UNIX Systems Administrator and Performance Technical Specialist - Hybrid

Salary: £37,000 - £50,000 per annum negotiable depending on experience (please see salary guide below for more information)

Jisc grade: TGE3 (internal use only)

Hours: 35 hours per week

Contract: Permanent

Reports into: Network Development Manager

Location: Hybrid - A blend of working from home and your nominated hub office, we have hubs in London, Bristol, Manchester and Oxford. Specific patterns for working in the office are not mandated, and the frequency of time worked in the office is agreed with your manager. Meeting in person is something we value so you may need to travel on occasion to any of our hub offices.

About the role:

There are two parts to this role,one focused on the Network Operations Centre (NOC), the other in our Network Performance (NetPerf) team. 

The first part of the role lies with support for the Janet network through the deployment and operation of our NOC servers running network management systems, interactive login support for the engineering teams, configuration archival, configuration management, DNS servers and resolvers and many other features.  These systems are often virtualised using technologies such as Proxmox VE, or in some instances running on bare metal. 

The second part involves working within our Netperf team deploying and maintaining the necessary (virtual or bare metal) tools and systems to ensure our members’ and customers’ systems and networks are tuned to optimise performance over the Janet network, both for large scale data transfers and low latency applications. In addition to managing our own test nodes, this often includes engaging with network and system administrators and researchers within a site, and having expert knowledge of system and network tuning to support both large scale data transfers and low latency applications and use cases.

Responsibilities will include:

• Co-management of the suite of servers and virtual machines used by the Janet NOC and the Network Management teams. 
• Installing new hardware as required and replacing old or failed hardware. 
• Identifying, evaluating, deploying and maintaining systems and services for use by both Jisc members and Network Operations Centre staff in testing network performance. 
• Liaising with members and member communities to assist in troubleshooting performance-related issues.  
• Keeping abreast of technical developments impacting network and system performance. 
• Ensuring Jisc’s security policies are adhered to, requiring timely updating of installed software and reviewing and actioning items flagged by security reviews. 

Key Skills and Experience:

• You will be using Proxmox VE and other virtualisation technologies. 

• To have experience of managing Linux systems based on Debian Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Oracle Linux or similar. 

• You will be using Ansible for configuration management on systems. 

If you have the following:

• Experience of using git and github to work in a collaborative environment. 

• Experience of using containers (Docker, LXC etc.) 

• To have expertise with scripting in bash, Perl, python3, or other languages. 

• To have expertise in performance testing using perfSONAR, iperf, and similar tools 

• Experience of monitoring using Nagios, Icinga or similar. 

• An understanding of ‘Science DMZ’ principles and thus the local network architectures, data transfer tools, data transfer node tuning and network monitoring tools used in large scientific experiments. 
• Computer Science degree or equivalent

It would be advantageous.

Don’t meet every single requirement?

We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they think they can’t tick every box, so we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet 100% of the requirements, but you feel this role is perfect for you. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles!

Why work for us?

At Jisc, everyone plays a key role and gets the chance to feel part of it, that to us is the definition of a meaningful career. We want to create a culture of lifelong learning. You can look forward to a rewarding job with opportunities to develop and make a real difference to the education and research sectors.

We believe a balance between your personal and professional life is essential to your happiness and fulfilment. We work flexibly at Jisc and focus on outputs rather than presenteeism and are open to a whole range of ways of working.

It isn’t about how many hours you spend at home or at work; it’s about the flow you establish that brings energy to both parts of your life. Our hybrid working policy is flexible, and the frequency of time spent in your nominated office will vary across teams and job roles.

Take a look at our fantastic benefits! We offer:

• Flexible work pattern, which can adapt to suit your schedules and personal commitments
• 31 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) that includes an additional three closure days over Christmas plus the opportunity to buy up to an additional 5 days
• Generous flexible pension schemes
• Protection benefit – life cover
• Annual Jisc performance award
• A range of wellbeing lifestyle benefits including company paid health care cash plan, employee assistance programme, mental health first aiders and support
• A generous budget to support you with external learning and continuous professional development
• Allocated allowance of up to £250 to equip your home office
• Financial well-being support including access to preferential loan and savings plans, mortgage advice, will writing tools and support and resources to help you make the most of your money
• The opportunity to donate to charity tax-free with our Payroll Giving benefit
• Electric Car Lease Scheme and option to purchase SmartTech – spreading the cost of your everyday white goods and technology
• A wide range of discounts from retailers and big-name high-street stores and CSSC membership
• Family friendly policies including enhanced parental, maternity and paternity leave and opportunity for career breaks
• Support your volunteering with up to 3 days volunteer leave
• Cycle to work scheme and eye care scheme including free eye test vouchers and £70 towards new glasses for VDU use
• Free flu vaccinations
• Employee recognition awards and travel loans
• A company culture which supports and promotes personal learning and development, including access to thousands of courses on LinkedIn Learning

Equity, diversity and inclusion:

At Jisc, we don’t look for ‘sameness’, but to truly include people who can add unique perspectives and experiences to our culture, and we are working hard to achieve progressive change. ‘Always inclusive’ is one of our six guiding principles which actively encourages us to bring our whole authentic selves to work. We believe that our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to our success.

Jisc believes our people make all the difference in cultivating an inclusive culture that welcomes ideas, encourages innovation, and values belonging. We work with passionate colleagues to strengthen knowledge and awareness, provide learning and development opportunities, and foster multiple employee networks which create a sense of community and influence our policies and practice.

We work hard to create an equitable experience for our candidates and workforce which embraces all aspects of their identity including race and ethnicity, religion and belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, trans identities, age, class, disability, neurodivergence, or veteran status.

Application process:

We are committed to supporting your success. Please let us know how we can best accommodate you throughout the recruitment process, in your role, and during your time at Jisc. Your unique skills and experiences are valuable to us, and we want to ensure you have everything you need to thrive.

Just so you know, we review CVs as soon as we can and aim to provide an update on your application within 4 weeks of receiving it.  However, you may hear from us a lot sooner, so please keep an eye out for our emails or calls! 

If you are currently a Jisc employee, please apply through your Dayforce Employee profile.

Jisc has an active sponsor licence to recruit on a Skilled worker visa basis. Candidates wishing to apply who require sponsorship should determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the role by assessing their circumstances against the relevant Home Office criteria. Jisc does not offer any financial re-imbursement towards the applicant costs, such as re-location, skilled worker visa and dependant costs or the immigration health charge.

No agencies please.