Senior Desktop Engineer—Scientific Application Support

This position requires proficiency in managing and troubleshooting various operating system system configurations user management and system optimization. Providing a full range of services essential to USD faculty and students in support of specialized scientific software products and services. This is a senior-level technical position supporting technology with expertise with STEM application installations license server download server and deployments such as ArcGIS MATLAB SAS SPSS Solidworks Mastercam and more.

The incumbent will be a bridge of support between the desktop and enterprise level applications systems and services.

Duties include level 2 and 3 support of the software and their associated hardware components. Deployment of enterprise applications such as Adobe MS and others associated with the license server integrated systems and tracking devices. The incumbent will research analyze pilot and repair scientific software problems with focus on clear communication and collaboration in team environment.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Scientific and specialized Application Support

• User Support: Provide technical support to university faculty staff and students. Assist users with troubleshooting hardware and software including desktops laptops and mobile devices.
• Hardware Management: Assist with the procurement installation diagnosing and repairing hardware problems and maintenance of hardware devices such as servers desktops laptops printers and peripherals.
• Software Installation and Configuration: Install and configure software applications including operating systems productivity software and specialized academic software used by students and faculty. Installs and maintains software that run instruments
• Managing the enterprise hardware and software inventory management tool employed for campus wide software and hardware inventory and automation.
• Interact with faculty: to understand their current and future software needs and translating their needs into action items for ITS team.
• Actively research configure and test potential new scientific software products per faculty recommendations
• Troubleshooting and learning skills- analytical approach to solve and troubleshoot
• Organize and develop application testing procedures to provide for stability and performance
• Communicate design requirements to technical and non-technical faculty students and staff.
• Participate in all phases of technology or application development including requirements gathering estimating time and costs for phases or tasks building testing and implementation.
• Documentation and design- ability to create and use a variety of tools in making technical or non-technical demonstrations-Able to create the diagram and architecture of the services and for user training
• Troubleshooting: Investigate and resolve complex technical issues that may arise in the desktop and integrated environment. Ability to diagnose hardware failures debugging software problems or dealing with network connectivity issues.
• Technical knowledge: Understanding of AD GPO SCSM Intune Intra for managing desktop systems and how it relates to other integrated systems and services
• Update classrooms and labs: perform maintenance and installation of software and hardware.
• Security monitoring: Stays abreast of the new security patches and desktop trends.
• Inventory Management:Assist ITAM and ITAS with the oversightof the enterprise hardware and software inventory managementtoolsemployed forcampus-widesoftware and hardware inventory and automation.
• Improve services: bring forward initiatives and creativity to improve efficiency
• Triage and log: Use proper judgment to triage and log problems and request for support.
• Develop preventive maintenance procedures to avoid system failures.

General Technical Responsibilities:

• Configures installs maintains and provide customer support for Windows Macintosh Linux iOS and Android computer equipment and software in science departments including advanced industry-specific hardware and software related to primary assigned science unit.
• Oversight of the centrally managed asset management tool to deploy track identify and locate university assets. Create and enforce policies to ensure IT deployments are secure and running optimally.
• Endpoint systems solutions and configurations and troubleshooting
• Disaster Recovery and High Availability Strategies for critical infrastructure software and services.
• Artificial Intelligence-- Developing and implementing AI strategies for teaching and learning collaborating with faculty on AI integration researching AI technologies conducting training analyzing data and developing policies for ethical AI use.
• Installation of Complex Software for Desktop Management: This includes the implementation and use of SCCM in order to deploy specialty scientific engineering and academic software to PC endpoints. In addition to software packaging for MacOS endpoint for distribution via Mobile Device Management (MDMO)
• Diagnoses- repairs and maintains various computer devices network connections workstations hardware and software onsite or in the repair facility.
• Inventory Management: Assist with ITAM and ITSM in keepingtrack of IT assets and equipment inventory. Assist in asset procurement and disposal.
• Compliance: Ensure that IT Desktop systems and practices adhere to university policies and relevant regulations including data privacy laws. Troubleshooting: Diagnose and resolve hardware software and network issues. Escalate complex problems to senior administrators when necessary.
• Research and Evaluation: Stay updated on emerging technologies and trends in the IT field. Evaluate new software and hardware solutions for potential adoption.
• User Account Management: responsible for creating modifying and deleting user accounts and managing access permissions and security settings for university users.
• Configuration and troubleshooting of network printers and other peripherals.
• Provides resolution of calls to meet SLO (Service Level Objectives).
• Assists clients in account and user management system security and system backups.
• Resolve and update existing requests deployment of new equipment and computer replacement process.
• Evaluation of products and services creating matrix to perform side by side assessment of technology solutions.
• Scripting and Automation: Ability to write scripts (e.g. PowerShell Bash) to automate repetitive tasks server automation and streamline processes
• Security:Knowledge of cybersecurity best practices and the ability to implement security measures to protect endpoint devices and services offered.
• Project Management:Skills to plan and execute desktop-related projects such as OS upgrades or hardware refreshes and adoption of new technology
• Communication: Strong communication skills to interact with end-users colleagues and vendors effectively and providing summaries and proposals
• Problem-Solving: Analytical and problem-solving skills to diagnose and resolve technical issues.
• Image and Deployment: Develop and maintain standardized desktop computer images for various departments or user groups. Deploy and manage these images across the organization using deployment tools like SCCM or similar solutions.
• Customer Service:A customer-focused approach to providing support and assistance to end-users. Set an example by raising standards and practices.
• Managing Projects and tasks assigned efficiently with productively

Technology Consultative Services

• Good problem-solving skills work independently hands-on quick learner pro-active high data affinity detailed oriented critical thinking enjoy mentorship and educating others innovative mind high sense of ethics responsibilities and discipline.
• Maintains a current and thorough knowledge of advances and developments in computing technology software hardware and peripherals data communications equipment printers scanners etc. workstation security and maintenance issues and operating systems.
• Actively engaged with major campus rollouts and projects; make recommendations; help with planning and execution of upgrades and migrations.
• Provides technical consultative services and training to faculty and colleagues.
• Serve as the subject matter expert or primarypoint-of-contact to end-users for escalated incidents
• Analyze and resolve complex end-user escalation incidents or issues from other IT support staff Proactive in offering solutions to improve technical services; deploying software and systems improving the services of ITS within the community.
• Requires strong and complex desktop troubleshooting experience responsible for hands-on client-side remediation efforts
• Tests and evaluates and makes recommendation for hardware and software acquisitions
• Participates in Desktop Support Services and ITS meetings to provide higher level ITS support.
• Assists in planning and execution of major campus wide migrations projects and initiatives.
• Follow policies and procedures related to how problems are identified received documented distributed and corrected.
• Recommend effective strategies to improve performance and meet customer and supervisor(s) expectations. Prioritize all tasks projects job duties and responsibilities and work effectively under pressure in a fast-paced work environment.
• Act as liaison in transmitting disseminating and communicating information between the technical team networking team systems team and the management.
• Maintain accurate documentations for system installations configurations upgrades and disaster recovery activities.
• Proficiency in documentation project timeline and tracking work.

Special Conditions of Employment:

• Vacation opportunities may be limited in August through September and during semester finals.
• May be required to work variable hours and overtime including weekends

Background check: Successful completion of a pre-employment background check.

Degree Verification Requirement: Persons offered employment in this position will be required to provide official education transcripts for degree verification purposes.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree from an accredited higher education institution in Computer Science Information Systems or related field A minimum of 7-10 years experience supporting IT hardware software and services combined with a minimum of 3 years system administration experience.
• Experience with scientific software installations and deployments such as ArcGIS Matlab SPSS and Engineering software (Solidworks Mastercam etc.)
• Strong knowledge and experience with Windows Macintosh Linux iOS and Android operating systems complex software products and virtual servers.
• Exceptional communication skills (written and oral) with a diverse set of people
• Understands networking concepts at an intermediate level: IPv4 subnets routing. Understands fundamental enterprise IT concepts: Active Directory LDAP Firewall Enterprise System architecture Kerberos cloud computing.
• Familiar with Windows Mac or Linux command line operations.
• Basic knowledge of at least two scripting languages such as Windows Batch files Power Shell bash or Python.
• Has supported at a Help Desk Tier 2 level two or more major client server applications.
• Strong troubleshooting skills with hardware and software.
• Understanding of web-based mapping technologies and their software.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate technical information in non-technical settings.
• Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively with supervisors and colleagues in a team environment Strong enthusiasm to explore learn and maintain currency with the ever-changing scientific software for onsite or remote access.
• Exceptional team player with strong customer-centered philosophy.
• Excellent interpersonal communication and documentation skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• MCSE MCSM; Systems and/or Networking Certification.
• Experience with ArcGIS for Server SDE and a relational database such as Microsoft Access and/or SQL Server.
• Has knowledge and experience with FlexLM.
• Has worked or has a conceptual understanding of an HPC.
• Has working knowledge of - JSON-formatted data files Jupyter Notebook R Basic Python.
• Is familiar with fundamental licensing concepts including node-locked named user and concurrent licenses.
• Expertise in AI applications in education knowledge of machine learning and programming skills ability to explain technical concepts analytical and problem-solving skills and communication skills.
• AI- Automating administrative tasks improving data-driven decision-making supporting research and enabling innovative content creation.
• Has experience in a customer focused role.
• ITIL Foundation certificate. Five years of professional employment that demonstrates progressive responsibility in information systems with two years of experience in a higher education environment.

Performance Expectations- Knowledge Skills andAbilities:

• Successfully interact with faculty students and staff with excellent customer satisfaction and teamwork ratings.
• Provide high quality work deliverable within schedule and within budget.
• An expert-level understanding of scientific software on Macintosh Windows and Linux computers.
• Solid knowledge of active directory server and network infrastructure configuration.
• Ability to research IT related products services and solutions.
• Ability to configure and innovate processes and workflows for endpoint lifecycle In-depth knowledge of IT ticketing system.
• Knowledge of system/software development life cycles.
• Knowledge of application and database integration techniques.
• Knowledge of relational database design.
• In-depth knowledge of GIS application development.
• Familiarity with common and GIS-related information system architecture best practices implementation and maintenance.
• Skill in communicating with people ability to troubleshoot and work on several projects at one time.
• Provide technical support and expertise for various types of applications including Matlab ESRI SAS SPSS and engineering applications such as Solidworks and Multisim.
• Administer desktop user accounts and access to servers using Active Directory.
• Provide training documentation and 1-on-1 consultation sessions to faculty and others.
• Knowledge of science software applications Unix Windows iOS and Android platforms. Experience in data and text mining (R SPSSSAS) cognitive computing (Watson) data visualization (Tableau) Notebooks (R-Markdown Jupyter) code management (Github SVN) Web development (HTML5 CSS3) SQL and NoSQL platforms (Hadoop Cassandra) and Financial Tools (i.e. Bloomberg) HPC and remote system support (Guacamole).

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Closing date:March 11 2025