Scientific Support Technician

A Square Group•Bethesda, MD

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Scientific Support Technician provides specialized IT support for scientific research environments, addressing the needs of laboratory and clinical staff. The role operates primarily at Tier 2–3, with potential growth into leadership or Tier 4 roles. The technician supports scientific equipment and software, enterprise computing systems, virtualization and networking infrastructure, audiovisual systems, and IT peripherals. The position is full-time and on-site in Bethesda, Maryland. Support hours are 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., with a weekly rotating schedule for limited after-hours on-call support for executive VIPs. The technician works with scientists, vendors, technical staff, project teams, and the Scientific Information Office to maintain reliable, secure scientific computing. The supported environment is nearly evenly divided between macOS and Windows, with some Linux, and the Desktop Support team serves approximately 1,200 customers across three main locations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree from an accredited college or university; an engineering or applied science discipline is preferred. Alternatively, an associate degree in an IT-related field, at least two current listed IT certifications, and at least two years of relevant experience at an NIH institute or center.
At least six years of relevant, applicable professional experience.
Subject matter expertise in Mac, Windows, and Linux enterprise computing in an Active Directory domain environment.
Experience in clinical or scientific computing and end-user environments, including hands-on interaction with clinical or scientific devices.
Professional experience supporting Microsoft 360.
Strong customer service skills.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Experience with VIP support.
Ability to obtain and maintain a public trust background investigation or clearance per client requirements.
Hold, or obtain within the first nine months of hire, two or more listed certifications: HDI Desktop Support Technician; CompTIA A+, Network+, Linux+, or Security+; Jamf Certified Tech; Apple Certified Associate – Mac Integration Basics (current or current-1 version); Apple Certified Support Professional (current or current-1 version); MTA; MCSA; MSCE; or Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management (ITIL) v4 or higher.
Working knowledge of macOS 26 or newer, Windows 11, Linux, and iOS; these are listed as required.
Working knowledge of Active Directory; listed as required.
The description also lists ServiceNow, MS 360, JAMF, Intune, Absolute, SCCM/Microsoft Configuration Manager, Ivanti, Bomgar, and BigFix as desired systems and tools.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting NIH/NIMH programs.
Programming and shell scripting skills.
Familiarity with networking hardware and software such as DHCP, subnets, DNS, VLANs, wireless, and LAN.
Familiarity with VoIP, fax, multifunction copiers, large-format printers, and other common IT peripherals.
Professional experience providing audiovisual support.
An engineering or applied science discipline for the degree.

Responsibilities

Use an IT ticket system to receive and track tickets, assign actions, communicate with customers, ensure customer satisfaction, and close tickets.
Build relationships and communicate effectively with the scientific user community, technical staff, and the Scientific Information Office.
Inventory, document, and secure scientific equipment connected to computers or the network, and document the equipment’s technical functions and software.
Analyze scientific requirements and develop, propose, and implement solutions balancing scientific, functional, technical, and security needs.
Assist scientists and vendors with deploying, configuring, troubleshooting, upgrading, maintaining, and supporting scientific equipment and software.
Advise laboratories on scientific computing equipment purchases and setups, and coordinate infrastructure and configuration requirements for new equipment and software.
Train Desktop Technicians on support requirements and best practices for scientific equipment and software.
Coordinate with security, patching, and release management teams to maintain scientific equipment and software functionality and security.
Communicate customer requirements to project teams and serve as a technical lead or subject matter expert on projects.
Work with Network Operations to design and configure custom firewalls and VLANs for laboratory-specific network access, as well as network backup and storage solutions.
Configure, install, and support desktops, laptops, mobile devices, printers, monitors, and other peripherals.
Configure IT devices for secure operation, including installing security software and updates and applying required configurations.
Triage hardware, software, audiovisual, network, and security issues, escalating them to appropriate teams.
Investigate complex issues, coordinate complex technical work, identify trends, conduct root-cause analysis, and generate reports.
Create, review, and flag knowledge base articles.
Perform other duties as assigned.