[clue-jobs] Sr. Sysadmin Position in Downtown Denver

[nate v.2]

See: http://www.localmatters.com/Sr._System_Administrator

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. It’s 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 don’t 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 you’ve 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 “follow the
sun”. 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, “Can you help me move my phone to another desk?” and
advanced, such as, “I need a temporary environment using Tomcat with
an Apache proxy that connects via AJP, utilizes LDAP authentication,
and is scaled across four servers”)
    * 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 “outside the box” 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's 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 at localmatters.comemployment@localmatters.com.
Also indicate the job title in the subject of the email.

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