Application System Administrator (Control Systems) – L3

CTC; United States; On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

CTC in Texas seeks a senior Control System/OT Engineer with 8+ years of experience to provide 24/7 operation support and be the subject matter expert for Control System environments. You will handle system administration, configuration, troubleshooting and ensure compliance with CIP/NERC standards.

Key tasks include coordinating outages, supporting upgrades and patches, and collaborating with IT, OT, security and vendor teams to maintain reliable operations.

Qualifications

• At least 8 years of experience in Control System / OT and related infrastructure.
• Expertise in Windows and Linux server administration.
• Experience with CIP/NERC regulatory requirements and best practices.
• Ability to provide tier-3 engineering support and 24/7 operations.
• Strong vendor and stakeholder coordination skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide configuration support and troubleshooting for Control System environments.
• Develop test strategies and test code updates before production deployment.
• Review risks and impacts of system changes and communicate to stakeholders.
• Coordinate outages for maintenance, upgrades and implementations.
• Collaborate with infrastructure, network, security and OT teams.
• Participate in on-call rotation for Control System support.

Skills

Control System / OT expertise

Windows Server administration

Linux administration

Compliance & CIP/NERC

Outage coordination

Troubleshooting & diagnostics

Vendor coordination

Scripting (Python, PowerShell, Bash)

Stakeholder communication

Real-time operation support 24/7

Tools

Windows Server

Linux

Active Directory

ICCP

DNP3

OPC

Nutanix

Hyper-V

VMware

Python

PowerShell

Bash

JSON

XML

Git

CALC development

Data Networks

Job description

***Local to Texas candidates only applicable****

***Candidate has to be strong in OT and application support with L3****

This position requires a resource with at least 8 years of experience in the given technology areas. The key competencies include subject matter expertise and system administrator experience with Control System / Operations Technologies as well as their underlying infrastructure. This role will provide configuration support, troubleshooting, technical subject matter expertise, and best practices for the ongoing support of Control System environment(s). The candidate should also be able to quickly understand and resolve issues, mitigate risks and analyze dependencies. Finally, this role must adhere to utility industry regulatory requirements and best practices, and guidelines to ensure real-time operation of Control Systems environments remains available 24/7.

Essential Skills and Competencies:

• Support overall maintenance activities associated with as well as manage the effective implementation of Control System application upgrades, patches, etc.
• Support the development of test strategies and assist in developing and testing code updates prior to implementation on the production system
• Review risks and impacts of system changes and communicate this information to various stakeholders
• Support the coordination of outages due to maintenance, upgrades, and implementations
• Work with Control System / OT vendors and stakeholders to create, update and resolve problem tickets
• Understand Windows (2012, 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025) and Linux (RHEL 7.X, 8.X and 9.X) operating systems and associated server administration tasks (e.g., virtualization, provision, maintenance, security, etc.)
• Maintain security baseline compliance via configuration, implementation, and remediation activities, report on compliance via routine compliance and audit tasks
• Monitor application and infrastructure environment health status, service performance, and utilization, report on trends and anomalies
• Implement and maintain continuous compliance to information security policies, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP), and technical standards; report and provide remediation around non-compliances
• Provide tier-3 engineering support as well as business continuity support for control system applications
• Collaborate with infrastructure, network, security and functional teams that support Control System environments and tools
• Participates in on call Control System support rotation cycle

Technical Skill Requirement

• Core experience in managing and maintaining Control System / OT applications
• Good understanding of Windows (Server and Workstation), Linux, Active Directory, Utility Communication Protocols (ICCP, DNP3, OPC), and Data Networks
• Good understanding of Virtualization technology (Nutanix, Hyper-V and VMware)
• Good hands-on experience in diagnostics and troubleshooting of above-mentioned technologies
• Good understanding of patching and maintenance best practices in highly available and disaster recovery environments
• Ability to configure and maintain SSL/TLS encrypted communications between EMS components, control center applications, and external systems
• Proficiency in python, powerShell, bash/shell scripting, CALC development, JSON and XML data structures, batch scripting and version control systems (Git)
• Overall knowledge and understanding of data center environments, physical hardware placements, racking, cabling, etc.
• Good at dealing with vendors for support and troubleshooting purpose for hardware break fix and large platform/server upgrades/migration is required
• Good at dealing and coordinating with multiple teams and stakeholders within the support structure, in order to run daily operations smoothly
• Should have knowledge of backup products and command line utilities