This is a "think outside of the box" position ...
Sweet! Is it also a "think outside the stale management paradigm" position?
Denver, CO - Senior Linux IT System Administrator
Posted by: "Joel Maslak" jmaslak@localmatters.com
http://www.localmatters.com/careers
Are you the IT person the other IT people go to for the hard problems? Are
you the IT person the general user population goes to because they know you
will get their problem solved and make them feel comfortable while doing
so? Do you enjoy working around other smart system administrators and
engineers on challenging problems and using cutting-edge technologies? If
so, Local Matters may be the place for you and we would love to talk to you.
Local Matters is a local search and social technology company producing some
of the largest traffic sites on the Internet. At Local Matters, the pace is
quick, and we demand a lot of each other and ourselves. It¹s not just about
work though; we like to play hard too. Whether it is joining a group for a
lunchtime run, playing in a foosball tournament, enjoying our Free Beer
Friday, or simply enjoying a LoDo happy hour with some teammates, we are all
about making sure Local Matters is a fun and challenging place to work.
The Senior System Administrator is a cornerstone of the Local Matters IT
team someone others can count on to bring projects to completion. We
expect a high level of competence and professionalism. The successful
candidate is highly skilled with a variety of technologies, with a focus on
Linux/Unix and open source technologies. This is a "think outside of the box" position, as you will often be asked to find a way of improving our
technological ecosystem while being sensitive to the budget. Extremely
strong technical abilities are required for this position, as is an
outstanding attitude. Good social skills are a requirement for this
position, and you will be expected to communicate well in spoken and written
communications.
TEAM DESCRIPTION / WORK CHARACTERISTICS
€ Member of a 5-person team, consisting of a supervisor and four staff
members, supporting both internal and external users.
€ This position would be a lead position, expected to be able to provide
technical guidance to other team members.
€ You will learn new technologies and see new ways of doing things we
typically don¹t just buy a product off-the-shelf and hire a contractor to
install it.
€ We are very selective in hiring you will work with some of the
smartest people in the industry.
€ We take our IT work very seriously, and expect the highest levels of
professionalism and competence. But we are also laid-back (once you¹ve
built good systems, you can enjoy watching them run!). Our dress code
reflects this functional clothing (no formal business clothing!) is
preferred.
€ Local Matters believes in open source, with most of our systems running
on Linux. We use technology such as Linux, Tomcat, Apache, Samba, Puppet,
PostgreSQL, Postfix, OpenLDAP, OpenBSD, pf, Nagios, Asterisk. However, we
have some commercial software installed and continue to support a legacy
base of PC systems running various flavors of Windows.
€ You would be assigned a laptop running the operating system of your
choice (MacOS X, Linux, or Windows).
€ 60% or more of our staff runs MacOS.
€ We are a 24x7 shop, even for internal systems, as we ³follow the sun².
All members of the team will share in on-call responsibilities, with each
member being first-call approximately one week per month, and second-call an
additional week each month. On-call duties are typically moderate. Local
Matters has programs in place to minimize the burden of carrying a pager and
encouraging a work-life balance. You will not be called when you are not
on-call.
€ Moderately frequent travel (an average of two day trips per month) is
required within the Denver metro area. Occasional travel is required
outside of Denver (one week every six months).
€ Our user base is diverse, consisting of creative, business, and
technical users, with a variety of questions (including both basic, such as,
³Can you help me move my phone to another desk?² and advanced, such as, ³I
need a temporary environment using Tomcat with an Apache proxy that connects
via AJP, utilizes LDAP authentication, and is scaled across four servers²)
€ Most technical problems/issues/projects for this position would involve
Linux or network systems. However, this position is expected to provide
coverage for workstation/desktop and internal business systems, particularly
after-hours when on-call or when staff availability requires.
€ Occasional interaction with customers and customer IT staff.
IDEAL CANDIDATE PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS
€ Express a positive, constructive, and flexible attitude when working
with coworkers, both inside and outside of IT.
€ Fluent with many technologies, and is thus able to use leverage
technologies when designing ³outside the box² solutions
€ Recognize that there is more than one way to complete a task, and be
open to alternatives based on business not only technical concerns.
€ Work with other staff members to ensure availability, reliability, and
scalability of UNIX systems.
€ Produces outstanding technical documentation.
€ Willing to perform any task that will help Local Matters compete in the
marketplace, even when such tasks are not limited to traditional senior
system administration tasks.
€ Is able to change perceptions of IT among other business units, when
such perceptions are negative.
€ When speaking to customers, demonstrate skill, competence,
professionalism, and other core-Local Matters values.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS
€ Complete major IT initiatives and projects involving coordination
within IT and other business units.
€ Responsible for the installation, configuration, and daily maintenance
of UNIX/Linux and Windows servers and networks.
€ Monitor and test system performance to provide performance statistics
and reports for tuning and capacity planning purposes.
€ Perform file system configuration and management. Define and perform
system backups and recovery procedures.
€ Generate and maintain different types of documentation, and procedures
as part of general systems support.
€ Knowledgeable in several scripting languages (shell, perl, tcl, etc.)
and able to create automated tools using these languages.
€ Coordinate, with other technical, support staff, and end-user personnel
for the resolution of technical problems and the analysis of future needs.
€ Provide Help Desk technical support when on-call and as-needed due to
staff availability.
€ Responsible for execution of daily tasks required for the maintenance
of adequate system security including passwords, systems rights, scripts,
etc.
€ Establish and implement policies, procedures, and technologies to
protect confidential information while allowing appropriate access.
€ Suggest methods to improve areas of operations, processes, efficiency,
and service to the various customers groups.
€ Coordinate with different IT teams in the schedule and implementation
of periodic maintenance of systems hardware and software. Including, but not
limited to, new OS releases and vendor supplied patches, hardware upgrades,
and system drivers.
€ Coordinate with outside vendors on activities related to his/her
specialty, and closely works with vendor personnel to assure timely and
accurate completion of specific tasks or projects.
€ Support software developers through the different development phases.
€ Conduct research on new technologies, hardware, and products in support
of procurement and system development efforts. Prepare and present
recommendations and justifications on major hardware and software purchase.
€ Provide guidance to junior members of the team.
€ Assist in the selection, training, and development of an effective and
efficient staff.
QUALIFICATIONS
€ Bachelor degree in Computer or Technical related science or equivalent
work experience.
€ 8 plus years of experience in UNIX/Linux and Windows systems analysis
and administration.
€ 10 plus years professional experience in an IT role
CRITICAL SKILLS/EXPERTISE
€ Experience working in a high availability, high visibility production
support environment.
€ Hands-on experience on hardware and software troubleshooting.
€ Experience with high-end storage devices SAN/NAS.
€ Skilled with TCP/IP and networking technology.
€ Knowledge of database principles and operations.
€ Understanding of High Availability, Business Continuity, and Disaster
Recovery concepts as they relate to Open Systems architecture.
€ Have excellent communication skills. In the area of spoken
communication, the proper use of grammar, clear articulation of ideas,
diction, and general business knowledge. Written communication to be clear
and concise.
€ Demonstrates a systematic, disciplined, and analytical approach to
problem solving.
€ Adheres to procedures, maintains records, and demonstrates commitment
to solving customer problems. Have a high level of attention to detail in
daily activities.
€ Ability to prioritize tasks to ensure responses are timely and other
responsibilities are accomplished.
€ Ability to multi-task several mission critical tasks and projects with
little supervision.
€ Professionalism that can gain the respect of the customers, peers, and
management.
How to Apply:
If interested, please include a cover letter with salary requirements and
resume to employment@localmatters.com. Also indicate the job title in the
subject of the email.
