Senior Systems Engineer in IT - Communications Applications

General Motors•Austin, MI

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

General Motors is undergoing a major transformation, both in how we operate and in how we will influence the future of transportation. Our Software Services team is on the forefront of this work, emboldening our culture by seeking out determined, innovative individuals who will join our team to help move us forward and achieve our mission. System Engineers are responsible for partitioning and allocating product, feature and system functionality to implementation teams. Safety, reliability, and regulatory compliance are factors considered in system design with the goal of optimizing performance, design, testability, and deployability. System engineers identify use cases, define functional technical requirements, enable robust implementation designs, and ensure built-in quality with test definition and traceability. The Senior Systems Engineer in IT Communications is responsible for the end-to-end technical health, designing, configuration, and lifecycle management of key robust communications platforms, including GM’s Brand Experience platform, Heritage Archive, and related survey/polling and search applications. This role serves as innovation owner for multiple applications, ensuring they remain secure, compliant, stable, and aligned with GM’s long-term technology roadmap (e.g., cloud migration and NextGen hosting strategies). The Role You will act as the technical expert for Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)–based sites and adjacent services, driving infrastructure upgrades, cloud migrations, incident resolution, and continuous improvement in partnership with architecture, platform engineering, vendors, and business stakeholders.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field; or equivalent practical experience.
7+ years of experience in enterprise application administration, systems configuration, or similar technical roles.
Proven / Hands-on experience with enterprise web platforms and content management systems (Adobe Experience Manager or equivalent) and their implementation.
Strong background in Linux-based environments, scripting, and troubleshooting distributed web applications.
Demonstrated expertise in Capacity Planning methodologies and tools.
Demonstrated experience with incident, problem, and change management in large enterprises (e.g., ServiceNow, Jira).
Solid background in Data Governance principles and practices.
Proven ability to read, understand, and maintain complex technical documentation (e.g., TADs, server lists, configuration maps).
Excellent problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to perform comprehensive Deployment Validation processes.
A track record of successfully Determining IT System Requirements and translating them into technical solutions.

Nice To Haves

Experience as an innovation owner or technical owner for one or more business-critical applications.
Familiarity with Adobe Experience Manager architecture (author/publish tiers, dispatcher/web tiers, caching).
Experience supporting global, multilingual web properties and search experiences.
Background in mentoring junior engineers and leading cross-functional technical workstreams.
Understanding of GM’s enterprise processes for tech fitness, security, and governance (or similar processes in a large enterprise).

Responsibilities

Platform Ownership & Configuration Own the technical configuration and operational readiness of core communications applications such as GM Brand Experience (GMBX), GMBX Cloud, GM Heritage Archive (GMHA), and custom polling/survey tools.
Configure and maintain web, application, and integration components that support global news and brand sites, ensuring performance, reliability, and scalability.
Maintain accurate technical documentation, including server inventories, topology diagrams, and configuration details across environments (Dev, Test, PreProd, Prod).
Collaborate with stakeholders to effectively determine IT System Requirements, translating business needs into technical specifications.
Application Lifecycle & Tech Fitness Lead OS, middleware, and platform upgrades (e.g., Linux/Ubuntu, JDK, AEM versions) to keep applications compliant with GM tech standards and security requirements.
Drive remediation of vulnerabilities and patching issues by partnering with infrastructure teams, tracking status, and validating successful remediation.
Ensure application health metrics and “star” ratings are maintained through proactive monitoring, clean-up activities, and periodic technical reviews.
Cloud Migration & NextGen Hosting Contribute to defining and executing the NextGen and cloud strategy for communications applications, including on-prem to cloud migrations and SaaS adoption.
Collaborate with platform and vendor teams (e.g., Adobe, Red Hat, GM hosting teams) to validate support models, define deployment destinations, and plan go-live timelines.
Coordinate and support smoke testing and UAT in PreProd and other non-prod environments to validate migration outcomes.
Incident, Problem & Change Management Act as primary technical contact for incidents and service requests involving communications applications, driving timely triage, root cause analysis, and resolution.
Manage and execute configuration changes (e.g., firewall rules, web server updates, DNS/caching/404 behavior, queue configuration) through GM’s change and request processes (ServiceNow, Jira, etc.).
Document and communicate incident impact, remediation steps, and preventive actions to stakeholders.
Perform Deployment Validation for new and updated systems, ensuring seamless integration and functionality.
Collaboration, Governance & Continuous Improvement Partner closely with business owners, UAT leads, and communications stakeholders to understand requirements, plan deployments, and validate changes.
Engage architecture, platform engineering, and PE resources to align application design and changes to GM standards and reference architectures.
Advocate for improvements in internal tools, processes, and documentation; surface systemic issues and work with owners to resolve them.
Contribute to governance of the communications application landscape, including application services data, service offerings, and integration points.
Conduct thorough Capacity Planning to ensure IT resources meet current and future business demands, proactively identifying potential bottlenecks.
Mentoring & Knowledge Sharing Mentor less experienced engineers and configurators by pairing on upgrades, migrations, and complex incidents.
Share domain knowledge on AEM, communications platforms, and hosting patterns through documentation, walkthroughs, and informal coaching.
Promote a culture of ownership (“It’s On Me”), accountability, and continuous learning within the team.