IT and Network Specialist- On-site

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System • Watertown, SD

19d • Onsite

About The Position

Join our team and be a part of our mission to deliver accessible, high-quality, affordable, and compassionate healthcare. Prairie Lakes Healthcare System is an independent, non-profit healthcare system serving 10 counties in northeastern South Dakota and west-central Minnesota. Our team at Prairie Lakes makes a difference in the lives of patients and their loved ones POSITION SUMMARY This full-time in-person role based in Watertown, South Dakota blends network administration with Desktop Support (Tier 2) in a health care setting and requires strong customer empathy, calm under pressure, and discipline around change control.

Requirements

• Associates degree (AA) or equivalent from a two-year college or technical school; or three to five years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• South Dakota driver's license is required.
• At least 4 years of IT support experience (Tier 2 or equivalent or above).
• At least 2 years of experience managing and optimizing wireless and wired networks.
• Experience implementing and managing network security controls.
• At least 2 years of experience with networking fundamentals: TCP/IP, VLANs, Wi‑Fi,DHCP/DNS, basic routing; familiarity with Cisco/Meraki, Fortigate, or similar.
• Experience with MDM/RMM (NinjaOne preferred), basic EDR/AV (CrowdStrike preferred), and scripting basics (PowerShell preferred).
• Working knowledge of Windows 11 and Microsoft 365..
• Ability to learn new concepts quickly.
• Clear, empathetic communication with end users and clinicians; strong documentation habits and ticket hygiene.

Nice To Haves

• (Bonus) Experience configuring and managing Cisco ISE.

Responsibilities

• Operate & optimize the network: Monitor LAN/WAN/Wi-Fi performance, capacity, and uptime; manage switches, routers, firewalls, VPNs, Cisco ISE, MPLS connections and SD-WAN.
• Implement and maintain network security controls (segmentation/VLANs, ACLs, IPS/IDS, NAC/802.1X, DNS filtering) aligned with organizational policies.
• Connectivity & Wi-Fi: Design and support secure guest, and clinical SSIDs; ensure roaming reliability for mobile carts and handhelds.
• EHR & critical applications: Ensure network paths and policies for EHR access, e-prescribing, telehealth, and billing; troubleshoot latency and connectivity issues end-to-end.
• Network monitoring, reporting, & troubleshooting.
• Identity & access: Support site-to-site and remote-access VPNs, RADIUS, AD/Entra ID integration, and MFA for clinicians and staff.
• Compliance & documentation: Maintain diagrams, inventories, change records, and standards; support risk assessments, audits, BAAs, and incident response.
• Resilience & DR: Participate in business continuity plans, redundant circuits, QoS for voice/video, and backup links; test failover procedures.
• Vendor & ISP management: Open/track tickets, coordinate maintenance windows, and negotiate SLAs for circuits and voice/VoIP services.
• Work in the ticketing system and provide support for end users on networking and desktop-supported related issues.
• Provide additional hands-on support to the desktop support team for projects as needed and at the direction of the IT Service Manager.
• After-hours support: Participate in an on-call rotation and perform planned maintenance outside clinic hours.

Benefits

• Prairie Lakes Healthcare System offers comprehensive benefits for qualifying full-time and part-time employees. Depending on eligibility, a variety of benefits include health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, a 403(b)-retirement plan, and generous paid time off to maintain a healthy home-work balance.
• Flexible Spending Account
• Employee Assistance Program for mental health
• Education Loan Program
• Community discounts including the Prairie Lakes Wellness Center
• Prairie Lakes Healthcare System has a Drug Free Workplace Policy. An accepted offer will require positive reference checks and pre-employment background screening as a condition of employment.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree