IT Specialist (SYSADMIN/INFOSEC)

US Department of Energy Headquarters; Albany (OR); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Albany, Oregon, seeks an IT Specialist (SYSADMIN/INFOSEC) to support secure, operational infrastructure for energy research and program management across NETL sites.

The position covers on-premises data centers and cloud environments with responsibilities for system availability, security, and lifecycle management in a dynamic research environment.

Qualifications

• Basic Requirement: attention to detail, customer service, oral communication, problem solving.
• GS-12 Specialized: on-premises data center and cloud operations, modernization projects, Tier-2 to Tier-3 support.
• GS-13 Specialized: lead operations of data centers and cloud environments, manage contractor performance, Tier-3 engineering expertise.

Responsibilities

• Provide secure, technical, operational infrastructure support for three NETL sites.
• Coordinate modernization efforts and assist with contractor deliverables and schedules.

Skills

Attention to Detail

Customer Service

Oral Communication

Problem Solving

Job description

This position is part of the IT Infrastructure Operations and Engineering Team at the Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, within the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office. As an IT Specialist (SYSADMIN/INFOSEC), you will be responsible for the secure, technical, operational infrastructure supporting energy research, program management, and business operations for all three sites that comprise NETL.

You must meet both the Basic Requirement and the Specialized Experience to qualify for this series as described below.

BASIC REQUIREMENT:

1. Attention to Detail – Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
2. Customer Service – Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.
3. Oral Communication – Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
4. Problem Solving – Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

GS-12 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

1. Supporting on-premises enterprise data center infrastructure and cloud operations, including assisting with configuration, monitoring, and availability of data-center systems, server infrastructures, or cloud-hosting environments.
2. Contributing to infrastructure modernization projects or contractor coordination, such as helping develop technical requirements, reviewing work products for accuracy, or tracking project schedules and costs to support modernization activities.
3. Providing Tier-2 to Tier-3 support for escalated infrastructure issues, including troubleshooting hardware, software, or interoperability problems and assisting in implementing data-lifecycle processes, cloud services, or foundational AI-enabling infrastructure.

GS-13 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

1. Leading the operations and administration of enterprise on-premises data centers and cloud hosting environments, overseeing configuration, capacity planning, availability management, and compliance with security and governance requirements.
2. Managing technical infrastructure initiatives and contractor performance, including drafting technical requirements and Statements of Work (SOWs), developing cost estimates, reviewing engineering deliverables, and evaluating performance against measurable technical metrics.
3. Providing Tier-3 engineering expertise for infrastructure issues, including resolving escalated hardware, software, or interoperability problems and architecting cloud solutions, structured data-lifecycle systems, and AI-enabling infrastructure that advance mission-aligned modernization.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills; and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

CTAP/ICTAP candidates:

To be considered "well qualified" you must meet all of the requirements as described in this section.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.