Computer Science System Administrator/Project Lead

Date Posted: 08/05/2026
Req ID: 49707
Faculty/Division: Faculty of Arts & Science
Department: Dept of Computer Science
Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)
Position Number: 00011572
Existing Vacancy: Yes

Description:

About us:

The Faculty of Arts & Science is the heart of Canada’s leading university and one of the most comprehensive and diverse academic divisions in the world. The strength of Arts & Science derives from our combined teaching and research excellence in the humanities, sciences and social sciences across 29 departments, seven colleges and 46 interdisciplinary centres, institutes and programs.

We can only realize our mission with the dedication and excellence of engaged staff and faculty. The diversity of opportunities and perspectives within the Faculty reflect the local and global landscape and the need for curiosity, innovative thinking and collaboration. At Arts & Science, we take pride in our legacy of innovation and discovery that has changed the way we think about the world.

Established in 1964, the Department of Computer Science in the Faculty of Arts and Science is a tech innovation powerhouse and continues to rank among the world’s top computer science departments. Our esteemed faculty boasts accolades such as two Turing Awards, along with many other national and international honours. We provide diverse programs and research opportunities while consistently producing high-impact research that is driving the future of tech in the country.

Your opportunity:

Under the general direction of the Director, Information Technology, the Computer Science System Administrator/Project Lead is responsible for leadership of some IT Projects that are carried out by the project teams. The project teams provide innovative IT solutions to support Computer Science teaching, research and administration, and each team serves as an IT resource for other units within and beyond the University community.

The Computer Science Administrative System Administrator/Project Lead assumes the responsibility of a project leader for specific highly complex and highly technical Computer Science IT projects,by providing technical leadership, system expertise, and support to the project. As the project leader, the incumbent is responsible for monitoring the project from conception to completion. Responsibilities include addressing timelines, tracking resources, managing tasks, selecting technology, establishing milestones, assigning responsibilities, and monitoring and communicating project status. The incumbent also acts as a team member on project team(s) for specific projects, serving as a technology resource to the project team.

As a member of a project team, the incumbent analyzes and troubleshoots highly complex and technical Computer Science IT problems and recommend technical solutions; writes, modifies, and corrects computer software programs and scripts; operates, debugs, maintains, repairs, modifies, tests, and documents computer systems, networks, equipment, hardware and software; invents unique configurations of computers; and plans, evaluates, designs, specifies, installs, implements, and configures new highly complex and technical computer systems, networks, equipment, hardware, and software.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Analyzing, troubleshooting and testing highly complex systems
• Developing and updating architectural framework for highly complex and confidential university-wide IT systems
• Analyzing business and operational requirements to plan the implementation of new IT systems
• Probing for information to establish needs
• Removing tripping hazards
• Costing shop level projects
• Serving as a resource on specific issues to a group of specialists

Essential Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or related discipline, or an acceptable equivalent combination of education and recent and relevant experience.
• Minimum five (5) years of recent and related UNIX/Linux system administration experience, in a highly technical and complex heterogeneous environment developing academic computing solutions, preferably for a computing academic discipline.
• Experience analyzing and troubleshooting complex IT/system problems for academic computing. Experience writing, modifying, and correcting scripts on Linux/Unix platform(s)
• Experience with virtualization, printing, backups, security, networking, open-source software, databases, web servers, automated operating system installs, fileservers/data storage, and technical documentation.
• Experience providing project leadership, including technical leadership, system expertise, and support to other technical staff on the project.
• Experience collaborating on IT purchase recommendations and independently costing IT projects.
• Experience running large-scale complex academic computing involving many dozens of servers and workstations serving thousands of students.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to deal with people in a tactful and effective manner and the ability to communicate with both technical and non-technical people at their own level, explaining possibly complex technical concepts to a wide variety ofnon-technical users.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills exercised in an environment with frequently changing demands, demonstrating initiative, adaptability, creativity and flexibility.
• Must have strong leadership skills, especially the ability to take personal responsibility to establish and maintain the goals and mission of the project teams.
• Proven ability to provide expert technical resources to others.
• Clear and demonstrated ability to design, plan, analyze and improve systems.
• Ability to follow good system administration discipline and practice.
• Ability to lift/move desktop and server computer equipment.
• Ability to learn continually “on-the-job”, on own initiative, often without instructors, courses, texts or other educational resources, to keep abreast of often rapid changes in requirements, software and technology in a highly dynamic leading Computer Science department.
• Must maintain broad technical knowledge and experience in a rapidly-changing field.
• Demonstrated awareness of and commitment to appropriate information security and privacy practices in academic computing environments, including secure system design, authentication, patching and vulnerabilitymanagement, appropriate use of encryption, log analysis, and general secure systems administration practice.

To be successful in this role you will be:

• Adaptable
• Goal oriented
• Motivated self-learner
• Persuasive
• Proactive
• Resilient
• Resourceful

Closing Date: 08/19/2026, 11:59PM ET
Employee Group: USW
Appointment Type: Budget - Continuing
Schedule: Full-Time
Pay Scale Group & Hiring Zone:
USW Pay Band 17 -- $109,761. with an annual step progression to a maximum of $140,365. Pay scale and job class assignment is subject to determination pursuant to the Job Evaluation/Pay Equity Maintenance Protocol.
Job Category: Information Technology (IT)

Lived Experience Statement
Candidates who are members of Indigenous, Black, racialized and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, persons with disabilities, and other equity deserving groups are encouraged to apply, and their lived experience shall be taken into consideration as applicable to the posted position.

Job descriptions are available upon request for internal applicants.