View Vacancy -- Infrastructure Support Analyst LMS 2735

Overview:

The MRC’s Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) is a scientific institute with a unique computing environment using Windows, Linux and Macs. Supporting world class scientific research, the post-holder will be part of a IT team that delivers ICT services that enable pioneering science to take place.

• IT infrastructure focussed (3rd line) duties maintaining and delivering solutions and support to the core IT infrastructure consisting of; HPC, network, storage and server infrastructure
• Be part of a team that delivers ICT services that support world class scientific research and enables ground-breaking science to take place
• Support and work within a close-knit team of IT colleagues in the LMS’s Computing Facility based at the LMS at Hammersmith Hospital, the role collaborates with Imperial College London (ICL) and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; stakeholders in the work that takes place at the LMS
• Work within the Cyber Essentials, ITIL and PRINCE2 principles particularly to support change management; planning and implementing changes to the IT infrastructure, leading and assisting projects and providing support to the team
• Assist and support the Head of IT in the delivery and improvements of all IT Services
• Support client devices; desktops, laptops tablets and smartphones
• Adhere to legislative and LMS IT policies
• To use a professional helpdesk solution for all operational work, task prioritisation, handling support requests and incidents

Main Duties:

Supporting and working in a small multiskilled team dealing with range of tasks supporting day-to-day IT activities, and working on projects associated with IT infrastructure including:

• Demonstrate in-depth expertise in 3rd line IT support across multiple hardware and operating system stacks and providing ownership in specialist areas when necessary and resolve Helpdesk tickets within agreed SLAs
• Contribute to the IT strategy, plans, policies, processes and infrastructure development
• Identify technical solutions for continuous improvement and to assist in the review of proposed IT infrastructure changes and their implementation
• Support IT team members by providing support at 2nd line when required and encourage inter-team working with stakeholders and colleagues
• Resolve incidents and requests reported to the IT Support Desk and deal with escalations
• Support and enhance the server, desktop and network estate to ensure maximum practical availability and efficiency
• Focus on customer satisfaction providing professional, efficient and effective service
• Balance the needs of clinical and research staff and their equipment and the associated computational infrastructure
• Complete project tasks to agreed timescales, quality and risk
• Detail IT processes and infrastructure within agreed timescales
• Continue personal development and training across all IT infrastructure and services and keeping abreast of latest developments, particularly the areas of in-depth expertise
• Coach and mentor team members through sharing of knowledge and experience
• Be a point of reference and lead in specialist areas and assist in the day-to-day activities of the IT Support Analyst’s
• Support the Head of IT as Information Security Officer covering ICT security and MRC security policy
• Have current knowledge of IT industry developments & standards including IT security
• Undertake any duties and tasks as required and agreed with the Head of IT

Team activities:

• Support inter-team working with stakeholders and colleagues
• Desire to understand and ability to balance the needs of clinical and research staff and their equipment and the associated computational infrastructure
• Support sharing of knowledge and experience
• Be up to date on current knowledge of IT industry developments & standards
• Contribute to team debate through the Head of IT, supporting the review of proposed IT infrastructure changes and their implementation
• Reviewing and implementing MRC IT security policies
• Any duties and tasks as required and agreed with the Head of IT

Key Responsibilities:

• 3rd line IT support and IT infrastructure management across the entire IT estate, including some 2nd line duties when required
• Managing, creating, triaging and responding to IT requests to agreed SAL timelines via the IT ticketing system, IT helpdesk email and occasionally over the phone
• Contributing to projects to agreed timescales, quality and risk with the support of the Head of IT
• Windows, Mac, and Linux desktops and laptop management
• Windows and Linux infrastructure server deployment and in-depth management
• HPC management and maintenance (including queuing systems such as SLURM)
• File sharing management using CIFS, SAMBA and NFS
• VMWare Virtualisation technologies management and maintenance
• Network infrastructure management and maintenance including; CISCO network administration, security and monitoring of the LAN and WAN connectivity including configuration, updating and monitoring of switches, routers and wireless access points
• Large scale data storage (NetApp, ISILON, Dell) solution management including NAS, direct-attached and backup storage platforms
• Managing and maintaining security aspects of infrastructure including administration and monitoring of firewall, remote access solutions, anti-virus and various encryption methods
• Installing new operating systems, updates and releases, specifically for Linux, Windows and Mac
• Follow me printing infrastructure management
• Racking, fibre optic and Cat5/6A cable patching
• HPC cluster configuration and administration within a Linux based environment
• Linux server and desktop operating system management and maintenance
• Contribution to the response to cyber security incidents, detection, mitigation and recovery
• Ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability of all data used by applications across information systems
• Provide hardware/software solution quotations where required using trusted suppliers
• Make sure that the processes needed for applications to function are running smoothly
• Providing instructions and training to staff when necessary
• Analysing error trends aimed at reducing/minimising down time
• Backup solution management and maintenance
• Preparing and maintaining documentation of all systems and databases and applications linked to them

Working Relationships:

• The role reports directly to the Head of IT and involves carrying out all assigned tasks and projects as allocated by the Head of IT
• They will work as part of the LMS IT Support team and, on occasion, liaise with Imperial College IT personnel regarding specific shared resources and cyber matters
• The post-holder will collaborate with LMS research and administrative staff to provide IT support and contribute to project-related activities
• Task allocation across the IT team will be managed by the Head of IT, who will assess priorities and reassign responsibilities as needed 

Education / Qualifications / Training required (will be assessed from application form):

Essential:

• Degree level qualification in Computing/related field or equivalent professional experience
• ITIL v4 Foundation or equivalent professional experience
• Formal Linux training/Member of Linux Professional Inst. or equivalent professional experience
• Formal Windows training/Member of Windows Professional Inst. of equivalent professional experience

Desirable:

• Formal training in networking (CCNA)
• Formal training in storage technologies (NetApp, EMC) or equivalent professional experience
• PRINCE2 Practitioner or equivalent project management experience

Knowledge and experience (will be assessed from application form and at interview):

 Essential:

• Expertise and experience of working in and supporting an IT Support Helpdesk at a 3rd line and infrastructure level
• Expertise of file sharing and authentication within a mixed Linux & Windows environment e.g. PAM, NIS, NFS, SAMBA, LDAP
• In-depth understanding and experience of managing Virtualised infrastructure i.e VMWare
• Advanced management and architecting a range of storage technologies and the advanced management of network infrastructure, firewalls and backup technologies
• Expert in handling Linux, Windows and Mac server and desktop OS including shell scripting in a mixed computing environment
• Device management software experience and expertise, specifically JAMF and ManageEngine
• Experience in managing and maintaining HPC clusters
• Experience with backup technologies
• Direct and hands-on experience of server racking, fibre optic and Cat5/6 cabling and patching
• Knowledge and support of IT security matters
• Excellent written communication skills with a good command of the English Language

Desirable:

• Experience in resolving customer complaints and conflict resolution
• Knowledge of Cyber Essentials standard
• Supporting IT projects using project management techniques             
• Experience of optimisation of applications such as R, Matlab, Nagios, SLURM, Open Stack, Cuda, Sigmaplot, Exceed, Graphpad, Cognos, Shiny Apps, Docker, experience of shell scripting

Personal skills / Behaviours / Qualities (will be assessed at interview):

Essential:

• Excellent verbal communication skills in English
• Plans, multi-tasks & prioritises own time effectively and efficiently to achieve results and to switch between tasks quickly staying in control of problematic situations 
• Able to organise and prioritise resources to ensure short- and long-term targets are met        
• Be highly motivated, flexible and innovative in their approach to work   
• Capable of working under pressure
• Ensures appropriate engagement of colleagues with relevant stakeholders and issues   
• Able to self-motivate when working independently, as well as part of a team
• Able to develop and encourage cross-boundary working relationships           
• Values diversity and demonstrates respect for other team members
• Contribute positively to IT and cross-functional teams and shares knowledge and skills

Desirable:

• Experience of contributing to team debate to help identify future opportunities and team development
• Displays ability to build appropriate networks and manage a range of stakeholder interests      

Please upload your CV, the names and contacts of two references, along with a cover letter stating why you are applying for this post (showing evidence against the requirements as per the Job Description and Person Specification). Please quote reference number LMS 2735.

Please note that applications may be reviewed by both LMS and Imperial staff