Main purpose of the position

To provide expertise in systems design, administration and 24/7 support for the server and storage infrastructure.

Key responsibilities:

• In consultation with the IT operations team leader, plan and implement medium- and long-term operations strategies
• Review, approve, and implement changes that pertain to the supported environments and follow defined Change Control Procedures
• Plan, setup, and implement monitoring systems for errors or performance problems; troubleshoot major reported problems; perform trend analysis to anticipate capacity problems
• Provide specialized system expertise and in-depth operating system and server knowledge Design and build-out of all servers used for application and database infrastructure throughout the enterprise at the hardware, OS and application layers
• Ensure implementation of security policy during infrastructure planning and system provisioning
• Provides disaster recovery planning and execution
• Technical advisory for major project implementations and drive investigations for major changes in technology, scale or capability
• Planning for both short term and long term storage requirements
• Configuration, maintenance, troubleshooting, performance tuning, documentation, DRP design/implementation and upgrades of all Tape and Disk Storage Systems. The role will also support, plan and implement new project requirements
• Ensure space utilization and performance of storage subsystems is optimized through proactive monitoring
• Evaluate and setup of NAS and SAN storage architecture
• Perform zoning changes and activations, diagnose and determine connectivity problem, plan of additional connectivity requirements
• Knowledge of the cabling infrastructure(s) that support the SAN such as patch panels, fiber optic trunks and patches
• Configuration of enterprise level storage subsystem disk subsystems including LUN masking and assignments
• Maintain documentation of all storage hardware configurations
• Investigate, evaluate and recommend new technologies
• Guide junior systems administrators in the performance of their duties, intervening when necessary
• Aid in the evaluation of candidates for system administration positions
• Act as second level support for customer problems (on call after hours)

• Represent the department or company in internal and external projects, providing technical guidance and expertise
• Work with the 3rd party hosting provider as it relates to system and infrastructure changes
• Perform system administration tasks in a third-party hosted environment (e.g. install software, tune operating system, configure storage arrays and SAN switches, audit security, troubleshoot system problems to effective resolution)
• Maintain all technical facilities and related equipment

Technical knowledge & skills required:

• At least 2-3 years’ experience with Linux System Administration in SAN environment (eg. RedHat, SUSE)
• At least 3-5 years UNIX System Administration experience

• Proficient to expert knowledge of enterprise storage (IBM/EMC/HP etc.)
• Experience with Brocade/McData switches
• Experience with system hardening complying with industry-led security standards
• Experience with virtualization solution (LPAR/VMware/Xen)
• Experience with high-availability solution (HACMP/VCS/Linux-HA/SteelEye)
• Knowledge of IP and Fibre Channel networking
• Experience with data centre design and build-out an asset
• Expertise with data backup and recovery
• Experience with mailservers - Sendmail or similar; Exim experience a plus
• Experience with managing DNS on Unix/Linux, including some experience with BIND
• Experience with IBM System p and AIX 5.3 System Administration an asset
• Familiarity with network and systems monitoring tools
• Proven skills with UNIX shell scripting

• University degree or college diploma in Computer Science, Telecommunications, Engineering or similar Knowledge of PostgreSQL and/or MySQL an asset

Mental and physical demands:

• Work daily on a personal computer
• Frequently carry a mobile phone during non-normal working hours
• Sometimes work extended periods
• Occasionally lift of servers, etc., for rack installation
• Concentrate under conditions of high stress and short deadlines

Working conditions:

• Standard "open-plan" office environment
• Sometimes required to work outside regular office hours
• Sometimes required to work from remote locations (remote offices, home)
• Travel required, which may sometimes include stay at destination for up to 2-3 weeks

Personal skills required:

• Very strong, proven analytical abilities
• Able to adapt to frequent change
• Thorough and organized
• Attentive to detail Self-directed
• Able to take initiative Able to work well with others
• Able to guide less experienced staff in improving their abilities
• Excellent ability to absorb, comprehend, and explain written technical material
• Good written and verbal communication skills