University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Junior Systems Administrator, Linguistic Data Consortium

Job Profile Title

Systems Administrator B

Job Description Summary

The Junior Systems Administrator at the Linguistic Data Consortium provides day-to-day and second-tier IT support for LDC’s infrastructure, primarily Linux-based servers and workstations. The role focuses on troubleshooting, system maintenance, research project support, and coordinating between Help Desk staff and senior systems administrators. The position is primarily onsite in Philadelphia, with hybrid eligibility.

Job Description

In the early 1990s, advances in human language technologies were accelerating thanks to better algorithms and the growing power of affordable computers. Researchers quickly realized, however, that they lacked the volume and variety of data necessary to build robust, portable and scalable systems. To meet this need, the Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC) was founded to make critical linguistic resources easier to acquire, preserve, and share.

The Consortium was established in 1992 following a call from ARPA (now DARPA) for an organization dedicated to linguistic data distribution. The successful proposal came from the University of Pennsylvania, an ideal host for the repository given its reputation in linguistics, computer science, and projects like the Penn Treebank.

Job Responsibilities

• Perform day-to-day operations, and for second tier support, on LDC IT infrastructure and LDC Service Center. This includes configuring, monitoring and, maintaining portions of the LDC computer infrastructure, which is comprised predominantly of Linux, TrueNAS, and FreeNAS servers, as well as Linux workstations.
• Coordinate with the Sr Systems Administrator to deploy, upgrade, test and, maintain services as required by the ongoing research projects. Much of the work in this position will require interaction with the other groups at the LDC as well as external entities.
• The ideal candidate should be comfortable working with Linux, OSX and, Windows in network environments, with strong ability to troubleshoot issues across a variety of operating systems.
• Act as a liaison between support technicians on the Help Desk and senior systems administrators, to ensure that issues are resolved in a timely manner. Strong troubleshooting skills in Linux, OSX and, Windows with the ability to work as both part of a small team and independently when required.
• Work with other employees in the Systems Group to provide training to the rest of the organization on best practices during periodic safety refreshers and pre maintenance briefings where it must explain complex concepts in common language and answer user questions in an interactive format.
• As work is requested and effort tracked via a ticketing system which is also used to determine where better service is needed, the ideal candidate has experience with task assignment and other operations of a ticketing system.

This is position is hybrid eligible, but is primarily an onsite, in-person position. Candidates must be able to work onsite in our Philadelphia office. 

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science and 1 to 2 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 1 - 2 years of Linux Administration experience.
• Familiarity with MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Apache, FreeNAS/TrueNAS, OpenLDAP, VMWare VCenter, Saltstack, Linux, OSX and, Windows.
• General knowledge of TCP/IP networking and NFS. 
• Ability to work both in a small group and independently. 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Familiarity with Amanda backup, Veeam, AWS cloud resources, Openstack, Nextcloud/Owncloud, Active Directory, O365, Postfix, Spamassassin, Dovecot, nginx, Shell Scripting, PERL, Python, Ruby, ZFS, EXT4.

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

School of Arts and Sciences

Pay Range

$62,067.00 - $71,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job’s level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.

Equal Opportunity Statement 

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state or local law.

Special Requirements 
Background checks may be required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

• Tuition: Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

• Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

• Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.

• Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

• Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

• Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

• University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

• Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

• Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

• Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

• Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

​

To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay