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Penn State Job Catalog

Systems Administrator – Professional (PSU1099)

Additional Levels
Job Strings

The defined natural career progression within or between job profiles.

Systems Administration



Job Summary

Systems Administrators maintain the integrity of various computer systems including operating systems, physical servers, appliances, and specialized application environments; administer, install, and troubleshoot a variety of technical components, perform systems maintenance tasks such as resource utilization checks and back-up and recovery; perform configuration changes to address customer needs; schedule, install, and test system software upgrades; monitor and maintain software licensing and maintenance agreements.

Representative Duties

  • Install, configure, maintain, upgrade, and support systems and software
  • Develop plans, schedules, and requirements for deployment of systems
  • Create custom programs and scripts to aid in systems management
  • Diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve system issues and/or respond to outages
  • Resolve service-related issues; determine immediate economic and financial consequences of an incident
  • Test and implement upgrades and patches to installed operating systems and software
  • Maintain reliability of systems by monitoring, running tests, and troubleshooting
  • Monitor backups and plans for installed systems; review adequacy of emergency response plans
  • Monitor, maintain, and execute automation processes and procedures
  • Monitor threats, alerts, security vulnerabilities; conduct regular reviews of security against policy goals
  • Evaluate organizational vulnerabilities within assigned area of responsibility
  • Manage, research, and resolve complex end-user escalation incidents
  • Evaluate and recommend new or existing system improvements and/or solutions
  • Create and maintain system documentation of departmental processes, procedures, plans, and configurations
  • May supervise staff members, including hiring, development, and performance management

Level Matrix

Level:
Professional
Base Description:
– Completes activities, tasks, and/or projects of a functional nature.
Level Summary:
– Demonstrates baseline working knowledge of routine work tasks. Follows the standard principles and practices. Acts under direct and frequent supervision using established procedures with detailed instructions. Participates as a team member and actively contributes to completion of team goals. Clearly communicates information.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
– None
Fiscal Responsibilities:
– Typically none
Problem Solving:
– Encounters routine problems
– Follows recommended course of action and procedures to resolve problems
Independence of Action:
– Work is closely monitored by supervisor
– Detailed instructions and procedures are provided
– Applies standard operating procedures with limited guidelines for deviation
Communication and Collaboration:
– Typically communicates internally within working unit
– Collaborates closely with team members
– Clearly communicates information, ideas, or instructions verbally and in writing
Salary Structure
  • Comp Grade – 8
  • Minimum – $51,000.00
  • MidPoint – $62,500.00
  • Maximum – $74,000.00
FLSA Exemption Status
Non-Exempt
Minimum Education
Associate's Degree
Minimum Experience
No prior relevant work experience required
Equivalency
Or an equivalent combination of education and experience
Additional Job Requirements