provide outstanding support and service.
• Trustworthy, open and transparent, with a high degree of personal integrity.
• Proactive and collaborative approach; with a high level of motivation and enthusiasm for the job.

Leadership & Autonomy

• Autonomous Work: Demonstrated ability to plan and implement initiatives independently.
• Project Leadership: Proven track record of leading projects and service efforts.
• Mentorship: Experience in mentoring and guiding junior team members.
• Change Management: Responsible for reviewing and approving change requests.

Continuous Improvement:

• Knowledge Sharing: Commitment to increasing and sharing knowledge within the team.
• Continuous Learning: Staying updated with industry trends and best practices.
• Process Improvement: Identifying and implementing efficiency and effectiveness enhancements.

Bonus Points

The above skills cover the core of many System Administrators, but some of our services touch on technologies that are more specialised, or require greater experience. We don’t need you to have experience in all the following areas, but if you did it could be beneficial:

• VMware NSX.
• Security & Compliance: Familiarity with security best practices and compliance requirements.
• DevOps & CI/CD: Experience with DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines.
• Cloud Platform Exposure: Experience or knowledge of working with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure).
• Experience with system and network monitoring tools (e.g. Icinga, SmokePing, Cacti)

More important information

At HEAnet we celebrate diversity and understand how important it is to our ongoing success. We would like to hear from candidates who are great at what they do and whose values align with ours.

If you need any adjustments made to the application or selection process so you can do your best, please let us know.

HEAnet is delighted to be awarded with the Ibec Keep Well Mark. We take pride in developing, maintaining and enhancing our culture of wellbeing and continue to focus on this into 2024 and beyond.