IT Platform Engineer Senior
About The Position
The Senior Platform Engineer is part of the University of Maryland Division of Information Technology’s Enterprise Linux Services team. The role handles IT system administration in support of the University's research, teaching, and academic units. Working with Enterprise Linux Services staff, Platform Engineering, and other operational departments, the engineer proactively administers systems and resolves complex IT problems. The position requires a strong background in DevOps principles, automation, system architecture, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Ubuntu across physical, virtual, and cloud environments. The engineer uses technologies such as Puppet, Ansible, Satellite, GitLab, and AWS CloudFormation to deploy operating-system patches, provision machines, manage configuration states, deploy cloud resources, and troubleshoot on-premises and cloud deployments to support uptime and service stability. This is an essential position. During a major catastrophic event, weather emergency, or other operational emergency, the employee may be required to work at the normal or an alternative location to help maintain University services. The position may require evening, night, weekend, or different-shift work for extended periods. All Division of Information Technology positions have an in-person component, with expected weekly time at the College Park, Maryland location; telework is not guaranteed.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, or qualifying additional work experience substituted year-for-year for up to four years of the required education.
- Four years of professional experience implementing and managing enterprise solutions.
- RHCSA/RHCE or equivalent Linux industry-standard certifications.
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate or equivalent industry-standard cloud platform certification.
- Knowledge of all aspects of software and cloud infrastructure and of various enterprise solutions.
- Strong written and oral communication skills.
- Skill in using office productivity software such as Office 365 or Google Workspaces.
- Ability to lead presentations with small to medium-sized groups.
- Ability to bridge technical topics between team managers and team members.
- Ability to manage workload effectively and deliver assignments on time.
- Ability to work cooperatively with others.
- Physical ability to occasionally lift and carry materials weighing up to 50 pounds; close vision and the ability to adjust focus are required.
Nice To Haves
- Experience administering Ubuntu or other Debian-based Linux distributions in enterprise environments.
- AWS management experience, including instance deployment, CloudFormation template development, stack updates or change sets, and AMI creation.
- Programming experience in at least one high-level language such as Perl, Node.js, Ruby, or Python.
- Experience with automation workflows using CI/CD pipelines such as GitLab CI/CD.
- Ability to install, modify, integrate, and configure commercial and open-source software applications and utilities.
- Ability to design, build, and maintain automated workflows using Generative AI and embed LLM capabilities into DevOps pipelines, monitoring platforms, and enterprise applications securely, reliably, and usefully.
- Strong understanding of network security, firewall configurations, and securing applications in cloud and on-premises environments.
- Experience administering containerization technologies, particularly Docker, to support critical enterprise applications.
- Knowledge of client/server computing techniques, distributed systems management concepts, and computer communications.
- Strong Linux administration background in virtualized Hyper-V and AWS environments and physical environments.
- In-depth knowledge of DevOps concepts and CI/CD automation, with hands-on experience using at least one related tool such as Puppet, Ansible, Chef, or GitLab CI.
- Skill in designing and implementing systems for infrastructure provisioning and management, following version-control and automation best practices.
- Demonstrated experience designing, deploying, and supporting Linux-backed solutions according to industry-standard best practices.
- Excellent problem-solving, attention to detail, multitasking, communication, and complex troubleshooting skills.
- Ability to assist, guide, and share information with technical and non-technical personnel.
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 or later management experience in a professional setting.
- Ability to gather project requirements, develop detailed project plans, and schedule and execute project tasks.
Responsibilities
- Administer IT systems supporting the University's research, teaching, and academic units.
- Collaborate with Enterprise Linux Services staff, Platform Engineering, and other operational departments.
- Deploy operating-system patches, provision machines, and manage configuration states using automation technologies.
- Deploy cloud resources and troubleshoot existing on-premises and cloud deployments to maintain uptime and service stability.
- Help maintain continuity of University services during major catastrophic events, weather emergencies, or other operational emergencies.
- Assist, guide, and share information with technical and non-technical personnel.
- Organize and provide direction to junior staff members.
- Gather project requirements, develop project plans, and schedule and execute project tasks.
Benefits
- Benefits are referenced for Regular Exempt employees; specific benefits are not listed in the posting.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
