Systems Engineer I

About the role

Texas A&M AgriLife is comprised of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M Forest Service, and Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. As the nation’s largest and most comprehensive agriculture program, Texas A&M AgriLife brings together a college and four state agencies focused on agriculture and life sciences within The Texas A&M University System.

The Systems Engineer I supports the Center for Managed Technology Services (CMTS) by designing, deploying, and managing Linux and Windows research systems, virtual infrastructure, backups, and instrumentation environments. This position is part of a dedicated systems engineering vertical and contributes to secure, stable, and scalable infrastructure across institutional research environments.

Responsibilities

• Server & Endpoint Engineering (Linux/Windows) + Security Compliance: build, configure, secure, and maintain Linux and Windows servers/endpoints supporting research and enterprise workflows.
• Virtual Infrastructure & Cloud Networking: deploy, configure, and administer virtual infrastructure supporting research and enterprise environments.
• Storage, Backup, and Recovery Operations: implement and monitor backup and recovery solutions across supported platforms.
• Research Workstation, Instrumentation, and Field Support + Vendor Enablement: perform routine remote checks and schedule on-site inspections for research workstations and instrument-attached systems.
• Researcher Enablement, Intake, and Governance Alignment: participate in researcher consultations for compute, storage, security, and lifecycle planning.
• Documentation, Standards, and Service Design: create and maintain operational documentation, support procedures, and technical references.
• DevOps & Automation Support: support automation pipelines and CI/CD workflows shared across Software & Applications and Technology & Engineering verticals.
• Continuous Skill Development and Expanding Ownership: build capability across Linux/Windows administration, Azure/AWS/VMWare, on-prem infrastructure, monitoring/observability, and research instrumentation environments.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Two years of experience supporting Linux/Windows servers in a professional environment.
• Familiarity with virtualization platforms, storage concepts, and core networking principles.
• Ability to document system configurations, processes, and procedures.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills.
• Basic familiarity with CI/CD and automation tooling (e.g., Ansible, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps).
• Ability to multi-task and work cooperatively with others.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting research environments, HPC clusters, or mixed OS ecosystems.
• Exposure to cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, VMWare), infrastructure-as-code tools (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation), and automation frameworks.
• Familiarity with version control systems (e.g., Git) and scripting (e.g., Bash, Python).
• Experience with container orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker).
• Preferred certifications: CompTIA Linux+, Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA), Azure Administrator Associate, AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate, or VMware Certified Professional (VCP).

Benefits

• Health, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums.
• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
• Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife

Pay

Salary: Pay Grade 72. Compensation is commensurate based on the selected candidate’s qualifications.

Schedule

Position is based on-site in College Station, Texas. Full-time remote work is NOT available for this position. However, partially remote work may be available, pending employee eligibility requirements are met in accordance with AgriLife Alternate Work Location Procedures.