Job Summary
The Department of Aerospace Engineering (AERO) seeks a Senior Systems Administrator to provide advanced technical leadership for departmental IT infrastructure supporting instruction, research computing, and administrative operations. This role designs, implements, secures, and maintains reliable systems and services across servers, storage, virtualization, identity, endpoints, and networks. The Senior Systems Administrator coordinates with College of Engineering (CoE) leadership, CoE security, and UM Information Assurance on risk management; quickly remediates vulnerabilities; triages and escalates suspected security incidents; and ensures documentation and training while balancing security with teaching, research, and operational needs.
Responsibilities*
40% Security, Compliance, and Incident Coordination
Conduct system and configuration audits and implement required remediation to achieve and maintain compliance with Export Control Technology Control Plans and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) security plans.
In partnership with CoE Security, faculty, and research administrators, review project security requirements at project kickoff and at regular intervals throughout the project lifecycle; document decisions, controls, and residual risk.
Coordinate security incident response activities, including triage, containment, eradication, and recovery, partnering with appropriate College and University security resources and completing post-incident documentation and process improvements.
Develop, implement, and maintain local IT security policies, standards, and procedures aligned with College and University requirements.
In collaboration with the Research Administration Manager, maintain accurate documentation and inventory of computing systems; ensure control plan documentation reflects current system state (e.g., network address assignments, operating system configurations, security baselines, and physical locations) to meet compliance obligations.
20% Laboratory and Specialized Systems Support
Deploy, upgrade, and modify new and existing lab computers to meet required security standards for network access.
Configure and support networked remote sensors, data acquisition systems, and other specialized networked equipment in compliance with University network security requirements.
Work closely with faculty and researchers to develop, deploy, and support embedded and specialized computing technologies for teaching and research laboratories.
20% Service Delivery, Project Leadership, and Supervision
Work closely with the department's desktop support team and supervise student assistants to ensure AERO faculty and staff receive timely, high-quality support and service.
Provide senior-level (tier-3) escalation for complex issues and coordinate troubleshooting across teams as needed.
Plan and lead projects, including buildouts, system updates, upgrades, migrations, and outages impacting local users; set timelines and coordinate communications and maintenance windows.
15% Departmental IT Operations and Facilities Support
Partner with local staff to support departmental operations.
Manage departmental email groups and serve as a backup MCommunity sponsor.
Support voice communications and manage requests through the UM Service Request System.
Program and maintain handheld radios for the emergency response team.
Provide on-site and remote support at the PEPL, Peach Mountain, and Wind Tunnel facilities.
5% Safety and Emergency Response
Serve as a member of the AERO Safety Committee and Emergency Response Team; maintain current training/certification in CPR, first aid, and AED use (or obtain/maintain as required).
Other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications*
Bachelor's degree in an IT-related field, or an equivalent combination of education, certifications, and experience.
3+ years of experience administering Windows systems, including Active Directory and Group Policy.
5+ years of experience administering Linux systems, including secure configuration and access control.
Demonstrated scripting/automation experience (e.g., PowerShell, Bash, Python) to support administration, standardization, and compliance.
Ability to translate institutional security guidance (including endpoint protection requirements) into actionable unit standards, operational procedures, and measurable compliance.
Working knowledge of endpoint management and security fundamentals, including vulnerability management (patching), endpoint protection, host firewalling, encryption, identity and access management, least privilege, and secure remote administration.
Experience establishing endpoint inventory and lifecycle management, and ensuring consistent configuration across diverse endpoint populations.
Strong incident coordination skills, including triage leadership, escalation, communication, and post-incident follow-through (documentation and process improvement).
Strong interpersonal skills
Desired Qualifications*
Experience partnering with institutional security and/or compliance teams and supporting audits or control attestations.
Experience supporting regulated or controlled research computing environments (e.g. CUI and/or export control) and applying security controls such as NIST 800-171.
Familiarity with research/teaching environments and risk acceptance/compensating control processes that preserve security while enabling mission needs.
Work Locations
This position may be eligible for remote and/or flexible work opportunities at the discretion of the hiring department. Flexible work agreements are reviewed annually and are subject to change dependent on the business needs of the hiring department, throughout the course of employment.
Additional Information
A higher salary may be considered for an extraordinarily qualified candidate.
U-M EEO Statement
The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.