STATE OF CONNECTICUT EXECUTIVE BRANCH JOBS

Linux System Administrator (ITA -3)

Recruitment #200519-7605EU-001

Introduction

The State of Connecticut, Office of the State Comptroller (OSC), is an agency whose mission is to provide accounting and financial services, to administer employee and retiree benefits, to develop accounting policy and exercise accounting oversight, and to prepare financial reports for the state, federal and municipal governments and the public. 

We are recruiting for an exciting opportunity currently available for a full-time Information Technology Analyst 3, with responsibility for the Oracle Exadata Linux clusters and all Linux virtual server administration, supporting the Core-CT Peoplesoft databases and web application services.  This position works first-shift, 35 hours per week,  Monday - Friday and is located at the newly renovated State Office Building, located at 165 Capitol Avenue in Hartford, CT.  This state-of-the-art building offers an on-site cafeteria, free garage parking and ergonomic workspaces.  The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) offers an excellent salary and benefits package.  Specific duties of this position include: 

  • Responsibility evolving and maintaining overall Linux infrastructure and strategies.
  • Ensuring Linux infrastructure is properly patched and secure and that services are performing at optimal levels. 
  • Administering enterprise level SAN storage hardware, software and supporting fabric. 
  • Deploying new Linux server infrastructure under VmWare and assists with cluster and network administration.  
  • Coordinating Exadata maintenance, patching and configuration with Oracle and the Core-CT DBA team. 
  • Maintaining vlan configurations, IP address assignments and coordinates firewall rules, VPN tunnel requests with DAS/BEST.
  • Configuring and monitoring Linux system backups to TSM.
  • Ensuring appropriate security protocols and practices are followed across the agency. 
  • Ensuring systems and services are pro-actively monitored and reported issues are properly addressed. 
  • Developing and maintaining system and application architecture diagrams;
  • Recommending new tools and technologies;
  • Developing and maintaining technologies needed to support disaster recovery systems;
  • Participating in the design of complex infrastructure to optimize system performance, ensure security and system integrity;
  • Participation in the design on next generation system architecture and cloud initiatives.
  • Performs related duties as required.  

Selection Plan

Candidates must meet the minimum qualifications as indicated to apply for this position.  State employees currently holding the above title or those who have previously attained permanent status in the class may apply for a lateral transfer.  Special Requirement:  Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.  Incumbents in this class may be required to possess and retain a valid Motor Vehicle Operator's License. 

All applicants must include a resume within the “Resume Tab” of their JobAps application.  Candidates invited to interview will be required to submit a cover letter along with three (3) business references. Additionally, current State employees will be required to submit their last two performance evaluations and last two years of attendance records.  Questions about the required documents should be directed to the hiring agency's human resources office: Ginger Frasca / ginger.frasca@ct.gov.

NOTE:  INCOMPLETE APPLICATION PACKAGES AND THOSE RECEIVED AFTER THE CLOSING DATE INDICATED ABOVE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

PURPOSE OF JOB CLASS (NATURE OF WORK)

In a state agency Information Technology (IT) environment, this class is accountable for performing the most complex and technical support work and/or acting as a working supervisor of Information Technology Analysts engaged in information systems development or technical support.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

All Functional Areas: Diagnoses host system problems and develops and coordinates resolutions; manages planning, analysis, design, selection, installation and implementation of new technologies; evaluates new technologies; tests and evaluates new hardware and/or software; makes recommendations for hardware and/or software purchases; determines interface and utility requirements and creates design specifications; acts as liaison to hardware and/or software vendors, system developers, programmers and management; develops and implements network and system security guidelines; makes recommendations for migration and upgrade directions; trains operators, systems developers and users on new procedures; conducts system performance analysis, tuning or storage management; conducts technical training programs for IT staff; acts as project coordinator overseeing other technical staff and support personnel; plans, coordinates and directs multiple projects of assigned staff; reviews work of assigned personnel; calculates project time and cost estimates; prepares necessary procedural specifications to meet design requirements; arranges necessary hardware and software availability; oversees hardware and software vendors; manages project budgets and schedules; reviews work of assigned Information Technology Analysts and serves as consultant and/or troubleshooter; reviews documentation work of assigned staff; communicates with business owners and management; facilitates meetings; assists in development of information technology policies, procedures and standards; participates in Request for Proposal (RFP) process; implements disaster recovery plans, assists in determining critical applications and personnel, or ensures offsite backups; defines data flow; performs related duties as required.

Working Supervisor Use: Plans unit workflow and determines priorities; schedules, assigns, oversees, and reviews work; establishes and maintains unit procedures; provides staff training and assistance; conducts or assists in conducting performance evaluations; acts as liaison with operating units, agencies, and outside officials regarding unit policies and procedures; make recommendations on policies or standards; prepare reports and correspondence; performs related duties as required.

Systems Programming: Performs the most complex duties related to application development; develops and implements system programming standards; configures and installs host-based application packages; maintains host operating systems; installs and upgrades host and/or Front End Processor (FEP) operating system software; performs other related duties as required.

Software Development: Configures and installs host-based application packages; analyzes upgrades for complex applications to determine functionality and necessary software customization; writes program specifications and systems specifications; designs forms, screens and reports; performs related duties as required.

Database Administration: Provides advanced level database support and troubleshooting; designs, installs, tunes and maintains integrity of major host-based database; leads integration efforts, transitioning applications to new technology; performs related duties as required.

Network Support: Designs and implements complex communications networks; diagnoses and resolves problems using network management systems and utilities; performs related duties as required.

IT Security: Develops, tests and maintains agency disaster recovery plans designed to restore IT system operability; develops process and procedures in support of IT Business Continuity Planning; conducts platform recoverability assessments and Business Impact Analysis (BIA) to determine and assess the impacts associated with disruptions to business functions; conduct risk analysis of IT environments by assessing administrative, technical and physical safeguards; performs IT investigations to include maintaining chain of custody procedures; performs forensics and documents detailed reports of findings; performs related duties as required.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY

Considerable knowledge of principles and techniques of systems analysis, design, development, and computer programming; considerable knowledge of principles of information systems; considerable knowledge of principles and theories of business and planning functions; considerable knowledge of programming languages; considerable knowledge of project management principles and techniques; considerable knowledge of principles, problems and techniques of data processing and data communication operations; considerable knowledge of data processing and data communications equipment and diagnostic tools; considerable knowledge of methods and procedures used to conduct detailed analysis and design of computer systems; considerable knowledge of principles of complex computer operating systems; knowledge of principles and techniques of business information systems re-engineering; knowledge of network protocols and architecture; knowledge of practices and issues of systems security and disaster recovery; knowledge of applications systems development principles and techniques; knowledge of principles and practices of data base management; considerable interpersonal skills; considerable oral and written communication skills; considerable problem solving skills; considerable technical problem solving skills; considerable analytical skills; considerable ability to prepare correspondence, manuals, reports and documentation; considerable ability to analyze and resolve operational and communications problems; considerable ability to analyze and debug complex software programs; considerable ability to identify, analyze and resolve complex business and technical problems; some supervisory ability.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - GENERAL EXPERIENCE

Seven (7) years of experience in information technology (IT) operations, programming, systems/software development or another IT related field.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - SPECIAL EXPERIENCE

One (1) year of the General Experience must have been at the full professional working level with responsibility for performing a full range of complex technical support functions in such areas as: assisting in the design, implementation and management of a major communications network; providing technical and administrative support for a wide area network (WAN) or mini-computer system; assisting in the installation and maintenance of major sub-systems or installing and maintaining other host and/or network software; participating in the design and development of system applications; serving as a project coordinator responsible for coordinating the design, development, programming and implementation of moderately complex information systems projects; performing any closely related complex technical support function. 
NOTE: For state employees this is interpreted at the level of Information Technology Analyst 2.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - SUBSTITUTIONS ALLOWED

1. College training in management information systems, computer science or information technology related area may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equaling six (6) months of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelor's degree.
2. A Master's degree in management information systems, computer science or electrical engineering may be substituted for one (1) additional year of the General Experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Preference will be given to applicants who meet the following experience and training:

• Expertise in Oracle and/or Red Hat Linux operating systems.
• Experience with SAN infrastructure (IBM SAN attached storage, Fiber Channel switch technology and configuration, etc.).  Expertise with SAN enterprise-level storage hardware, software and supporting fabric administration.
• Experience supporting Linux environments for at least one of the following: Oracle RAC database environments, Oracle Exadata, Oracle/PeopleSoft 9.2. or large ERP application environments
• Experience supporting a VMWare environment and Linux system deployment under VmWare.
• Knowledgeable in the installation, configuration and testing of fixes, patches and security updates to the Linux operating system and services. Knowledge of Yum and RPM patching methodology.
• Expertise in server backup and recovery tools; TSM preferred.
• Experience with complex server capacity planning, performance monitoring, tuning and optimization.
• Experience with cloud architecture and developing and accessing cloud architectures
• Expertise with UNIX scripting.
• Expertise with F5 network load balancing configuration and administration. Knowledge of load balancing technologies and best practice for various F5 modules, basic knowledge of F5 iRule programming and general troubleshooting and monitoring practices.
• Familiarity with Web technologies including: Weblogic, Oracle HTTP Server, Tuxedo, IIS.  Experience with support of complex web hosting network architectures.
• TCP/IP network experience including DNS, routing protocols, network switch configuration, Firewall rules, VLAN technologies.
• Experience with Linux files systems, security practices, and monitoring tools.
• Five (5) years’  of experience in infrastructure systems support, Linux Administration, database administration, systems/software development, networking or technical support.
• Proven leadership and communication skills.

Conclusion

An Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer.  The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.  If you are requesting special accommodations under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) please contact Ginger Frasca at 860-702-3340 or ginger.frasca@ct.gov.