Job Title: IT Engineer 2 (Client Platforms Engineer)
Location: Case Main Campus
Regular/Temporary: Regular
Full/Part Time: Full-Time
Job ID: 7988
Job Description

POSITION OBJECTIVE

Working under general supervision, the IT Engineer will design, implement, maintain, and troubleshoot client platform solutions for the enterprise by using architectures including virtualization, high availability, redundancy, load balancing, clustering, scaling, automation and related scripting, disaster recovery, shared storage, group policy and security administration, licensing, maintenance, training and support coordination, and reporting. Continually analyze and improve performance of client platforms which includes automating of infrastructure such as auto-scaling in order to maintain appropriate price-performance ratio. The IT Engineer designs, implements, maintains, and troubleshoots virtual and traditional servers, virtual desktops, installs and configures applications for delivery by application streaming as well as traditional software distribution, manages security, group policies, and troubleshoots and resolves end-user, endpoint, and lab computing issues related to the virtualization platform. The IT Engineer manages the university software center platform, including the creation and publishing of software installer packages, related permissions, general administration of the software center platform, as well as a variety of reporting for senior leadership. This position will implement and maintain automation tools for system deployment, maintenance and daily operation, utilize standard monitoring and reporting tools to monitor performance and availability metrics, and make proactive recommendations for capacity planning purposes.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

1. Manage the UTech VDI infrastructure including implementation, high availability, redundancy, disaster recovery, scaling, automation, licensing, maintenance, training and support coordination. Manage cloud-based server architecture to ensure high availability and business continuity. Auto-scale server processing for changing university end-user workloads while maintaining proper balance between cost and performance. Manage various VDI platform components including VMWare, Citrix, Active Directory, Group Policy, high-performance storage arrays, failover clustering, certificate services, file hosting services, cloud-based file storage, and other related technologies critical to VDI. Scale these services as appropriate to the broader CWRU community. Utilize standard monitoring and reporting tools to monitor performance and availability metrics and make proactive recommendations for capacity planning purposes. Coordinate large-scale VDI and virtualized application updates. [25%]
2. Administer cloud-based and on-premises virtual desktops and applications using an appropriate combination of Active Directory group policies, vendor group policy capabilities, scripting, and other tools. Implement VDI best practices. Automate virtual desktop and application access and network drive mappings based on various end user affiliations such as Active Directory group memberships, school, department, programs of study, majors and minors, course registrations, and other categorizations as needed. Implement security measures and monitor VDI platform for secure operation. Provide Tier II and III technical support as needed in order to troubleshoot VDI issues. [25%]
3. Administer the university software center platform. As part of the client platform team, manage the platform configuration, software catalogs, offerings, inventory pools, permissions, messaging, reporting, and other aspects of software center platform administration along with troubleshooting issues. Provide Tier II and III technical support as needed in order to troubleshoot Software Center issues. [20%]
4. Gather, compile and analyze requirements from stakeholders to create viable solutions to business requests focusing on the full lifecycle from architecture through end-user support. Follow a defined, agreed upon project methodology. Work with others such as developers and business systems analysts on detailed, complex solution designs. Work with others to ensure business requirements and systems needs are met, including technical and operational documentation. [15%]
5. Implement and administer reporting infrastructure to appropriately gather, analyze, and report various client platform usage patterns in line with business needs of the university. Create, automate, and deliver client platform reports and usage statistics to management. Create reports for proper billing to schools and departments as appropriate. [10%]

NONESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

1. Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned. (5%)

CONTACTS

Department: Daily contact with others within the department and weekly within the division in order to collaborate on projects.

University: Weekly contact with anyone within the university regarding project development or to provide Tier II/III support.

External: Monthly contact with a variety of vendors in order to acquire products and services.

Students: Occasional contact with students regarding project development or to assist in resolving student-related VDI issues.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

None.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education/Licensing and Experience: Associate's degree or relevant certification and 3 years of experience (prefer Bachelor's degree) or high school and 7 years of experience.

REQUIRED SKILLS

1. Strong desktop and application virtualization delivery experience. Experience with Citrix XenApp, XenDesktop, PVS and MCS. Working knowledge of Citrix delivery controllers and storefront servers, Citrix licensing services, and other related technologies.
2. Working knowledge of Citrix NetScaler. Ability to configure load balancing virtual servers, SSL certificates, and gateways. Able to troubleshoot and configure access policies for various devices. Ability to configure authentication and restricted groups for applications where necessary.
3. Demonstrate understanding of thin and zero clients to effectively enable seamless access to virtualized desktop and application resources. Able to assist customers with right sizing the endpoints to ensure the best balance of performance and costs.
4. Knowledge of cloud technologies, virtualization, high-availability architectures, clustering technologies, TCP/IP networking, storage area network technologies, network attached storage, and performance measurement technologies.
5. Knowledge of Amazon Web Services (AWS) including EC2, S3, EBS, EFS, Lambda, RDS, and other Amazon services is highly desired.
6. Strong systems administration experience required. Experience with Windows, Linux, macOS, and other operating systems. Experience with VMware vSphere 5.5 and above, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, EMC NetWorker/Avamar, Cisco networking hardware, Dell PowerEdge servers, enterprise storage arrays, and Windows PowerShell scripting is highly desired.
7. Working knowledge of scripting and programming languages related to automation of server administration, scaling, etc.
8. Working knowledge of LDAP, Active Directory, Databases, Apache, Perl, Python, PHP, bash shell scripting, DHCP, and DNS is highly desired.
9. Excellent English oral and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively and engage with a diverse user base having varied levels of technical proficiencies. Ability to interact with colleagues, supervisors and customers face to face.
10. Able to handle pressure and a heavy workload.
11. Ability to develop in-depth understanding of client needs in order to be more helpful. The ability to consider how different audiences are likely to respond and choose the best method of communicating the message to each audience.
12. Ability to actively listen; responsive to verbal and non-verbal clues.
13. Ability to respond to difficult, stressful, or sensitive interpersonal situations in ways that reduce or minimize potential conflict and maintain good working relationships among internal and external customers. The ability to recognize awkward or potentially embarrassing situations that sometimes arise. Always aware of tone and careful choice of words, while at the same time ensuring that the intended message is clear, polite and readily understood.
14. Ability to recognize the importance of certain tasks and responsibilities and the ability to prioritize own and subordinates’ work to ensure that deadlines are met.
15. Ability to be flexible in order to meet the constantly-changing scope and needs of the department, division and customers being served. Ability to work in a fast-paced environment while managing multiple projects. Ability to optimize the use of time and resources to achieve the desired results; effectively plans and organizes work to minimize crises; prioritizes appropriately.
16. Ability to develop networks and use them to strengthen internal and external support. Ability to identify opportunities and take action to build strategic relationships between UTech and other University areas, teams, departments, etc., to help achieve business goals. Ability to work effectively at all levels within an organization.
17. Ability to look at situations from multiple perspectives, break problems into component parts and look for underlying causes, and evaluate the consequences of different courses of action.
18. Ability to identify various classes of problems along with the creation of workable solutions. Requires the identification and analysis of problems, evaluation of alternatives, provision of solutions, and the ability to see how these solutions fit into a larger framework.
19. Seeks opportunities to partner and transfer knowledge (actively participates in meetings, committees, multi-stakeholder groups, etc.)
20. Ability to work as part of a team and under pressure of tight deadlines.
21. Ability to meet consistent attendance.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The working conditions are typical of an office environment and computer rooms. Some heavy lifting of about 45 pounds may be required and there is bending and kneeling involved to work under a computer room floor. The position will not need access to residence hall facilities but the position will have frequent access to the computer rooms. The employee may be required are to carry a cell phone, during and after their normal work hours, including weekends to attend to after-hours emergencies. Travel between various locations on campus may be required. The position requires typing on a computer keyboard and using a computer mouse and a printer.

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In employment, as in education, Case Western Reserve University is committed to Equal Opportunity and Diversity. Women, veterans, members of underrepresented minority groups, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

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Case Western Reserve University provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity at 216-368-8877 to request a reasonable accommodation. Determinations as to granting reasonable accommodations for any applicant will be made on a case-by-case basis.

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