Systems Administrator 1

University of Connecticut; Clay Arsenal (CT); On-site; USD 68,000 - 88,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Defined contribution/defined benefit

Excellent healthcare options

Annual merit increase

22 vacation days + sick leave + 12 hol

Tuition waivers

Desirable work environment

Job summary

The University of Connecticut seeks a Sys Admin 1 to support CEN's server infrastructure, cloud and on‑prem systems, and related services at Hartford, CT. This role involves administration, security, IAM, and unified communications, with travel across New England as needed.

Candidates should have associated or bachelor’s degree with experience, strong troubleshooting skills, and ability to work in a collaborative environment. A competitive salary and robust benefits are offered.

Qualifications

• Associate degree with 4+ years related experience, or Bachelor’s with 2+ years, or 6 years related experience.
• Experience with Windows Server 2019 or newer and Linux (RHEL/others).
• Knowledge of networking, firewalls, and server automation tools.
• Experience with hypervisors: vSphere/ESXi, Nutanix AHV, and/or KVM.
• Strong communication skills for technical and non‑technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Serve as admin and escalation point for CEN's server infrastructure and cloud/physical systems.
• Ensure security and high availability; perform security scans and remediation.
• Manage IAM identities, authentication, and integration with RADIUS/TACACS.
• Support unified communications and voice endpoints management.
• Log incidents and maintain technical documentation and SOPs.

Skills

Problem Solving

Team Orientation

Planning & PM

Physical Demands

Education

Associate degree

Bachelor’s degree

6 years related experience

Tools

Python

PERL

PowerShell

PerfSONAR

Grafana

Job description

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW

The Connecticut Education Network (CEN) is Connecticut’s trusted internet partner, committed to our member community and its success. By honoring this commitment, we have grown the member customer network and maintained our reputation as one of the most valued Internet Service Providers serving CT for over 20 years. Join CEN to discover a culture that is rooted in innovation and thrives on collaboration. Imagine loving what you do, where you do it, and contributing to a mission and vision that provides unprecedented value to Connecticut. CEN offices are located at 55 Farmington Avenue, Hartford CT.

SALARY

• Sys Admin 1 - $67,666 – $87,966 with consideration for experience and qualifications

BENEFITS INCLUDE

• Defined contribution with match or defined benefit program retirement options
• Excellent and affordable healthcare options
• Annual merit increase program
• 22 paid vacation days per year in addition to paid sick leave and 12 paid holidays
• Employee and dependent tuition waivers
• A highly desirable work environment

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as an administrator and escalation point for CEN’s server infrastructure, cloud hosted and/or virtual and physical systems, monitoring solutions, and negotiations with vendors.
• Ensure systems are secure, meet or exceed security best practices, and maintain high availability of all systems. Perform periodic integrity checks/security scans and remediate issues as identified.
• Evaluate, develop, support, and secure systems including cloud hosted and/or on-prem physical and virtual platforms for Windows Server/Desktop, Active Directory, Linux/Unix instances, etc.
• Administer applications and/or services used to manage the network including out-of-band access, smart PDU and UPS’, monitoring, and member-user administration related to CEN services
• Develop, support, and mature the Identity Access Management (IAM) solution(s) including identity store of accounts, authentication mechanisms, integration with RADIUS & TACACS servers, etc.
• Provide support for unified communications systems including overall management, adds, moves and changes of voice endpoints and user associations.
• Contribute to capacity analysis, licensing management, asset tracking/inventory, and lifecycle management of all systems.
• Proactively analyze system logs, and other sources using commercial or open/community source security scripts/tools to identify threats or incidents.
• Draft scripts and/or deploy programs to assist with automation, provisioning, and/or telemetry, and to ensure integrity of resources to dependent systems.
• Log and manage incidents in ticketing systems while maintaining technical documentation, including diagrams and standard operating procedures.
• May assist with CEN’s Wi‑Fi service offerings including RF design, device configuration, licensing, maintenance, and troubleshooting of wireless access points.
• May assist with CEN’s fiber network monitoring, documentation, administration, and GIS mapping.
• Interact with customer stakeholders, forge relationships, and contribute to the development of the technical community by contributing to workshops, training, and/or events.
• Travel is expected for support of network/systems, community interactions, and/or vendors. Valid driver's license and ability to travel throughout New England and New York as needed.
• Participate in on-call rotation, including after-hours escalation support as needed.
• Performs related work as required.

RELATED SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

• Problem Solving: Analyzes, troubleshoots, and resolves technical issues by evaluating available information, identifying root causes, and implementing effective solutions. Maintains ownership of issues through resolution and documentation.
• Team Orientation: Builds relationships with peers and other departments to achieve objectives. Balances team and individual responsibilities. Exhibits objectivity and openness to others’ views. Gives and welcomes feedback. Puts success of team above self. Responsibilities are assigned with some latitude for setting priorities and decision‑making using established policies and procedures. Results are reviewed with next‑level team lead/manager for clarification and direction before proceeding.
• Planning and Project Management: Supports project implementation and operational initiatives by completing assigned tasks, following established priorities, and creating and maintaining technical documentation.
• Physical Demands: This position involves extended periods of sitting and the extensive use of computers and office equipment. Involves close vision, color vision, depth perception, and focus adjustment. Must be able to install server and network equipment.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Associate’s degree and 4 years of related experience, OR bachelor’s degree and 2 years of related experience, OR 6 years of related experience.
• Experience supporting Windows Server 2019 or better, RHEL, and/or other Linux platforms.
• Demonstrated knowledge of networking and firewall technologies and policies.
• Demonstrated knowledge of server/system automation tools and techniques.
• Demonstrated written and oral communication skills, and the ability to communicate technical information to a non‑technical audience.
• Experience with hypervisors like vSphere/ESXi, Nutanix AHV, and/or KVM.
• Experience with high availability server architectures and backup solutions.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) field.
• 4 years demonstrated experience in a complex enterprise or service provider network environment.
• Proven programming/development skills (preferably in Python, PERL, and PowerShell).
• Demonstrated knowledge of systems security concepts and technologies, including IDS/IPS, proxy servers, access control systems, and web application firewalls.
• Experience with building and maintaining PerfSONAR and Grafana.
• Experience managing an enterprise 802.11 Wi‑Fi environment.
• Demonstrated understanding of a wide array of enterprise applications/services including DNS, SMTP, IIS, Apache, LDAP, SQL, RADIUS, TACACS, etc.
• One or more relevant certifications through Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Oracle, Red Hat, ISC, ISACA.
• Direct experience in building and maintaining cloud infrastructure in AWS, Azure, GCP, and/or OCI.

APPOINTMENT TERMS

This is a full‑time, end‑dated position with the possibility of renewal subject to performance and funding. The University offers a competitive salary, and outstanding benefits , including employee and dependent tuition waivers at UConn, and a highly desirable work environment.

Other rights, terms, and conditions of employment are contained in the collective bargaining agreement between the University of Connecticut and the University of Connecticut Professional Employees Association (UCPEA).

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Employment of the successful candidate is contingent upon the successful completion of a pre‑employment criminal background check.

All members of the University of Connecticut are expected to exhibit appreciation of, and contribute to, an inclusive, respectful, and diverse environment for the University community.

The University of Connecticut aspires to create a community built on collaboration and belonging and has actively sought to create an inclusive culture within the workforce. The success of the University is dependent on the willingness of our diverse employee and student populations to share their rich perspectives and backgrounds in a respectful manner. This makes it essential for each member of our community to feel secure and welcomed and to thoroughly understand and believe that their ideas are respected by all. We strongly respect each individual employee’s unique experiences and perspectives and encourage all members of the community to do the same. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, age, sex, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, genetic information, physical or mental disabilities, veteran’s status, status as a victim of domestic violence and/or sexual assault and/or trafficking in persons as defined by Connecticut law, prior conviction of a crime, workplace hazards to the reproductive systems, or gender identity or expression

The University of Connecticut is an AA/EEO employer including for Disability and Veteran status.