Penn State Job Catalog

Additional levels that exist for this job profile can be seen below.

The defined natural career progression within or between job profiles.

Systems Engineering

Systems Engineers design, implement, and maintain IT infrastructure by analyzing system requirements, consulting with stakeholders, and synthesizing business requirements; combine customer needs with the right technology to engineer solutions; analyze, develop, modify, and test systems; provide ongoing high level technical support; monitor overall performance to proactively identify potential issues and tune appropriately; perform root cause analysis on failed components and implement corrective measures; collaborate with others to establish and improve processes and procedures.

• Provide expertise on application, design, and operation of infrastructure to support the needs of systems and applications; collaborate in defining architectural strategy
• Provide input to leadership across enterprise solutions and participate in development of long-term strategic technology direction; assist colleagues and by extension, researchers, and business units to assess current problems, define desired future state, define solution architecture, and make solution recommendations
• Demonstrate knowledge in primary areas of responsibility to include operations systems, protocols, monitoring and managing system resources, system backup/recovery procedures, capacity planning, troubleshooting, and diagnosing problems, general security, and compliance of IT security policies
• Develop the core technical platform, capabilities, and services that support business processes
• Identify key technology interactions and dependencies across systems/platforms impacting the University’s ability to achieve integration, compatibility, and performance targets
• Leverage standards and best practices to develop architectures, frameworks, and strategies that meet University business requirements, deliver value, and scale; balance innovation, risk, and cost
• Evaluate existing and emerging technologies to best fit business and project needs
• Develop processes and practices for design, maintenance, and operations of systems to ensure consistent and reliable operation to meet business needs

Level:

– Principal Professional

Base Description:

– Completes activities, tasks, and/or projects of a functional nature.

Level Summary:

– Displays mastery of defined skill areas/applications, principles, theories and practices. Evaluates and enhances existing practices. Recognizes emerging trends in area of expertise. Works independently on complex or strategic assignments. Directs and delegates appropriate tasks to others. Implements strategies to ensure achievement of initiatives. Prepares written and/or verbal presentations or proposals on complex issues and deliver to broad audiences. Identifies and implements innovative solutions to important, highly complex strategic and/or operational issues.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

– Indirect supervisor for other full–time employees
– May serve as direct supervisor for part–time, student, and/or temporary workers, volunteers, or a full–time employee

Fiscal Responsibilities:

– Validates and pays invoices
– Monitors and tracks budgets and funding
– May plan and forecast budgets

Problem Solving:

– Encounters complex and novel problems
– Applies policies, practices, specialized knowledge, and skills to resolve problems
– Understands benefits, limitations, and impact of potential solutions
– Anticipates potential problems and recommends possible solutions within general guidelines

Independence of Action:

– Works independently on complex or strategic assignments
– Uses existing practices as guidelines as well as working knowledge to determine specific work methods
– Carries out work activities independently, with supervisor available to resolve problems
– Reviews work of others to verify technical soundness

Communication and Collaboration:

– Communicates with both internal and external audiences
– Collaborates closely with team members and area leads across the University
– Prepares written and/or verbal presentations or proposals on complex issues and delivers to a broad variety of audiences
– Establishes and maintains networks to facilitate successful communication among units

• Comp Grade – 15
• Minimum – $109,300.00
• MidPoint – $136,600.00
• Maximum – $164,000.00