Position Details

Position Information

Position Title Research Systems Administrator

Research Project

Department/Unit Enterprise Application Services

Location Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Posting Number S252-26

Employee Group NSGEU Local 77

Position Type Term

Duration of Contract (if applicable) 2 years

Employment Type Full Time

Full-time Equivalency (FTE) 1.0

Salary $38.70 - $49.01 per hour ($65,403 - $82,835 per annum based on 32.5 hours per week)

Classification SIT2

Provisional Statement

This is a provisional classification. Formal regular review classification procedures may be initiated at any time by the incumbent or supervisor after the incumbent has worked a minimum of six months in the role.

About Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University is Atlantic Canada’s leading research-intensive university and a driver of the region’s intellectual, social and economic development. Located in the heart of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with an Agricultural Campus in Truro/Bible Hill, Dalhousie is a truly national and international university, with more than half of our almost 21,000 students coming from outside of the province. Our 6,000 faculty and staff foster a vibrant, purpose-driven community, that celebrated 200 years of academic excellence in 2018.

Job Summary

Information Technology Services ( ITS ) empowers the success of students, faculty, and staff through an overall focus on service, advising and consulting. ITS supports university instructional research and administrative requirements. The department is responsible for all centrally managed computing, networking, security, and telecommunications facilities within the university.

Reporting to the Head of Research Partnerships, the Research Systems Administrator will design, implement, and support secure, reliable, and scalable research computing environments, working closely with researchers, principal investigators, and campus partners to help them identify appropriate technology solutions and ensure those solutions meet institutional security, operational, and sustainability requirements.

Key Responsibilities

- Provide hands-on technical support for on-premise research infrastructure as well as cloud-based research environments, including highly secure workloads hosted in Amazon Web Services ( AWS ) and other approved cloud services.
- Act as a technical consultant, helping researchers navigate technology choices, compliance requirements and consumption costs, and support models involving internal and external partners such as the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.
- Design, deploy, configure, and support on‑premise and cloud-based research systems.



Establish appropriate monitoring for preemptive detection or incident response. Participate in incident response. Triage and diagnose incidents.

- Support sensitive and regulated research projects. Implement security controls and collaborate with Information Security and Research Services teams. Ensure security configuration satisfies intended security posture.
- Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to non‑technical stakeholders. Produce documentation, recommendations, and decision support materials for research projects and initiatives.

- Monitor hardware, storage, virtual servers, backups, etc. in a scheduled and continuous way. Plan capacity for systems and storage to ensure reliability and performance. Perform restores, patches and updates.

Note The incumbents will be required to work at irregular times occasionally to limit the disruption of service. Scheduling and compensation will be in accordance with the collective agreement. The successful applicant will be eligible for hybrid work (combination of in-person work on campus and remote work from within Nova Scotia) as agreed by all parties based on operational requirements and university guidelines.

Required Qualifications

- Undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field plus approximately five years’ relevant experience (or equivalent combination of training and experience).
- Experience in managing research technologies and infrastructure such as on‑premise Network Attached Storage and Storage Area Network systems, cloud‑based research computing and storage (e.g. AWS ), secure and regulated research environments, Linux‑based research computing platforms, and hybrid campus–national research infrastructure models.
- Demonstrated familiarity with data backup and recovery strategies, including snapshotting, replication, and disaster recovery planning as well as knowledge of security best practices and experience implementing access controls, encryption, and data classification methodologies.
- Experience in a research or academic workplace and troubleshooting technology-related issues effectively as well as proficiency in scripting languages and automation tools.
- Excellent problem-solving, organizational skills with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.




- Strong interpersonal and communication skills to collaborate and consult with diverse teams and stakeholders including faculty and researchers.

Assets Job Competencies The successful candidate is expected to demonstrate proficiency in Dalhousie’s core competencies, in particular:

- Self-Awareness & Professionalism
- Respect & Inclusion
- Adaptability
- Knowledge & Thinking Skills
- Communication

Additional Information Dalhousie University supports a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Our total compensation package includes a defined benefit pension plan, health and dental plans, a health spending account, an employee and family assistance program and a tuition assistance program.

Application Consideration

Non-probationary bargaining unit employees ( NSGEU local 77) are given priority consideration. All other applications will be considered when there is no qualified candidate from the bargaining unit.

We sincerely appreciate all applications and note that only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted directly by the hiring department or People and Culture.

Diversity Statement

Dalhousie University commits to achieving inclusive excellence through continually championing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. The university encourages applications from Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island (especially Mi’kmaq), persons of Black/African descent (especially African Nova Scotians), and members of other racialized groups, persons with disabilities, women, persons identifying as members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and all candidates who would contribute to the diversity of our community. In accordance with our Employment Equity Policy, preference will be given in hiring processes to candidates who self-identify as members of one or more of the equity-deserving groups listed above.

For more information, including details related to our Employment Equity Policy and Plan and definitions of equity-deserving groups please review our Employment Equity information.

If you require any support for the purpose of accommodation, such as technical aids or alternative arrangements, please let us know of these needs and how we can be of assistance.

Dalhousie

University is committed to ensuring all candidates have full, fair, and equitable participation in the hiring process. Our complete Accommodation Policy can be viewed here .

Posting Detail Information

Number of Vacancies Two

Open Date 09/23/2023

Close Date 10/07/2026

Open Until Filled No

Special Instructions to Applicant

Quick Link for Direct Access to Posting https://dal.peopleadmin.ca/postings/21945

📌 Research Systems Administrator (Halifax Regional Municipality)
🏢 Dalhousie University
📍 Halifax Regional Municipality