Senior Faculty Specialist

UM01 University of Maryland College Park (UMCP); United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Maryland, College Park's Laboratory for Physical Sciences seeks a Senior Systems Administrator to support enterprise IT operations at LPS. The role maintains core infrastructure, including Windows Server and Linux environments, Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, and enterprise virtualization platforms, across multiple sites.

You will diagnose and resolve complex systems issues, document procedures, and provide hands-on support to researchers and staff in a collaborative, research-focused

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Six years of professional systems administration experience in a team-based IT organization.
• Hands-on management of Windows Server and/or Linux environments supporting a substantial user base.
• Knowledge of Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, and related directory and network services.
• Experience with enterprise virtualization platforms and hypervisor management.
• Strong diagnostic and troubleshooting skills across multiple platforms.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including ability to document procedures and work with both technical and non-technical users.
• Ability to plan, manage, and complete multiple concurrent tasks with minimal supervision.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a small team and provide effective customer service in a research environment.

Responsibilities

• Maintain core IT infrastructure, including Windows Server and Linux environments, Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, and enterprise virtualization platforms.
• Improve production system reliability, security, and performance.
• Provide hands-on support to researchers and staff across multiple sites.
• Diagnose and resolve complex systems and infrastructure issues across multiple platforms.
• Document procedures, standard operating procedures, and policies.
• Plan, manage, and complete multiple concurrent tasks with minimal supervision.
• Collaborate with a small IT team and deliver effective customer service in a research environment.

Skills

Windows Server

Linux

Active Directory

DNS

DHCP

Virtualization

Troubleshooting

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/IT or related field

Tools

PowerShell

Bash

Python

Ansible

Git

Job description

Senior Systems Administrator – Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS)

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the A. James Clark School of Engineering seeks a Senior Systems Administrator to support enterprise IT operations at the Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS). LPS, in partnership with the University of Maryland, has been advancing physics and engineering since 1956, supporting over 400 users across multiple sites. The role will be a senior member of a small, collaborative IT team responsible for maintaining core IT infrastructure, improving production system reliability and security, and providing hands‑on support to researchers and staff.

Responsibilities

• Maintain core IT infrastructure, including Windows Server and Linux environments, Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, and enterprise virtualization platforms.
• Improve production system reliability, security, and performance.
• Provide hands‑on support to researchers and staff across multiple sites.
• Diagnose and resolve complex systems and infrastructure issues across multiple platforms.
• Document procedures, standard operating procedures, and policies.
• Plan, manage, and complete multiple concurrent tasks with minimal supervision.
• Collaborate with a small IT team and deliver effective customer service in a research environment.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Six years of professional systems administration experience in a team‑based IT organization.
• Hands‑on management of Windows Server and/or Linux environments supporting a substantial user base.
• Knowledge of Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, and related directory and network services.
• Experience with enterprise virtualization platforms and hypervisor management.
• Strong diagnostic and troubleshooting skills across multiple platforms.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including ability to document procedures and work with both technical and non‑technical users.
• Ability to plan, manage, and complete multiple concurrent tasks with minimal supervision.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a small team and provide effective customer service in a research environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience administering enterprise virtualization environments, hypervisor deployment, VM lifecycle management, and migration between platforms.
• Proficiency with scripting and automation tools such as PowerShell, Bash, Python, or Ansible, and version control tools such as Git.
• Experience with IT security hardening practices, vulnerability scanning, and remediation such as Nessus and STIG compliance.
• Experience with enterprise backup solutions such as Veeam.
• Experience with monitoring and log analysis platforms such as Grafana, Elastic/Kibana.
• Experience with configuration management or automation frameworks such as Ansible, Katello.
• Experience supporting IT operations in scientific, research, or federal environments.
• Familiarity with enterprise services such as Exchange Server, certificate services, and endpoint management tools such as MECM, and endpoint protection platforms such as Trellix and Defender.
• Demonstrated ability to author and maintain technical documentation and standard operating procedures.

Physical Demands

• Ability to work in server rooms and wiring closets; may require lifting, carrying, or transporting IT equipment up to 50 lbs.
• Requires prolonged periods of sitting and standing with extensive computer use.
• May occasionally require evening or weekend work to support maintenance windows, outages, or urgent operational needs.

Additional Information

Visa sponsorship: UMD will not sponsor the successful candidate for work authorization in the United States now or in the future.

Application Materials

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Three Professional References

EEO Statement

The University of Maryland, College Park is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment. Please read the University’s Equal Employment Opportunity Statement of Policy.