Senior Systems Administrator

Senior Systems Administrator – Hybrid - Permanent

Salary: Circa £50,000 per annum (negotiable based on experience) + comprehensive benefits package

Jisc grade: TCY3 (internal use only)

Job Type: Permanent

Hours: 35 hours per week

Reports into: Lead virtual infrastructure architect

Working style: Hybrid - A blend of working from home and your nominated hub office. We have hubs located in London, Bristol, Manchester and Oxford.

About Jisc:

For 30 years Jisc has pioneered digital solutions for UK education and research, transforming how knowledge is created, shared and used.

We are uniquely positioned to protect, promote and lead the sector in digital and data transformation, making a difference to students, communities and society. Together, we are

working to build a better digital future for education and research.

Raise your potential at Jisc through our culture of lifelong learning. At Jisc, we're all about growth, so embrace new challenges, sharpen your skills and shape a career that excites you.

About the team:

You’ll be joining the Architecture & Engineering function, taking responsibility for the critical infrastructure that underpins national services, from DNS and Network Time to threat engineering, SIEM, cloud/SaaS platforms and core datacentre environments.

The team is evolving rapidly. We’re modernising our on‑prem virtual infrastructure and exploring future hypervisor and virtualisation options beyond VMware vSphere. Alongside this, we’re driving large‑scale automation with Ansible, strengthening our predominantly Red Hat‑based Linux estate, and improving the high‑availability platforms that underpin our cybersecurity services.

The work also includes lifecycle improvements across storage, compute and datacentre environments, as well as adopting modern monitoring, logging and operational tooling to support a security‑focused, engineering‑led approach.

The role:

As a Senior Systems Administrator, you will play a key role in ensuring the platforms that support Jisc’s cybersecurity services remain stable, resilient and high‑performing. You will work across Linux and enterprise platforms, contribute to automation and high‑availability initiatives, and support major engineering activity ranging from virtualisation strategy to the delivery of national‑scale cybersecurity services. The role provides the opportunity to influence technical direction and contribute to the ongoing evolution of our infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain and optimise the platforms and applications that support Jisc’s cybersecurity services
• Ensure services meet agreed SLAs and remain reliable, resilient and aligned to business and member needs
• Provide second‑line troubleshooting for platform‑related issues
• Support change management and contribute to disaster recovery planning, testing and validation
• Maintain accurate system documentation and ensure compliance with organisational and regulatory standards
• Collaborate across teams to advise on new systems and services, support automation and high‑availability initiatives, and identify improvements or upgrades

What you’ll bring

• Strong Linux server administration experience
• Ability to deploy, integrate and manage a mix of open‑source and proprietary systems
• Confidence with common web technologies (MySQL, PostgreSQL, PHP, Ruby, Java, Python)
• A track record of automating systems and processes
• Proficiency in at least one scripting language (e.g., Python)
• Strong planning, prioritisation and teamwork skills

Bonus experience: Red Hat, VMware, PKI, ISO/IEC 27001, datacentre operations.

Please note:

On‑call operates on a rota shared across the team: Monday - Friday, 18:00 - 23:59, and weekends/bank holidays, 09:00–17:00. (This applies only after successful probation period)

This role may also be required to complete government security clearance to SC level.

Don’t meet every single requirement?

We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they think they can’t tick every box, so we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet 100% of the requirements, but if you feel this role is perfect for you. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles!

Hybrid working:

Specific patterns for working in the office are not mandated, and the frequency of time worked in the office is agreed with your manager. Meeting in person is something we value, so you may need to travel on occasion to any of our hub offices.

Why work for us?

At Jisc, every role is meaningful, and every individual is valued. We foster a culture of continuous learning and personal growth, offering opportunities to develop new skills and make a real impact in education and research. With a strong focus on work-life balance, we embrace flexible working that prioritises outcomes over hours, empowering you to create a rhythm that energises both your professional and personal life.

Our Guiding Principles:

Jisc’s culture is powered by our four guiding principles: putting customers first, driving innovation, creating impact, and championing inclusive collaboration to deliver sustainable outcomes and shape a better future.

Discover the amazing benefits we provide! Here’s what you can look forward to:

• Flexible work pattern, which can adapt to suit your schedules and personal commitments
• 31 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) that includes three closure days over Christmas
• Buy up to an additional 5 days leave during the flexible benefits window
• Generous flexible pension schemes
• A range of wellbeing lifestyle benefits including company paid health care cash plan, mental health first aiders and support
• A company culture of continuous learning with access to thousands of LinkedIn Learning courses, and lots of resources and opportunities to support your development
• Allocated allowance of up to £250 to equip your home office

Interested in opportunities specifically in United Kingdom? Discover our dedicated Visa Sponsorship Jobs in United Kingdom page featuring roles from top employers in this location.

• Financial well-being support including access to preferential loan and savings plans, mortgage advice, will writing tools and support and resources to help you make the most of your money
• A wide range of discounts and cashback from retailers and big-name high-street stores
• Family friendly policies including enhanced parental, maternity and paternity and co-parental leave as well as opportunity for career breaks
• Support your volunteering with up to 3 days volunteer leave

Equity, diversity and inclusion:

Jisc believe our people make all the difference in cultivating an inclusive culture that welcomes ideas, encourages innovation, and values belonging.

We work hard to create an equitable experience for our candidates and workforce which embraces all aspects of their identity including race and ethnicity, religion and belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, trans identities, age, class, disability, neurodivergence, or veteran status.

Application process:

Please let us know how we can best accommodate you throughout the recruitment process. We’re committed to making our process accessible and comfortable for everyone - just tell us what works best for you.

Just so you know, we review CVs as soon as we can and aim to provide an update on your application within 4 weeks of receiving it. However, you may hear from us a lot sooner, so please keep an eye out for our emails or calls!

We’re really looking forward to getting to know the real you. While we encourage the use of AI tools to help you get started on your CV or cover letter, we encourage you to review your application before submitting. Make sure it truly reflects your own voice, experiences, and personality.

If you are currently a Jisc employee, please apply through your Dayforce Employee profile.

We have a thorough background screening process that verifies the details you share with us in your CV and your application. Any inaccurate information supplied during the application stages can lead to a job offer being withdrawn.

Sponsorship:

Jisc has an active sponsor licence to recruit on a Skilled worker visa basis. Candidates wishing to apply who require sponsorship should determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the role by assessing their circumstances against the relevant Home Office criteria. Jisc does not offer any financial re-imbursement towards the applicant costs, such as re-location, skilled worker visa and dependant costs or the immigration health charge.

No agencies please.