IT ENTERPRISE SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR III

The Scripps Research Institute; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 97,000 - 122,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer Contributed Retirement Plan

Health and Welfare plans

Flexible Spending Accounts

Vacation and Sick Leave

Job summary

The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA is seeking an IT Enterprise System Administrator III to manage Microsoft365, Active Directory, EntraID, Azure, AWS, and storage systems. You will design, test, deploy, and maintain infrastructure components and scripts for monitoring and management, closely aligning with institute stakeholders.

This role requires 6+ years of hybrid environment experience, strong scripting (PowerShell), and a proactive, service‑oriented approach.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical field or equivalent experience.
• 6+ years of relevant system administration experience in a hybrid Windows/Unix server environment.
• Experience with Microsoft Windows Server, EntraID, Azure, AWS, Active Directory, DNS, and Microsoft365 Exchange Server.
• Strong analytical, verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong customer service skills.

Responsibilities

• Administers complex configuration, installation, and maintenance of operating systems, upgrades, patches, applications, and peripherals.
• Diagnose complex hardware and software problems and plan rollback and testing.
• Designs, deploys, and documents build processes of new servers and applications on premises and in the cloud.
• Manages Active Directory and EntraID environments including user objects and DNS.
• Maintains SAN/NAS central storage systems and backups.

Skills

Microsoft Windows Server

EntraID

Azure

AWS

Active Directory

DNS

Microsoft365 Exchange Server

VMware

PowerShell

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Information Technology

Tools

NetApp

Cisco UCS

Load Balancers

Backup Systems

VMware VCF

Linux Server

Job description

ABOUT US:

Scripps Research is a nonprofit biomedical institute ranked as one of the most influential in the world for its impact on innovation. We celebrated our 100-year legacy in 2024. This significant milestone marks a century of seminal discoveries in immunology, infectious diseases (such as COVID-19, flu, HIV), neuroscience, heart disease, cancer, and more. Located in La Jolla, California, the institute houses six research departments, multiple Nobel laureates, a top-ranked graduate school and a leading postdoctoral training program. Scripps Research encompasses two elite and highly innovative institutes, the Calibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines and Scripps Research Translational Institute, which merge foundational studies in biology, chemistry and computer science with translational science to produce pioneering drugs and advances in digital and precision medicine. Together, we cultivate new scientific leaders and expand the frontiers of knowledge to deliver medical breakthroughs impacting human health around the globe. If you have a passion for making a difference, this could be your opportunity to join our transformative team.

POSITION TITLE:

IT Enterprise System Administrator III

POSITION SUMMARY:

Functions as a primary administrator for one or more systems such as Microsoft365 enterprise email, Active Directory, EntraID, Azure, AWS, Windows Server, Linux Server, virtual server systems, and backup and archive servers. Design, test, deploy, and administer infrastructure servers, applications, and/or central storage systems. This includes, but is not limited to, the installation, configuration, testing and maintenance of operating systems, enterprise applications, and peripheral equipment. Write and maintain scripts and applications for systems monitoring and management. Work closely with institute stakeholders to achieve systems goals. Function as a liaison with system vendors and coordinate work associated with external maintenance agreements.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:

• Administers complex configuration, installation, and maintenance of operating systems and upgrades, patches, applications, and peripheral equipment. Diagnose complex hardware and software problems. This includes plan development detailing functional steps, identifying potential pitfalls and down time, establishing a rollback plan, communication protocol, conducting a dry run in a test environment and vetting the plan with management prior to implementation. Manages and recommends system configurations and consults on system lifecycle issues.
• Determines applicability and feasibility of new systems, software upgrades and patches with full consideration of application, hardware requirements, security, and end-user requirements.
• Designs, deploys, and documents build process of new servers and applications both on premises and in the cloud. Develops and maintains scripts and applications for system configuration, management, maintenance, and logging.
• Manages the Active Directory and EntraID enterprise environment including user objects, security groups, group policies, global catalog, DNS, replication, and file sharing.
• Designs, deploys, and maintains SAN and NAS central storage systems.
• Makes system enhancements and modifications based on evolving business requirements.
• Functions as the liaison to the desktop support group and provides third tier support for issue resolution.
• Functions as liaison with systems vendors. Coordinate work associated with maintenance agreement obligations. Track design and operational problems to be corrected by vendors.
• Logs maintenance, system configurations, and hardware/software repairs. Maintains log for system hardware and software modifications.
• Installs, configures and performs backup maintenance to servers, tape drives/libraries, storage systems, etc. and monitors their daily operation.
• Administers server and data storage backup systems on premises and in the cloud.
• Uses modern AI enabled tools to deploy cloud based infrastructure in an automated fashion.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Details of established essential functions for this position will be addressed/discussed during the interview process.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor's degree required in a technical field such as Computer Science or Information Technology, or the equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
• Minimum 6 years of relevant system administration experience in a hybrid Microsoft Windows and Unix server environment, experience with enterprise collaboration applications, directory services, and central storage systems in a network environment
• Demonstrated experience managing Microsoft Windows Server, EntraID, Azure, AWS, Active Directory, DNS, and Microsoft365 Exchange Server.
• Strong analytical, verbal and written communications skills.
• Strong customer service skills.
• Demonstrated senior-level experience with various operating systems, storage platforms, computing architectures, and server hardware such as Microsoft Windows Server, NetApp, Cisco UCS, Load Balance Servers, and various Linux distributions.
• Demonstrated experience working with VMWare VCF, container systems, virtualization, on premise storage systems and backup systems.
• Proficient with modern AI tools and demonstrated experience using them for problem solving and deploying infrastructure-as-code deployments.
• Proficient in reading and writing programs in at least one, but preferably more than one programming and scripting language, such as PowerShell and csh/sh/tcsh/ksh.

COMPENSATION:

The expected hiring range for this position is $97,000 to $122,000/annually, commensurate with experience. Consideration will be given to experience that exceeds the listed requirements.

COMPREHENSIVE BENEFITS INCLUDE:

• Employer Contributed Retirement Plan - Depending on eligibility, employees receive an employer contributed retirement plan (no employee contribution required) and the option to contribute to a 403(b) (which is similar to a 401(k) using your own pre or post‑tax dollars)
• Full Suite of Health and Welfare plans including three medical plan options (including an HSA available option), dental, vision, life insurance, disability, EAP and more
• Access to Flexible Spending Accounts (Medical/Dependent Care)
• Competitive vacation and sick leave policies
• Free, on‑site parking

The above statements describe the level of work performed and expected in general terms. The statements are not intended to list all the responsibilities, duties and/or skills required of employees so classified, and the content herein is subject to change due to the business needs of Scripps Research, with or without notice. Furthermore, nothing in this job description shall be interpreted to be in conflict with or to eliminate or modify in any way the employment‑at‑will status of Scripps Research staff.

EEO Statement:

The Scripps Research Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We promote diversity of thought, culture, and background in the fields of science. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic or status.

Equal Opportunity Employer

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.

For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.