Network and Data Center Engineer

University of Texas at Austin; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 95,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Texas at Austin's School of Computing seeks a Network and Data Center Engineer to administer and support the School’s network, data center, and computing hardware infrastructure. You will lead day-to-day operations for School-managed networks and collaborate with central IT teams on shared services and infrastructure.

The role supports HPC and AI/ML research systems, requires strong knowledge of TCP/IP, switches, routing, DNS/DHCP, and security practices, and involves hands-on work

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a related field.
• Experience administering production network infrastructure.
• Strong knowledge of core network technologies and security.

Responsibilities

• Configure, operate, monitor, and troubleshoot School-managed network infrastructure.
• Diagnose connectivity, routing, performance, and security issues with other teams.
• Implement network upgrades and plan new infrastructure.
• Maintain network diagrams and technical documentation.
• Support data center hardware, HPC and AI/ML research systems.

Skills

TCP/IP

Ethernet

Routing

Switching

DNS,DHCP

Network security

Documentation

Collaboration

Linux

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/IT/Engineering

Tools

Cisco

FortiNet

VLANs

Routers & switches

Linux

Firewall

Job description

Network and Data Center Engineer

UT MAIN CAMPUS

Full time

Weekly Scheduled Hours: 40

FLSA Status: Exempt from FLSA

Earliest Start Date: Immediately

Position Duration: Expected to Continue

General Notes

This position will support the university’s new School of Computing, which includes 3 strong departments and more than 9,000 students across all programs. This places UT among the most significant intellectual hubs for computer science, information, and statistics and data science research and education anywhere in the world. The School of Computing has a close relationship with Austin’s thriving tech culture and works at the forefront of fields spanning artificial intelligence, robotics and quantum computing; data science, statistics and scientific discovery; cybersecurity and trustworthy computing; and human-centered technology, information, and the societal impacts of computing.

Purpose

The School of Computing seeks a Network and Data Center Engineer to administer and support the School’s and departments’ network, data center, and computing hardware infrastructure. The engineer will have primary day-to-day responsibility for School-managed network and data center infrastructure and will work closely with University networking, information security, facilities, and other central IT teams on shared services and infrastructure.

The position also supports the network and physical hardware infrastructure for research computing, including HPC, GPU-accelerated computing, and AI/ML research systems. Experience with these environments is strongly desired, although the position is not responsible for HPC operating systems, research software, AI/ML frameworks, or application support.

Responsibilities

Network Engineering and Support

• Configure, operate, monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot School-managed network infrastructure, including switches, routers, firewalls, VLANs, and network segmentation.
• Diagnose and resolve connectivity, routing, performance, and network security issues, coordinating with University networking and security teams when appropriate.
• Implement network upgrades, configuration changes, capacity improvements, and equipment replacements.
• Participate in the design and planning of network improvements and new infrastructure.
• Work with University networking staff to troubleshoot wireless issues and assess coverage, capacity, and upgrade needs.
• Maintain network diagrams, configurations, addressing information, and related technical documentation.

Data Center and Research Computing Infrastructure

• Install, cable, maintain, and troubleshoot servers, GPU systems, storage, network equipment, and other data center hardware.
• Support the physical deployment and network integration of HPC, GPU-accelerated, AI/ML, and other specialized research computing systems.
• Support high-bandwidth network connectivity and data movement for research computing and storage environments.
• Diagnose network and hardware problems and collaborate with systems administrators, researchers, University technical staff, and vendors when issues span infrastructure layers.
• Identify rack space, power, cooling, cabling, and network requirements for new equipment and coordinate implementation with appropriate University staff.
• Support hardware lifecycle activities, including deployment, upgrades, troubleshooting, repair, replacement, inventory, and vendor support.

Security and Operations

• Maintain network and infrastructure security controls in accordance with University requirements and established practices.
• Support network segmentation, access controls, monitoring, vulnerability remediation, and incident response within the position’s areas of responsibility.
• Monitor infrastructure availability, performance, and capacity and address operational issues.
• Maintain technical documentation and operating procedures.
• Participate in infrastructure planning, procurement, and implementation projects.
• Participate in scheduled maintenance and, when necessary, response to critical infrastructure issues outside normal business hours.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, engineering, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• Professional experience administering, configuring, and troubleshooting production network infrastructure.
• Strong knowledge of TCP/IP, Ethernet, routing, switching, VLANs, DNS, DHCP, and related network technologies.
• Experience configuring and supporting managed switches, routers, firewalls, or comparable network infrastructure.
• Experience supporting physical servers, data center/server room environments, or comparable computing hardware.
• Working knowledge of Linux, MacOS and/or Windows sufficient for infrastructure troubleshooting and collaboration with systems administrators.
• Understanding of network and infrastructure security principles and practices.
• Demonstrated ability to systematically diagnose network and hardware problems and work with other technical teams to resolve complex issues.
• Ability to create and maintain clear technical documentation.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and organizational skills, with the ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a technical team.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting network, physical hardware, or data center infrastructure for HPC, GPU-accelerated computing, AI/ML research, or other computationally intensive environments.
• Experience deploying or troubleshooting GPU servers, high-density compute systems, or other specialized computing hardware.
• Experience supporting IT infrastructure in higher education, academic research, or a similarly complex environment.
• Experience administering departmental or organizational networks that operate within a larger enterprise network.
• Experience with UT Austin’s enterprise network architecture, platforms, services, management and monitoring tools, and operational practices, or comparable enterprise environments.
• Experience with enterprise network technologies such as Cisco, SONiC, FortiNet or comparable platforms.
• Experience with high-speed networking, data center switching, high-performance storage connectivity, or large-scale data transfer.
• Experience with network/infrastructure monitoring or automation tools and technologies.
• Experience with firewalls, network segmentation, VPNs, network access control, or related security technologies.
• Relevant industry certifications or equivalent demonstrated technical expertise.

Salary Range

$95,000 + depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

This position includes hands‑on work in data center and server room environments and may require occasional work outside normal business hours for maintenance, equipment installation, upgrades, or critical service interruptions.

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action.