LINUX AUTOMATION SYSTEMS
ADMINISTRATOR
HEW LEVEL 7
Position Number:
G00949
Organisational Unit:
ITS
Position Reports to:
Senior Systems Administrator
Overall Purpose:
The overall purpose of the Linux Automation Systems Administrator is to
ensure the efficient and effective operation of the Victoria University
Linux/Unix server environment managed by Information Technology
Services. This includes the design, installation, automation, management
and configuration of complex integrated Linux/Unix services and associated
systems. The incumbent will be responsible for operating systems, software
and underlying platforms and operate within the standards and
requirements of the University community.
The incumbent will work within the Infrastructure Services Team and will be
responsible for implementing and supporting Linux/Unix technologies to
meet the requirements of the University. The incumbent will be required to
proactively monitor systems and services for which they are responsible.
Future focus of the role will be the adoption of automation technologies and
DevOps methodologies within the team.
Organisational
Context and
Relationships
Within the University the position:
 Works closely with members of the ITS team to maintain and
operate the University Linux/Unix servers and automation platforms.
 Works closely with the University community as this specialist role
provisions application servers and infrastructure required to run.
 Works closely with the Information Security team ensuring security
risks are managed appropriately.
 Work with various levels of management gathering future needs
and requirements for future developments and implementations.
Outside the University the position liaises with colleagues at other
universities and tertiary institutions on best practice use of learning
technologies. The position also interacts with architects, consultants and
ICT vendors.
Location/Campus:
The position is currently located at the Footscray Park Campus of the
University. The position and incumbent may be relocated to any other
existing or future University work locations where it conducts its operations.
People and Culture Use only
Date Updated
26/04/17
Date Classified
24/03/10
Key Capabilities
Victoria University is committed to building core capability across VU through investment in our staff,
our systems and our processes. We will develop the capabilities of our staff to:
Deliver - Excellence Results-driven, accountability, problem solving focus.
Engage - Customer service mind-set internally, externally and particularly for students.
Collaborate and Partner - Build successful relationships, communicate effectively, influence and
negotiate.
Innovate - Entrepreneurship, growth, continuous improvement, digital transformation.
Lead - Inspire direction, lead change, manage and develop people.
Our Organisation
Victoria University (VU) is a dual sector (higher education and TAFE) tertiary institution based in
Melbourne, Australia. VU has academic colleges, each covering a broad discipline of study, and
several research institutes and research centres. The University has campuses in Melbourne's CBD
and western region, and a campus in Sydney. It also offers courses at partner institutions throughout
Asia. Almost 43,000 students, including around 14,000 international students, study VU courses
worldwide. In 2016, VU celebrated its 25th anniversary as a university, which also marked its 100 years
as an educational institution.
Organisational Unit
The Victoria University information technology Infrastructure Services team provides capability to
support teaching, learning, research and administration. The team is responsible for day to day
management of mission critical infrastructure applications, virtualized environments, collaborative
solutions, database and system administration of mission and business critical systems, learning and
research services, centralised computing facilities (such as data centres and cloud services) and
desktop SOE management.
MAJOR TASKS & ACCOUNTABILITIES
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Maintain and operate the University Linux/Unix servers and automation tools (ie. CFEgine, Puppet)
to ensure continued secure service to the University community.
Proactively monitor, automate, tune and maintain servers to provide specified service and security
levels to ensure continuous service to users.
Provide specialist Linux/Unix skills to quickly and efficiently resolve any immediate faults and
document repairs and enhancements to ensure minimum downtime for the University community.
Deploy new servers selecting specific system configuration in order to comply with the specified
level of service to users and adhere to the ITS policies and guidelines.
Maintain and operate the University Student Management System Linux/Unix servers and related
infrastructure to ensure continued secure service to the University community.
Produce high level (technology review, business case, tender etc.) and technical documentation
(e.g. project plans, analyses, as-built documentation etc.) to a specific target audience based on
the ITS standards.
Review and deploy Linux/Unix system releases and vendor-supplied patches according to best
practices.
Manage projects to ensure effective utilisation of technology to meet the requirements of the
University.
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MAJOR TASKS & ACCOUNTABILITIES
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Provide forward thinking around automation, leadership and direction to ITS project teams
ensuring Enterprise Systems solutions have a DevOps and security focus that adheres to existing
University policy.
Document and maintain operation procedures pertinent to the operation and administration of
Linux/Unix servers.
Plan and manage maintenance agreements, keeping record of hardware or system software
failures, cooperate with vendors and service providers to ensure effective problem resolution.
Partake in multidisciplinary project teams comprised of internal and external groups.
Observe ITS policies and implement their recommendations.
Maintaining up-to-date knowledge of new and emerging server technologies and managing the
integration and fit with existing systems.
Ensure that the work for which they and their staff are responsible is carried out in a manner which
safeguards the OHS of staff, students, visitors and contractors.
TYPICAL/MAJOR CHALLENGES
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Use judgment in setting priorities, guided by existing policy parameters and professional
standards, for day-to-day tasks and activities outside scheduled duties.
As this position is involved in the application of theory and practice from a rapidly developing
discipline it is expected the incumbent will actively update their professional skills regularly,
keeping abreast of the latest industry trends.
ITS operates numerous services and servers such as (mail, web, proxies, dns, ntp, dhcp etc) as
well as supporting corporate applications. The servers operate in LAN/WAN and SAN
environments and may implement various virtualization or cloud solutions, as determined by the
current technology and IT trends.
Demands from an increasing reliance on information technology will require, at times, both creative
and innovative solutions to immediate problems within very tight time constraints. Problems may
arise from:
o Low adoption rate of DevOps and automation.
o Rapid changes to organisational requirements.
o Limited technological knowledge and capabilities within the department.
o Innovation and low level of adoption of technology.
LEVEL OF SUPERVISION
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Operates under broad direction from the Senior Systems Administrator and the Infrastructure
Services Manager and may be required to manage other administrative, technical and/or
professional staff.
PROFESSIONAL AND ORGANISATIONAL KNOWLEDGE
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Recognised subject matter expert in Linux/Unix server automation and cloud technologies.
Requires in depth knowledge in Virtualization and Cloud Technologies, including Public, Private
and Hybrid Cloud.
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Requires in depth knowledge of container services such as Docker.
Requires in depth knowledge of configuration management / orchestration automation tools such
as CF Engine or Puppet.
Requires a depth of expertise developed through extensive relevant experience and application.
Familiar with modern information security requirements.
KEY SELECTION CRITERIA
Essential
1.
Knowledge or Training equivalent to: a degree with at least 4 years subsequent relevant
experience; or extensive experience and management expertise; or an equivalent combination of
relevant experience and/or education/training.
2.
Demonstrable knowledge and practical skills in Linux/Unix operational environment following
DevOps methodologies.
3.
Demonstrable skills in programming and scripting using shell, perl, php and/or python.
4.
Well-developed skills in installing, configuring and securing Linux/Unix system software, supporting
packages and applications.
5.
Competency to lead technical or participate in project teams.
6.
Well-developed communication, interpersonal, articulate, influential and cooperative skills.
7.
Writing and authoring skills in producing high level as well as technical documentation.
8.
Previous Linux/Unix system administration experience utilising both physical and virtual
infrastructure.
9.
Previous experience in installing and configuring of Linux/Unix applications, management
automation tools (cfengine, puppet or equivalent) and monitoring tools, including data storage
systems (NAS, SAN & Cloud Storage), disk organizations (RAID) and data transfer solutions
(buses, iSCSI, FCIP, FC, NDMP, NFS, SFTP).
10. Demonstrated capacity to understand and comply with employer policy and practices in all aspects
of work and conduct, including OH&S and Anti-Discrimination responsibilities and complete/attend
relevant training.
Desirable
1.
Competency in installation, configuration and use of data backup and recovery applications.
2.
Understanding or experience in designing and building highly available / clustered services.
3.
Competency and working knowledge of network protocols of modern networks (data link, network,
transport and higher OSI layers).
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ORGANISATIONAL CHART
** Denotes the position
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