The Department of Aerospace Engineering (AERO) seeks a Senior Systems Administrator to provide advanced technical leadership for departmental IT infrastructure supporting instruction, research computing, and administrative operations. This role designs, implements, secures, and maintains reliable systems and services across servers, storage, virtualization, identity, endpoints, and networks. The Senior Systems Administrator coordinates with College of Engineering (CoE) leadership, CoE security, and UM Information Assurance on risk management; quickly remediates vulnerabilities; triages and escalates suspected security incidents; and ensures documentation and training while balancing security with teaching, research, and operational needs.
40% Security, Compliance, and Incident Coordination
Conduct system and configuration audits and implement required remediation to achieve and maintain compliance with Export Control Technology Control Plans and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) security plans.
In partnership with CoE Security, faculty, and research administrators, review project security requirements at project kickoff and at regular intervals throughout the project lifecycle; document decisions, controls, and residual risk.
Coordinate security incident response activities, including triage, containment, eradication, and recovery, partnering with appropriate College and University security resources and completing post-incident documentation and process improvements.
Develop, implement, and maintain local IT security policies, standards, and procedures aligned with College and University requirements.
In collaboration with the Research Administration Manager, maintain accurate documentation and inventory of computing systems; ensure control plan documentation reflects current system state (e.g., network address assignments, operating system configurations, security baselines, and physical locations) to meet compliance obligations.
20% Laboratory and Specialized Systems Support
Deploy, upgrade, and modify new and existing lab computers to meet required security standards for network access.
Configure and support networked remote sensors, data acquisition systems, and other specialized networked equipment in compliance with University network security requirements.
Work closely with faculty and researchers to develop, deploy, and support embedded and specialized computing technologies for teaching and research laboratories.
20% Service Delivery, Project Leadership, and Supervision
Work closely with the department's desktop support team and supervise student assistants to ensure AERO faculty and staff receive timely, high-quality support and service.
Provide senior-level (tier-3) escalation for complex issues and coordinate troubleshooting across teams as needed.
Plan and lead projects, including buildouts, system updates, upgrades, migrations, and outages impacting local users; set timelines and coordinate communications and maintenance windows.
15% Departmental IT Operations and Facilities Support
Partner with local staff to support departmental operations.
Manage departmental email groups and serve as a backup MCommunity sponsor.
Support voice communications and manage requests through the UM Service Request System.
Program and maintain handheld radios for the emergency response team.
Provide on-site and remote support at the PEPL, Peach Mountain, and Wind Tunnel facilities.
5% Safety and Emergency Response
