Network and Data Center Engineer

University of Texas at Austin; United States; On-site; USD 95,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Texas at Austin in Austin seeks a Network and Data Center Engineer to administer the School's network, data center, and computing hardware infrastructure. The engineer will handle day-to-day operations for School-managed infrastructure and collaborate with University networking, information security, facilities, and central IT teams.

The role supports research computing including HPC and AI/ML systems; experience with these environments is strongly desired, though OS/software

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in CS/IT/engineering or equivalent experience.
• Experience administering production network infrastructure.
• Solid knowledge of TCP/IP, Ethernet, routing, switching, VLANs, DNS, DHCP.
• Experience configuring managed switches, routers, firewalls.
• Experience supporting physical servers and data center hardware.
• Proficiency with Linux, macOS and/or Windows for infra troubleshooting.
• Understanding of network security principles and practices.
• Ability to diagnose network and hardware problems and coordinate with teams.
• Ability to document technical information clearly.
• Strong communication and teamwork skills.

Responsibilities

• Configure, operate, monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot School-managed network infrastructure (switches, routers, firewalls, VLANs).
• Diagnose connectivity, routing, performance, and security issues; coordinate with University networks and security teams.
• Implement network upgrades and capacity improvements; participate in planning.
• Collaborate with University staff to troubleshoot wireless coverage and upgrades.
• Maintain network diagrams, configurations, addressing information, and related docs.
• Install, cable, maintain, and troubleshoot servers, storage, and data center hardware.
• Support HPC, GPU-accelerated, AI/ML research systems and network integration.
• Ensure security controls and incident response within areas of responsibility.
• Maintain documentation and participate in procurement and maintenance projects.

Skills

Network administration

TCP/IP & routing

Switches & routers

Server hardware

Linux/Windows troubleshooting

Security principles

Documentation

Communication & teamwork

Education

Bachelors in CS/IT/Engineering

Tools

Cisco equipment

Fortinet firewalls

SONiC platform

Job description

Job Posting Title:

Network and Data Center Engineer

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Hiring Department:

School of Computing

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt from FLSA

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue

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Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS

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Job Details:

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 statisticsand 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

Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks:

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

Equal Opportunity Employer:

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. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.