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IT System Administration - Senior Specialist

Washington State Department of Ecology
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Per Governor Inslee’s Proclamation 21-14.2 (Download PDF reader), Washington State employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. As a condition of employment, the successful candidate will be required to provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination as part of the hiring process, prior to their start date. Requests for medical and religious exemptions will be considered. If you have questions, please contact Careers@ecy.wa.gov with “COVID-19 vaccination” in the subject line.  

Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen

The Information Technology Services Office (ITSO) within the Department of Ecology is looking to fill an IT System Administration – Senior Specialist position. This position is located in our Headquarters Office in Lacey, WA.

In this role, you will be pivotal in determining the future of Ecology’s enterprise virtualization, storage, and backup environment. Join us as we start our journey to move from a primarily on premise infrastructure to a full hybrid cloud deployment in the next few years.

As the most senior technical engineer for virtualization, storage, and backup solutions, you will provide mentorship and leadership to multiple journey staff members on the team. You will support the virtualized server infrastructure, storage, and backup solutions that support hundreds of applications and over 1,700 employees and 10 remote locations. Additionally, you will help devise hybrid cloud solutions and migrate resources as may be appropriate. You will be an important lead in improving our backup and recovery, and disaster recovery posture. 

IT infrastructure and operations grows in complexity every year as new on premise and cloud solutions enter the market and security becomes an ever more important part of decision making and solution implementation. Help us improve and optimize our processes and procedures and grow your skills and be part of a collaborative IT team that focuses on evidence driven decision making to ensure a reliable agency infrastructure as we also look towards the future to design and implement hybrid cloud and remote work infrastructure.

Agency Mission: Ecology’s mission is to protect, preserve and enhance Washington's environment, and promote the wise management of our air, land and water. The agency’s goals are to prevent pollution, clean up pollution and support sustainable communities and natural resources. 

Program Mission: The Information Technology Services Office (ITSO) is the central provider of strategic and tactical support for the use of Information Technology (IT) within Ecology. The mission of ITSO is to create and support useful technology services that adapt for the future and support Ecology’s mission. 

During Healthy Washington Roadmap to Recovery, employees are working a combination of in-office and/or telework based on position and business need. Presently, the majority of the work for this position can be done off site. Occasionally, installation or maintenance work may be needed on site or at remote locations. Ecology does require a minimum of 10% of hours be worked in the office. Ecology is following current state guidance regarding mask requirements, health screening questions before entry, and social distancing. 
 
Application Timeline: This position will remain open until filled, with an initial screening date of August 26, 2022. In order to be considered for initial screening, please submit an application on or before of August 25, 2022. The agency reserves the right to make an appointment any time after the initial screening date.

About the Department of Ecology
Protecting Washington State's environment for current and future generations is what we do every day at Ecology. We are a culture that is invested in making a difference. Join a team that is highly effective and collaborative, with leadership that embraces the value of people.

Ecology cares deeply about employee wellness; we go beyond traditional benefits, proudly offering:

  • A healthy life/work balance by offering flexible schedules and telework options for most positions.
  • An Infants at Work Program that is based on the long-term health values of infant-parent bonding and breastfeeding newborns.
  • Continuous growth and development opportunities. 
  • A wellness program that offers education, fitness classes, and an agency-wide fondness for outdoor meetings.
  • Opportunities to serve your community and make an impact through meaningful work.

Our commitment to DEIR
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect (DEIR) are core values central to Ecology’s work. We strive to be a workplace where we are esteemed for sharing our authentic identities, while advancing our individual professional goals and collaborating to protect, preserve, and enhance the environment for current and future generations.
 
Diversity: We celebrate and appreciate diversity; our unique perspectives and abilities enrich us all and lead to innovative approaches and solutions.
 
Equity: We champion equity, recognizing that each of us need different things to thrive.
 
Inclusion: We intentionally create and hold space so that we all have meaningful opportunities to participate and contribute to Ecology’s work.
 
Respect: We treat each other with respect and dignity, acknowledging the inherent worth of our diverse perspectives and lived experiences, even in times of uncertainty and disagreement.
 
We believe that DEIR is both a goal and an action. We are on a journey, honoring our shared humanity and taking steps to demonstrate our commitment to a vision where each of us is heard, seen, and valued. 

 
Duties


What you will do:  
 
  • Serve as the senior enterprise administrator and highest level of expertise for the agency compute (VMWare ESXI), and storage platforms (Compellent, Isilon). Provide mentoring and support for journey technical staff. Analyze industry trends and best practices and make recommendations for improvements and new technologies. Conduct capacity planning to ensure sufficient compute and resources. Monitor systems for anomalies and resolve technical issues that cannot be resolved by journey staff. In collaboration with IT Security Services, establish and ensure a secure IT environment for agency compute and storage platforms. 
  • The Ecology IT Services Office has recently started an initiative to migrate from our current on premise infrastructure to a full hybrid cloud implementation. You will serve as a critical member of the design, implementation, and support team for this exciting endeavor. 
  • Administer backup and recovery systems for the agency. Using Rubric and other solutions, ensure agency servers and data are appropriately backed up. Work with clients to recover data and systems and routinely assess backup and recovery system performance and capacity.
  • Administer compute, VMWare, and storage solutions for the agency. Monitor operational status and utilization. Troubleshoot performance issues. Develop and implement offsite and archive data administration policies and procedures.


Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

Option 1: Seven (7) years of experience, within the last 12 years, in one or more of the following IT disciplines: IT consultation, systems development, systems analysis, IT project management, server management, virtualization, server storage, system administration, or converged compute, networking and storage. 

Option 2: An Associate’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology (IT), Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), or closely related field and five (5) years of experience as listed above.
 
Option 3: A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology (IT), Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), or closely related field and three (3) years of experience as listed above. 
 
*Completion of MCSE, Server+, or related certifications will qualify for one (1) year of required experience above.
 
 *Additional combinations of education or accredited vocational training, as listed above, can substitute year for year for experience.
 

 All experience and education combinations that meet the requirements for this position:
 

Special Requirements / Conditions of Employment:
Must possess a valid driver's license. 
 
Desired Qualifications:
 We highly encourage you to apply even if you do not have some (or all) of the desired experience below.
  • Four years of experience working at an enterprise level as a backup administrator.
  • Four years of experience working at an enterprise level as a storage administrator.
  • Four years of experience working at an enterprise level as a server administrator (physical and virtual). Experience with VMware preferred but MS HyperV is acceptable.
  • Two years of experience working at an enterprise level as an Active Directory Administrator.

Note: Having some (or all) of this desired experience may make your application more competitive in a highly competitive applicant pool.
Supplemental Information

Ecology seeks diverse applicants: We view diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect through a broad lens including race, ethnicity, class, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, military background, language, education, life experience, physical disability, neurodiversity, and intersectional identities. Qualified candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.


Need an Accommodation in the application and/or screening process or this job announcement in an alternative format?

  • Please call: (360) 407-6186 or email: careers@ecy.wa.gov and we will be happy to assist.
  • If you are deaf or hard of hearing you can reach the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.
  • If you need assistance applying for this job, please e-mail careers@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not send an email to this address to follow-up on the status of your application. You can view the latest status of your application on your profile's main page.
  • If you are reading this announcement in print format, please enter the following URL to your search engine to apply: https://ecology.wa.gov/About-us/Get-to-know-us/Jobs-at-Ecology.  

Application Instructions:

It's in the applicant's best interest to submit all of the documents listed below. Applications without these documents may be declined.

  • A cover letter describing why you are interested in this position.
  • A resume outlining your experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to the minimum qualifications of this position.
  • Three professional references.
  • A professional writing sample that you created. I.E. Process, Proposal or Recommendation, or an original published paper or article.

Please do NOT include your salary history. Wage/salary depends on qualifications or rules of promotion, if applicable. 
 
For Your Privacy:
When attaching documents to your application (such as Resume, Cover Letter, Transcripts, DD-214, etc.):

  • Please be sure to remove private information such as your social security number, date of birth, etc. 
  • Do not attach documents that are password-protected, as these documents may not be reviewed and may cause errors within your application when downloaded. 

Additional Application Instructions for Current Ecology Employees: 
 
Please make sure to answer the agency-wide questions regarding permanent status as a classified employee within the Washington General Service or Washington Management Service. Do not forget to select Department of Ecology as a response to question 2, and type your personnel ID number for question 3. If you are not sure of your status or do not know your personnel ID number, please contact Human Resources.

Application Attestation: 

The act of submitting application materials electronically is considered affirmation that the information is complete and truthful. The state may verify this information and any untruthful or misleading answers are cause for rejection of your application or dismissal if employed. 

Other Information:
If you have specific questions about the position, please email David Hartline at: David.Hartline@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not contact David to inquire about the status of your application.
 
To request the full position description: email careers@ecy.wa.gov

Why work for Ecology?

As an agency, our mission is to protect, preserve and enhance Washington's environment for current and future generations. We invest in our employees to create and sustain a working environment that encourages creative leadership, effective resource management, teamwork, professionalism, and accountability.

Joining Ecology means becoming a part of a team committed to protecting and restoring Washington State's environment. A career in public service allows you to help solve some of the most challenging problems facing our state, while keeping your health and financial security a priority. We combine one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation with a strong commitment to life/work balance.

Ecology employees may be eligible for the following:

Student debt: how working for Ecology can help
The Department of Ecology is a qualifying employer for the Public Service Forgiveness Program (PSLF). See https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service for more details.
To learn more about The Department of Ecology, please visit our website at www.ecology.wa.gov and follow, like or visit us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or our blog.

Collective Bargaining: This is a position covered by a bargaining unit for which the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) is the exclusive representative.  

Equal Opportunity Employer: The Washington State Department of Ecology is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, veterans, military spouses or people with military status, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply. Persons needing accommodation in the application/testing process or this job announcement in an alternative format may call (360) 407-6186. Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.

Note: This recruitment may be used to fill other positions of the same job classification across the agency. Once all the position(s) from the recruitment announcement are filled, the recruitment may only be used to fill additional open positions for the next sixty (60) days.