Desktop Support Engineer

• Job Type : Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit :
• Regular / Temporary : Regular
• End Date if Temporary :
• Hours Per Week : 35
• Standard Work Schedule :
• Building :
• Salary Range : $85,000 -$100,000

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training.

The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Senior Associate Director of Cloud and Systems Engineering in the Office of the Executive Vice President of Arts & Sciences (A&S), the Desktop Support Engineer manages the day-to-day service desk operations of Arts & Sciences IT (ASIT).

The ASIT service desk implements PC and Mac desktop support for about 1800 users (faculty, administrators, and staff) within A&S at Columbia University and manages larger infrastructure systems.

The Desktop Support Engineer possesses the technical knowledge and the soft skills necessary to navigate a dynamic support environment and contribute to continuously improving IT services and policies within the A&S.

Arts and Sciences is the intellectual heart of Columbia University. Home to more than 1,000 faculty, 60 research centers and institutes, and 28 academic departments, A&S provides a transformative educational experience to more than 16,000 undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students at Columbia - nearly half the student body.

Our field-defining research - anchored in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences - engages fundamental questions about our society and world and supports Columbia's broader mission to advance knowledge, learning, and impact at the highest levels.

Responsibilities

• Support users of widely varying technical knowledge and differing computing needs and convey complex information to non-expert customers.
• Provide in-person and remote desktop support (via Bomgar / BeyondTrust client) to A&S faculty and staff, including hardware and software installations, troubleshooting, pre-purchase consulting, hardware decommissioning and recycling, diagnosing and resolving computer-related problems, printing issues, adding PCs to the CUIT enterprise domain and Macs to JAMF, and related tasks.
• Administer general office hardware and software on computers, e-rooms, printers, etc., and manage physical locations such as server rooms, cold rooms, labs, conference rooms, and electronic classrooms.
• Independently explore as many potential solutions as possible, liaising with other IT groups throughout the university to resolve problems.
• Train faculty and staff on usage of hardware, software, web applications, data management, backups, data recovery, and other computing services.
• Aid as needed with large-scale projects, services, and operations of ASIT.
• Administer existing IT systems and production servers by patching, fixing, upgrading, and monitoring for health, security, and performance.
• Use a ticket tracking system, maintain a knowledgebase of solutions, document frequent processes, and collect metrics to assess trends in computer needs and problems.
• Maintain computer hardware inventory and software licenses.
• Assist the ASIT team in envisioning, formulating, and implementing new IT policies and procedures for workflows and data security.
• Other duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree or equivalent, with a minimum of four years of related experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience in a higher education environment.
• Demonstrated ability to work with faculty and administrators' needs, processes, and procedures in a university setting, preferably in humanities, social sciences, or natural sciences.
• Familiarity with SCCM / InTune and JAMF device provisioning.
• Basic knowledge of networking protocols.
• Cloud computing (AWS / Azure / GCP) experience and / or certification.
• Knowledge of full-stack web development and applications.

Other Requirements

• Experience in helpdesk / desktop support and strong troubleshooting skills for complex and simple issues.
• Deep knowledge of Windows and Mac operating systems and advanced knowledge of Linux / *nix systems.
• Ability to prioritize, plan, and make competent decisions in a time-sensitive environment.
• Ability to quickly pick up new technologies and learn new systems is required.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to maintain high confidentiality and professionalism with a client focus.
• Strong analytical, multi-tasking, prioritization, and organization skills.
• Attention to detail, research, critical thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Self-starter, a fast learner who can work independently under limited supervision.
• Able to thrive with minimal supervision and limited escalation options.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.