Senior IT Systems Engineer (Term-Limited)

Salary range is $90k to $185k, with a midpoint of $135k. New hires typically receive between minimum and midpoint, however, we may go slightly higher based on experience, internal equity and market.

Sound Transit also offers a competitive benefits package with a wide range of offerings, including:

• Health Benefits: We offer two choices of medical plans, a dental plan, and a vision plan all at no cost for employee coverage; comprehensive benefits for employees and eligible dependents, including a spouse or domestic partner.
• Long-Term Disability and Life Insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Retirement Plans: 401a - 10% of employee contribution with a 12% match by Sound Transit; 457b - up to IRS maximum (employee only contribution).
• Paid Time Off: Employees accrue 25 days of paid time off annually with increases at four, eight and twelve years of service. Employees at the director level and up accrue additional days. We also observe 12 paid holidays and provide up to 2 paid floating holidays and up to 2 paid volunteer days per year.
• Parental Leave: 12 weeks of parental leave for new parents.
• Pet Insurance.
• ORCA Card: All full-time employees will receive an ORCA card at no cost.
• Tuition Reimbursement: Sound Transit will pay up to $5,000 annually for approved tuition expenses.
• Inclusive Reproductive Health Support Services.
• Compensation Practices: We offer competitive salaries based on market rates and internal equity. In addition to compensation and benefits, you'll find that we provide work-life balance, opportunities for professional development and recognition from your colleagues.

This is a term-limited opportunity with an anticipated duration of 3 years.

GENERAL PURPOSE:

Under general direction, performs at a senior professional level in planning, developing, and implementing the Agency's Information Technology (IT) infrastructure architecture and design; recommends and implements technology and processes to improve system uptime; develops and implements Disaster Recovery architecture; oversees IT systems quality assurance, the IT lab environment, and IT standards; troubleshoots escalated, severity infrastructure issues; mentors and leads less experienced systems engineer and operations staff; and assists the IT Division.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
The following duties are a representative summary of the primary duties and responsibilities. Incumbent(s) may not be required to perform all duties listed and may be required to perform additional, position-specific duties.

• Provides technical team leadership; mentors and coaches less experienced team members; provides the expertise and guidance to peers, leadership, and associates on the overall infrastructure architecture; cross train Systems Engineering and other staff on key infrastructure functions; participates in ongoing professional development to enhance technical skills, communication skills, business knowledge, and knowledge of IT products and procedures; and facilitates the initiation of key strategic infrastructure initiatives and develops implementation plans to deliver initiatives.
• Performs information technology (IT) architect and design server and back office systems in production and lab environments; performs server consolidation using server virtualization technology; administers, configures, and supports Agency LAB and Production VMware environments; plans for infrastructure growth to meet current and future agency needs; develops and maintains the infrastructure strategies for efficient and effective use of Agency's infrastructure information technology products and services; serves as the infrastructure architect in the analysis, design, and planning phases of assigned projects; coordinates with vendors, IT management, IT staff, and other Agency partners to evaluate Agency technology needs and design robust technical solutions; and reviews and captures architecture plans for complex environments.
• Develops and maintains infrastructure standards; develops server build and configuration standards; plans and oversees adherence to change management and release management processes; defines and maintains infrastructure architecture principles, policies, and standards; coordinates with IT peers to develop and maintain a scalable, cost effective infrastructure roadmap; and ensures proper documentation maintained for all actions, practices, procedures, and processes.
• Administers and troubleshoots infrastructure systems; oversees administration of systems maintained by server team including Windows OS, Backup System, SAN, Exchange, File Server, Print Servers; provides expertise in advanced/complex technical areas including SAN, VMWare, load balancing, and fail-over/clustering; provides technical support and engineering support for Active Directory, group policy, LDAP, WINS, DNS, DHCP, and Windows Server; troubleshoots escalated, severity infrastructure issues; proactively evaluates the impact of system modifications and enhancements; conducts infrastructure capacity and performance analysis; develops solutions to assure high system availability and performance aligned with SLAs; and leads monthly patch management process for servers.
• Researches and deploys new technologies; maintains expertise in the area of architecture, including industry trends, strategies, and products to ensure that the company's assets are effectively and efficiently utilized; conducts research and makes recommendations on emerging technologies, toolsets, applications, and systems that consider among other factors cost savings, adoption, standardization/simplification, flexibility, and reuse to determine business requirements.
• Implements and maintains effective team processes; serves as process owner responsible for the implementation and continuous improvement of related infrastructure team processes; leads team process improvement efforts; participates in continuous improvement events (Kaizens) within IT; and aligns technical infrastructure to IT Service Level Objectives.
• Provides support to the division/department on matters as directed; serves as staff on a variety of boards, commissions, and committees; serves as staff on a variety of committees as assigned; prepares and presents staff reports and other necessary correspondence; attends and participates in professional group meetings; maintains awareness of new trends and developments in the fields related to area of assignment; incorporates new developments as appropriate; ensures processes, policies, and practices are interpreted and applied consistently and effectively; ensures accountability and compliance with all current and applicable state and federal laws, Agency policies and procedures, rules and regulations.
• Champions and models Sound Transit's core values and demonstrates values-based behaviors in everyday interactions across the agency.
• Contributes to a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion in alignment with Sound Transit's Equity & Inclusion Policy.
• It is the responsibility of all employees to follow the Agency safety rules, regulations, and procedures pertaining to their assigned duties and responsibilities, which could include systems, operations, and/or other employees.
• It is the responsibility of all employees to integrate sustainability into everyday business practices.
• Other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Management Information Systems, or closely related field and five years of IT Systems Engineer experience in a distributed, enterprise production environment including experience implementing, configuring, and maintaining advanced/complex infrastructure technology including SAN, VMWare, load balancing, and fail-over/clustering; OR an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Required Knowledge and Skills:

• IT infrastructure systems, distributed, enterprise production environment, Active Directory, group policy, LDAP, WINS, DNS, DHCP, and Windows Server 2016 or newer.
• VMware ESX 6.x or newer including server consolidation, server image creation, VM builds, backups, performance monitoring and adjustments, license management, software patches, and driver updates.
• Specific architecture and design including network storage, virtualization, distributed file system, data replication between distributed sites, disaster recovery, and backup systems.
• IT troubleshooting in a production environment.
• Major hardware components, including memory configuration, RAID configuration, backup systems, storage technology, clustering, and load balancing.
• Pertinent federal, state, and local laws, codes, and regulations.
• Project management practices and principals.
• Principles of business letter writing and basic report preparation.
• English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Modern office procedures, methods, and equipment including computers and computer applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and statistical databases.
• Lead/supervisory principles, methods, and techniques.
• Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with other department staff, management, vendors, outside agencies, community groups, and the general public.
• Interpreting and administering policies and procedures sufficient to administer, discuss, resolve, and explain them to staff and other constituencies.
• Utilizing network tools to monitor servers, firewalls, and network components for errors, security issues, and other problems; review device, network, and application logs; review usage and utilization statistics.
• Troubleshooting, resolving, and responding to infrastructure issues and problems; coordinating solutions with outside vendors, users, and information technology staff.
• Leading process improvement efforts, implementing process changes, and improving productivity through process improvement.
• Configuring, troubleshooting, and managing SAN and NAS storage solutions including configuring fiber switches, creating LUNs, and replication of storage.
• Communicating and coordinating with co-workers, customers, and vendors.
• Working effectively under pressure, meeting deadlines, and adjusting to changing priorities.
• Managing projects and making decisions in fast-paced, difficult environments.
• Responding to inquiries and in effective oral and written communication.
• Researching, analyzing, and evaluating new service delivery methods and techniques.
• Working cooperatively with other departments, Agency officials, and outside agencies.

Physical Demands / Work Environment:

• Work is performed in a hybrid office and field environment.
• Employees working in field, shop, warehouse, and/or transit vehicle environment may occasionally be exposed to dangerous machinery, extreme weather conditions, physical harm, hazardous chemicals, and/or extreme noise.
• Position is responsible for performing installation of hardware and may require bending, grasping, kneeling, pushing, pulling, reaching, standing, seeing, walking, maneuvering in tight spaces and carrying up to 50lbs.
• Position requires on-call and weekend/after hours shifts.
• The Agency promotes a safe and healthy work environment and provides appropriate safety and equipment training for all personnel as required.

Sound Transit is an equal employment opportunity employer. No person is unlawfully excluded from employment action based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status or other protected class.