System Administrator

System Administrator

Date Posted: 06/23/2026

Req : 48866

Faculty/Division: Faculty of Arts & Science

Department: Citizen Lab

Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)

Position Number:

Existing Vacancy: Yes

The Faculty of Arts & Science is the heart of Canada’s leading university and one of the most comprehensive and diverse academic divisions in the world. The strength of Arts & Science derives from our combined teaching and research excellence in the humanities, sciences and social sciences across 29 departments, seven colleges and 46 interdisciplinary centres, institutes and programs.

We can only realize our mission with the dedication and excellence of engaged staff and faculty. The diversity of opportunities and perspectives within the Faculty reflect the local and global landscape and the need for curiosity, innovative thinking and collaboration. At Arts & Science, we take pride in our legacy of innovation and discovery that has changed the way we think about the world.

The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto, focusing on research, development, and high‑level strategic policy and legal engagement at the intersection of information and communication technologies, human rights, and global security.

We use a “mixed methods” approach to research combining practices from political science, law, computer science, and area studies. Our research includes: investigating digital espionage against civil society, documenting Internet filtering and other technologies and practices that impact freedom of expression online, analyzing privacy, security, and information controls of popular applications, and examining transparency and accountability mechanisms relevant to the relationship between corporations and state agencies regarding personal data and other surveillance activities.

Under the direction of the Systems & Security Technical Lead, the incumbent serves as a technical resource to the Citizen Lab by supporting and maintaining the group’s computer and network systems and by providing end‑user technical support. The Administrator configures, maintains and monitors the network server and operating systems of the lab, runs diagnostics and assists with repairs. The incumbent will remotely support researchers and contractors in different time zones.

The System Administrator ensures to take the utmost care in ensuring the security of the lab’s devices and technical research. Attention to detail, procedural discipline, and a strong understanding of security standards are essential for this role, as deviations from protocol may significantly compromise system integrity or data protection.

• Monitoring the performance and integrity of servers, including cloud SaaS applications.
• Troubleshooting networking issues.
• Troubleshooting and resolving server/systems issues.
• Conducting detailed analysis of system performance to inform management decision making.
• Generating concise diagnostic reports.
• Making minor equipment repairs.
• Introducing variations to established practices to resolve end‑user issues.
• Probing for information to establish needs.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related discipline or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum three years or recent and related experience in a similar complex networked research computing environment, supporting administrative, academic and active research staff who work in the fields of law, political science and information technology/security.
• Demonstrated ability to adhere to detailed, multi‑step procedures for administering security protocols on work‑issued equipment used by others.
• Demonstrated skills in consistently following established guidelines for system access, configuration, monitoring, and compliance, ensuring that all actions are performed accurately and in the prescribed sequence.
• Working knowledge of a range of computing equipment and operating software including Apple Mac laptops, iPhones, iPads (macOS, iOS/iPadOS), PC compatibles (Windows 7, 10, 11 and specialized…