Senior Systems Analyst (Remote Opportunity)

University of Massachusetts Amherst; Amherst (MA); Remote; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is seeking a Senior Systems Analyst to design, implement, and optimize technology support services. This role includes project management responsibilities, providing leadership, and ensuring high-quality solutions for the university community. Candidates should have a strong background in system administration and demonstrated experience in leading technical projects.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of Windows/Linux system administration experience.
• Experience with designing, configuring storage area networks and backup solutions.
• Demonstrated experience as a technical team lead or project manager.

Responsibilities

• Design and troubleshoot storage area networks and backup solutions.
• Manage projects for migrating systems to a centralized enterprise model.
• Monitor system performance and tune resources for optimal use.

Skills

Python

PowerShell

Bash

Analytical skills

Problem-solving

Organizational skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Associate degree

Tools

VMWare

Nutanix

MySQL

Postgres

Job description

Job no: 527218
Work type: Staff Full Time
Location: UMass Amherst
Department: IT Engineering
Union: PSU
Categories: Computer & Information Technology, PSU A

About UMass Amherst

The flagship of the Commonwealth, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a nationally ranked public land-grant research university that seeks to expand educational access, fuel innovation and creativity, and share and use its knowledge for the common good. Founded in 1863, UMass Amherst sits on nearly 1,450-acres in scenic Western Massachusetts and boasts state-of-the-art facilities for teaching, research, scholarship, and creative activity. The institution advances a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community where everyone feels connected and valued—and thrives, and offers a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees across 10 schools and colleges, and 100 undergraduate majors. We believe every member of our university community can contribute to our ongoing success by striving for the highest level of excellence as we seek breakthrough solutions to mounting environmental, social, economic, and technological challenges in our world.

Job Summary

The Senior Systems Analyst is responsible for designing, implementing, and optimizing technology support and services for UMass Amherst, ensuring high-quality solutions for executives, faculty, staff, and administrators. This role drives the adoption of new technologies, contributes to IT strategic planning, and leads implementation projects. Additionally, the Senior Systems Analyst provides leadership, mentoring, and training to IT system engineers and administrators. Key responsibilities include managing and monitoring enterprise-class Windows/Linux systems, fiber channel and backup environments, as well as overseeing system administration and integration with other campus services to enhance operational efficiency and security.

Essential Functions

Design, configure and troubleshoot storage area networks, fiber channel infrastructure and devices, and Enterprise Backup solutions for both on-prem data centers and cloud environments.

Work on multiple projects as a project leader to research, propose and implement strategies in the migration and consolidation of complex distributed systems to a more centralized enterprise model. This may entail converting on-prem virtual servers to cloud based virtual servers, facilitating the reconfiguration of networks and firewalls, and building and configuring centralized logging and monitoring solutions.

Analyze, monitor and keep systems current with changing technologies for the campus community.

Monitor system performance and tune/adjust system resources to maintain efficient and equitable use of managed resources by the campus community.

Perform system upgrades, recommend server configurations, and deploy changes across test, development and production which may include creating scripts using various languages and automate various tasks in multiple environments.

Respond to alerts and customer reported issues, exercise independent judgement to resolve problems or follow established support protocol to escalate as necessary.

Develop and implement automation tools and integration of other central IT services.

Contribute to IT planning, researching, recommending, and implementing industry best practices to enhance UMass IT operations and support long-term institutional goals.

Provide consulting to IT and other campus staff on matters related to system provisioning and centralized maintenance and monitoring, as well as other IT Technologies.

Provide consulting to IT and other campus staff on matters related to system provisioning and centralized maintenance and monitoring, as well as other IT Technologies.

Other Functions

Perform related duties as assigned or required to meet Department, Executive Area/Division, and University goals and objectives.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

Bachelor’s degree with at least 7 (seven) years of experience providing Windows and/or Linux system administration in a large complex environment or Associate degree with 9 (nine) years of experience providing Windows and/or Linux system administration in a large complex environment.

Experience designing, configuring and troubleshooting storage area networks (SANs), fiber channel infrastructure and devices, fault tolerant systems, and Enterprise Backup solutions for on-prem data centers and cloud environments.

Proficiency in system scripting using technologies such as Python, PowerShell, Perl, Bash.

Strong organizational skills, with the ability to work effectively in a dynamic environment, adapt to changing priorities, and maintain accuracy and productivity despite interruptions.

Demonstrated experience as a technical team lead or project manager, with a track record of successfully implementing cross-departmental initiatives.

Exceptional analytical and problem-solving abilities, with the capacity to design, implement, and monitor efficient processes while identifying and resolving issues.

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across teams.

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

Experience working in a large complex educational environment with multiple physical and cloud sites a plus.

Knowledge and experience working with virtualization environments such as VMWare, Nutanix, on-prem and in AWS and/or Azure.

Experience with automated configuration management and provisioning solutions for Linux systems such as RedHat Satellite, Puppet, Chef, Ansible or Terraform.

Experience managing database platforms such as MySQL and/or Postgres and/or Microsoft SQL in clustered environments desirable.

Knowledge of system and network security, including virus and spam management, intrusion detection, firewalls, VPN, and disaster management.

Experience with system monitoring solutions such as Solarwinds.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

Typical Office Environment.

Work Schedule

• Monday – Friday 9:00am – 5:00pm, 37.5 hours a week.
• Some nights and weekends work may be required.
• Participate in team on-call rotation.
• This position has the opportunity for a remote work schedule, which is defined by the University as an arrangement where the employee’s work location is to work from a site other than the UMass Amherst campus. As this position falls within the Professional Staff Union, it is subject to the terms and conditions of the Professional Staff Union collective bargaining agreement.

Salary Information

Level 29

PSU Hiring Ranges

Special Instructions to Applicants

Along with the application, please submit a resume. Cover letter is optional but encouraged. References will be checked at the finalist stage, please be prepared to provide contact information for three (3) professional references.

UMass Amherst is committed to a policy of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, caste, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, disability, political belief or affiliation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related condition(s), veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, natural and protective hairstyle and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination in employment, admission to and participation in academic programs, activities, and services, and the selection of vendors who provide services or products to the University. To fulfill that policy, UMass Amherst is further committed to a program of affirmative action to eliminate or mitigate artificial barriers and to increase opportunities for the recruitment and advancement of qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. It is the policy of UMass Amherst to comply with the applicable federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations concerning equal opportunity and affirmative action.

Advertised: May 12 2025 Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close: Aug 15 2025 Eastern Daylight Time

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