IT Support Senior Technician @ Texas Tech University System

Position Description

The Senior IT Support Technician has an expert level of technical knowledge and experience in one or more IT-related areas. This position's scope of responsibility includes providing technical support and assistance to departments, faculty, staff, and students with the use of hardware and some software support and maintenance. The Senior IT Support Technician will also specialize in hardware and software that support institutional strategic initiatives, and manage area or unit IT projects that impact multiple departments or units.

About the University

Founded in 1923, Texas Tech University began with a mission to serve the needs of West Texas, but its impact has always reached far beyond. Today, Texas Tech, located in Lubbock (pop. 300,000+), is home to a vibrant community of more than 42,000 students. Texas Tech's 1,800-acre campus showcases Spanish Renaissance architecture and is home to one of the country's largest public art collections. Its 13 colleges include a prestigious School of Law and a distinguished School of Veterinary Medicine. These programs equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in their respective fields.

Built on the values of West Texas — hard work, grit and authenticity — the university graduates students who are deeply engaged in service to their communities and well-positioned to succeed in the world. Texas Tech is committed to achieving research and scholarly accomplishments that compare favorably to the member institutions of the Association of American Universities (AAU). For more than 100 years, Texas Tech has been a premier destination for those seeking a world-class education and a unique, personalized experience as a member of the Red Raider family.

About the Department and/or College

The Whitacre College of Engineering (WCOE) was one of the university’s original four colleges founded in 1925 and later renamed in honor of Edward E. Whitacre, Jr. The WCOE has seven departments and approximately 5900 undergraduate and over 1000 graduate students. There are over 200 faculty/instructors and over 100 staff in the college. “We are a regionally rooted first class engineering college with national and worldwide impact.”

The Dean's Office in the Whitacre College of Engineering (WCOE) is dedicated to the success of our faculty, students and staff. This team serves as the leadership and operational hub of the college, guiding academic programming, faculty affairs, research initiatives, and student support, while balancing essential administrative functions. We value dedication, integrity, and hard work, fostering a supportive community that encourages collaboration, creativity and effectiveness. We believe our roles are crucial to the functioning of the entire college. Its leadership shapes the educational experience for students, drives impactful research, manages resources effectively, and ensures that the college maintains strong ties to industry, the community, and our alumni.

Major/Essential Functions

In this position you will provide advanced technical support and systems management for the Whitacre College of Engineering. This position plays a vital role in supporting the college's academic, research, and administrative missions by ensuring reliable, secure, and efficient technology operations. The successful candidate will serve as a lead technical resource, collaborating with faculty, staff, researchers, and students to maintain high standards of performance, innovation, and customer service across a complex computing environment.

• Provide advanced hardware and software support for faculty, researchers, staff, and students. This includes diagnosing/troubleshooting, maintaining, repairing and resolving complex issues with desktops, laptops, printers, audio/visual equipment, active directory/group policies, mobile devices, and servers running a variety of operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux).
• Identify, manage, troubleshoot and fix network issues within the various environments, including wired and wireless connections, and address file-sharing and access control problems.
• Configure, maintain, and troubleshoot networks, including VLANs, firewalls, VPNs, and wireless access.
• Implement and monitor cybersecurity protocols in accordance with university and federal research standards and funding-agency requirements (e.g., HIPAA, FERPA, NIST).
• Act as a liaison between the College of Engineering and Central University IT departments (e.g., networking, security, data center, HPCC) to resolve complex issues and implement new solutions.
• Lead or support IT-related projects (e.g., lab expansions, system upgrades, migrations).
• Coordinate with central IT, vendors, and external collaborators.
• Conduct regular audits and vulnerability assessments.
• Monitor and mitigate potential security risks, including data breaches, malware, or unauthorized access.
• Provide technical consultation on new equipment, software needs and IT purchases.
• Coordinate with central university IT, HPC, and networking teams for large-scale projects or infrastructure upgrades.
• Ensure system uptime, reliability, and performance through proactive monitoring and maintenance.
• Manage backups, disaster recovery plans, and system updates.
• Monitor performance and up time of critical systems.
• Assist faculty, researchers, staff and students with high-performance computing (HPC) clusters, cloud computing resources, and data storage solutions tailored to their research needs.
• Manage user accounts, permissions, and data access controls in accordance with university IT policies.
• Manage access controls, encryption, and secure data storage for sensitive research data.
• Manage and maintain a detailed inventory of all IT equipment, including workstations, mobile devices and specialized peripherals, from procurement and deployment to decommissioning.
• Track and report on support metrics, system performance, and incident resolution.
• Recommend improvements to enhance reliability, efficiency, and user experience.
• Utilize asset management tools for software and hardware maintenance and support.
• Develop clear, concise technical documentation and knowledge base articles for users and other IT staff to facilitate problem-solving and knowledge transfer.
• Advanced technical skillsets kept current by reviewing market trends and product development.
• Adhere to all appropriate Institutional policies (including IT Ops) and other relevant internal departmental policies.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Exercise judgement based on an understanding of organizational policies and activities.
• Plan and organize effectively, prioritize goals, use time efficiently, and stay on task.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Establish and maintain effective work relationships.
• Have expert analytical skills, including process description, logic, problem diagnostics, and problem solving.
• Have expert technology hardware and software competency. Training in advanced hardware, software, and customer support through education or experience.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree with coursework in computer science, MIS, IT, or other related area plus seven years related full-time paid experience OR a combination of related education and/or experience. Applicants for this Security Sensitive Level II position will be subject to a criminal background check and must pass a drug and alcohol test after a conditional offer of employment has been extended, but before employment can be confirmed.

This position is designated as involving access to critical infrastructure systems and/or research, as defined by Texas Executive Order GA-48. As such, candidates must successfully complete a comprehensive background check prior to employment. Employees are required to comply with all applicable state and federal regulations related to the protection of critical infrastructure. Ongoing employment is dependent upon maintaining eligibility for access and successfully passing periodic security and compliance reviews.

Preferred Qualifications

Ability to establish a plan of action, prioritize and execute assigned tasks effectively. Be able to work in a fast paced and high stress environment. Ability to develop relationships with faculty, staff, and students of Whitacre College of Engineering at Texas Tech University to ensure technical support needs are met and superior quality service is performed.

Technical proficiency in supporting Windows, MAC and Linux operating systems (Windows 10 & 11, macOS, Linux distros, Debian, CentOS, RHEL, Ubuntu, etc), security vulnerability detection and resolution experience, A/V technology background, understanding of networking principles, supervisory skills and experience, excellent inter-personal skills, advanced troubleshooting and analytical skills, and service oriented mindset.

• Be a customer advocate.
• Maintain a positive and enjoyable work environment.
• Bachelor's degree in computing related discipline.
• Certifications: CompTIA A+, Net+ and SEC+.

Safety Information

Adherence to robust safety practices and compliance with all applicable health and safety regulations are responsibilities of all TTU employees.

Pay Statement

Compensation is commensurate upon the qualifications of the individual selected and budgetary guidelines of the hiring department, as well as the institutional pay plan.

EEO Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information or status as a protected veteran.