Senior Systems Engineer

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 John

F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is one of 12 graduate and professional schools at the university. Harvard Kennedy Schoolâs mission is to improve public policy and leadership so people can live in societies that are more safe, free, just, and sustainably prosperous. By combining cutting-edge research, the teaching of outstanding students, and direct interaction with practitioners, we have an impact on solving public problems that no other institution can match.

When you work at Harvard Kennedy School, you make a difference.

The Senior Systems Engineer plays a key role within the IT Operations team in a thirty-plus person Information Technology Department at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). This position is responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining secure, reliable, and scalable hybrid infrastructure across Microsoft Azure, Windows Server, and Linux/UNIX environments.

The Senior Systems Engineer ensures the stability, security, and performance of core systems and services while driving modernization through automation, infrastructure-as-code, and cloud-native technologies. This individual will also collaborate across IT and academic teams to deliver innovative solutions that advance research, teaching, and operational excellence at HKS.

• Design, implement, and manage scalable hybrid infrastructure leveraging Microsoft Azure, and on-premises Windows and Linux/UNIX servers.
• Enhance and modernize all aspects of HKS infrastructure to take advantage of emerging technologies, cloud-native capabilities, and infrastructure-as-code (IaC) practices.
• Automate provisioning, patching, and deployment using tools such as Ansible, Azure Dev Ops, Power Shell DSC, and other automation frameworks to ensure consistency, efficiency, and compliance.
• Act as the technical lead and primary technical contact and administrator for cloud-based websites (Drupal), including managing vendor relationship with serverless CMS hosting (Pantheon).
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize system performance and reliability across operating systems, virtualization platforms, and applications using tools such as Logic Monitor, Azure Monitor, and Splunk.
• Collaborate with IT Operations, Security, and Development teams to design and maintain secure, compliant systems aligned with Harvardâs cybersecurity and identity management standards.
• Administer Azure Active Directory, identity and access management integrations, and support enterprise authentication (SSO, MFA, conditional access).
• Develop and maintain disaster recovery and business continuity solutions for hybrid and cloud-native systems to ensure uptime and data integrity.
• Serve as technical lead and primary administrator for cloud-based and web-hosted environments, including collaboration with vendors for hosting and infrastructure management.
• Develop tools, scripts, and integrations to automate and streamline day-to-day operations and reduce manual effort.
• Provide Tier 3 support for Windows and Linux-based services, ensuring issues are resolved efficiently and documented appropriately.
• Contribute to cross-functional IT projects, providing technical expertise, documentation, and peer mentorship.
• Ensure compliance with university and industry security standards, and actively participate in system audits, patching, and vulnerability remediation.
• Provide consultation and subject matter expertise on cloud architecture, automation, and infrastructure modernization initiatives.
• Provide after-hours support as needed to maintain system availability and business continuity.
• Abide by and follow the Harvard University IT Code of Conduct ((Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).).

• Normal office environment with hybrid work requirement (3 days/week on-site Tuesdays-Thursdays).
• Some after-hours work may be required for releases, incident response, system upgrades or other time-sensitive work.

• Required to move about in an office environment and sit for extended periods of time.
• Required to move about within the School and University.
• Reach with hands and arms.
• Frequent use of hands for data entry / keystrokes and simple grasping.
• Required to lift, and move up to 50 pounds of equipment using available moving tools.

• Minimum of five yearsâ post-secondary education or relevant work experience

• 5+ years of relevant experience is required.
• Real-world experience designing, implementing, and deploying secure cloud-native services and environments.
• Experience with using…