Systems Administrator

Position Title Systems Administrator

Overview

St. John Fisher University is an independent, liberal arts institution that provides a transformative education to approximately 3,800 undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students each year. Across its five Schools, Fisher offers nearly 40 majors in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, business, education, and nursing; 11 pre-professional programs; and master’s and doctoral programs in business, nursing, education, pharmacy, and public health. The University’s residential campus boasts a robust living and learning community and a successful intercollegiate athletics program. Fisher is a community where all are welcome, regardless of religious or cultural background.The University continues to honor its founders, the Congregation of St. Basil, by embracing their motto, “Teach Me Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge.” We are located in Pittsford, N.Y., seven miles outside of the city of Rochester. The campus is situated on 164 park-like acres—a beautiful setting for a warm, friendly campus community.

Job Responsibilities

The Systems Administrator is responsible for the implementation, administration, security, support, and lifecycle management of core enterprise platforms supporting the academic, administrative, and institutional needs of SJF. This role manages a hybrid infrastructure including Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, VMware/vSphere on VxRail, enterprise SAN/NAS storage, Windows servers, Entra/Active Directory, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Collaborating across the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and campus departments, this position ensures reliable, secure, and well-documented infrastructure services while contributing to continuous improvement, automation, disaster recovery, and service resilience.

Provisioning and Administration

Provision, configure, maintain, and decommission physical/virtual servers, cloud services, storage resources, and directories in accordance with institutional standards. Administer and support the core hybrid OS and virtualization stack, specifically Windows Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and VMware running on VxRail infrastructure. Develop, maintain, and improve system build standards, configuration baselines, implementation procedures, and technical documentation. Research, recommend, and implement AI tools, automation and service improvements that increase operational efficiency, deployment consistency, and reporting.

Operations and Support

Monitor infrastructure health, performance, integrity, and availability; systematically review logs, alerts, dashboards, and scheduled job results to resolve operational issues. Administer identity and access services, including user lifecycle provisioning/deprovisioning, group management, authentication integrations, certificate management, privileged access, and directory synchronization. Administer collaboration platforms (SharePoint Online, OneDrive, Teams, Google Drive/Workspace), emphasizing M365 data governance, permissions, and lifecycle management. Provide Tier II/III advanced troubleshooting and operational support for hardware, software, cloud services, and system integrations, coordinating restoration activities with affected stakeholders. Support and test backup, recovery, business continuity, and disaster recovery processes for servers, enterprise applications, cloud services, and institutional data repositories.

Security, Maintenance, and Optimization

Apply operating system, firmware, and application patches and upgrades; maintain administrative tools and utilities through established change management processes. Perform regular security monitoring, vulnerability mitigation, system hardening, audit support, and log reviews for suspicious activity. Conduct performance analysis, capacity planning, trend review, and resource optimization across compute, storage, virtualization, and cloud platforms.

Other Responsibilities

Participate in assigned projects and perform other duties as assigned to support the goals of OIT and University. Participate in a rotating on-call schedule for server support. Perform occasional evening, weekend, and after-hours maintenance work to support planned upgrades, patching, migrations, and emergency incident responses.

Education / Experience

Required:

• Associate’s degree
• Minimum of three years of full-time, directly related systems administration experience in enterprise or higher education environments Preferred:
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in computer science, information technology, or a related field
• Industry certifications (e.g., Microsoft, Red Hat, VMware, Azure, or security credentials).

Competencies / Skills

Systems administration experience in enterprise or higher education environments. Proven expertise administering Windows and Linux servers, enterprise virtualization, DNS, DHCP, email and storage systems. Strong technical skills in cloud services (Azure, M365, Google Workspace) and identity/access management tools (Entra/Active Directory). Experience supporting enterprise collaboration and productivity services, including Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and Google Workspace services. Proficiency with PowerShell or other scripting tools to automate repetitive administration tasks, reporting, and operational consistency. Solid understanding of cybersecurity fundamentals (patching, logging, least privilege), change management process, and data center operations. Strong analytical, documentation, and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Ability to remain in a stationary position for extended periods while using computer workstations and other office technology. Ability to move about campus, office, and data center environments to support institutional systems and services. Ability to bend, stoop, reach, and work in confined equipment spaces, at floor or rack level. Ability to lift, carry, push, or pull equipment and shipments weighing up to 50 pounds on an occasional basis. Ability to think clearly, maintain professional composure, and exercise sound technical judgment amid changing priorities, tight deadlines, and critical operational incidents. Strong attention to detail, commitment to confidentiality, and the capability to manage multiple complex tasks while documenting work thoroughly.

Supervision of Employees

None

Work Environment

Work is performed in a professional office and technical environment, involving regular use of computer workstations and occasional work in server rooms/data center spaces. The position involves frequent collaboration and communication with faculty, staff, students, and external vendors. Participation in a rotating on-call schedule and occasional evening, weekend, or after-hours work for planned maintenance windows or emergency service restoration is required.

Equipment to be Used

Windows-based laptop/workstation Smartphone Standard MS Office Suite productivity and communication tools Service management, ticketing, monitoring, backup, security, documentation, and reporting tools used by OIT

Job Type

Full-time

Work Hours

40 hours per week, Monday – Friday, 8:00 – 5:00, as well as participate in a rotating on-call schedule for server support

Special Conditions for Eligibility

Minimum Number of References Requested 1

EEO Statement

It is the policy of St. John Fisher University to provide Equal Employment Opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment in accordance with the applicable federal, state, and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in each locality in which the University has employees.The University does not discriminate against applicants or employees in hiring, promotion, termination or the terms and conditions of employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sex, perceived sex, gender identity, gender expression, the status of being transgender, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, marital status, military status, veteran status, predisposing genetic, characteristics or genetic information, arrest or conviction record, status as a victim of domestic violence, or any other characteristic protected by law.The Title IX Coordinator is the designated University official with primary responsibility for coordinating compliance with Title IX and related federal and state laws.