User Support & Systems Specialist

University of Minnesota•Minneapolis, MN

41d•$65,000 - $72,280•Onsite

About The Position

The University of Minnesota is committed to fostering local talent through employment opportunities. This position utilizes an on-site modality, prospective applicants must be located either in the state of Minnesota or near the Wisconsin border or otherwise open to relocation. The Information Technology department within the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) is searching for an User Support & Systems Specialist to join our team! The User Support & Systems Specialist is a key member of the CFANS team supporting the cutting-edge research and academic mission of the College. Primary duties include supporting the full support lifecycle for critical services, serving as the primary escalation point for complex hardware and software issues and providing consultative Tier-2 support to end users. You will have the opportunity to work across a broad range of technologies, directly influencing the operational efficiency and research success of CFANS.

Requirements

BA/BS plus at least two years of experience or a combination of related education and work experience to equal at least six years.
Experience working in a technical environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting research/academic environments or specialized scientific software.
Experience managing stakeholder/customer partnerships.
Familiarity with Microsoft Active Directory (GPOs, OU management).
Experience managing a deployment platform (e.g., SCCM, Jamf, Ivanti).
Experience with hardware procurement and asset management practices.
Experience with ITSM/Project management tools (Asana, TeamDynamix, etc.)
Demonstrated strengths in communication skills, both oral and written.
Demonstrated ability to research and solve issues.
Strong analytical and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

Provide Tier-2 direct customer support for hardware, software, and connectivity to University of Minnesota services via phone, remote access, email, or in-person.
Support research labs with hardware and software installations & configuration, troubleshooting and Hardware/Software product recommendations.
Provide consultation and assistance in new hardware procurement, balancing user requirements with university-wide technology standards and guidelines.
Create and maintain written documentation of technical CFANS-IT services, processes, and procedures for use by other support staff and customers.
Advise faculty and researchers on the benefits of utilizing UMN Virtual machines, collaborating with Central IT to provision and maintain both Linux and Windows virtual servers.
Maintain relationships with other colleges and central University groups as it directly affects Research or Lab support and other "working-group" technologies.
Coordinate the maintenance and yearly refresh of the 148 desktop fleet for the CFANS computer labs including: evaluation of technology and furniture needs, yearly computer purchases, yearly software licensing tasks, and coordination of the purchasing budget through CFANS student fees funding.
Collaborate with instructors to identify applications that would benefit students from being available virtually and work with IT teams to install, test, and offer to classes.
Coordinate the use of ADI/VDI resources in CFANS courses with Central IT including: software requests and suitability evaluation, load testing, and assisting faculty and eligible students with connectivity to cloud resources.
Manage the bi-annual administrative staff laptop refresh and deployment program.
Maintain accurate inventory and asset data within the TDX system in collaboration with Central IT.
Document and continuously improve hardware procurement and asset tracking processes within the college.
Co-Administer the CFANS Active Directory (AD) Organizational Unit (OU) including the creation, deletion, and update of: computers, users, groups, and group policy objects in the CFANS OU.
Co-manage the SCCM OU (create, update, and deploy applications for CFANS. Creates and manages collections of CFANS machines to enable deployment of critical updates for research machines).
Provide mentorship, direction, and technical oversight to student team members on lab projects and daily support incidents.
Participate in the hiring and interview process of new student team members.

Benefits

Competitive wages, paid holidays, and generous time off
Continuous learning opportunities through professional training and degree-seeking programs supported by the Regents Tuition Benefit Program
Low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans
Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
University HSA contributions
Disability and employer-paid life insurance
Employee wellbeing program
Excellent retirement plans with employer contribution
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) opportunity
Financial counseling services
Employee Assistance Program with eight sessions of counseling at no cost
Employee Transit Pass with free or reduced rates in the Twin Cities metro area