Systems Administrator

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

The Center for Biostatistics in AIDS Research (CBAR), an organization within the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is responsible for the design, monitoring, and statistical analysis of clinical trials and observational studies for several major national and international NIH-funded clinical research networks. CBAR employs over 100 statisticians, programmers, research scientists, faculty, and staff. The System Administrator position is part of the CBAR Infrastructure Team within the Department of Information Technology, providing state‑of‑the‑art computational expertise to support CBAR.

• Collaborate with the IT Infrastructure Team to maintain and administer Linux, Windows, and VMware computer environments and related networks, including hardware, system software, applications software, networking, and all configurations.
• Plan and conduct comprehensive infrastructure engineering duties, building, configuring, and maintaining systems, and implementing IT solutions to complex business problems.
• Provide expert‑level technical and project leadership, managing and contributing to multiple projects simultaneously.
• Proactively plan, coordinate, and implement system security measures to protect data, software, and hardware.
• Participate in new projects involving disaster recovery, compliance, business continuity, and security solutions.
• Monitor performance, create accounts, and manage access to the CBAR computing environment.
• Perform routine system startup and shutdown procedures, apply patches, manage and install packages, and perform updates and upgrades to maintain a stable environment, including data backups and disaster recovery operations.
• Troubleshoot and resolve user and server issues promptly, documenting solutions and working directly with users to solve computing problems.
• Work flexible hours, including longer hours during implementation and evaluation, and one Saturday maintenance per month.

• Occasional lifting of up to approximately 50 pounds.

Basic Qualifications

• Minimum of two years’ post‑secondary education or relevant work experience.

Additional Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience.
• At least 5 years of relevant IT experience, including 3+ years in systems administration.
• Experience maintaining and troubleshooting virtual server environments and applying security measures.
• Familiarity with data security compliance standards such as NIST 800-53 and 21 CFR Part 11.
• Experience with the following technologies:
  • Red Hat Linux
  • Microsoft Windows Server and Active Directory
  • Virtualization (e.g., VMware)
  • Linux shell scripting
  • Statistical software (e.g., SAS, R, Python) on a research computing cluster (plus)
  • Ansible and Jira (plus)
• Excellent interpersonal skills with empathy toward coworkers and customers.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• Organized, detail‑oriented, self‑starter, able to communicate complex IT and security concepts effectively to non‑technical people.

Certificates and Licenses

• Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) and Comp Tia Server+ certifications required within 1 year of hire if not already held; costs will be paid by the hiring department.
• Completion of Harvard IT Academy specified foundational courses (or external equivalent) preferred.

• Appointment End Date:
  November 30,…