Academic Technology Director

SMU serves approximately 7,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students through eight degree-granting schools.

SMU is data driven, and its powerful supercomputing ecosystem – paired with entrepreneurial drive – creates an unrivaled environment for the University to deliver research excellence.

Now in its second century of achievement, SMU is recognized for the ways it supports students, faculty and alumni as they become ethical, enterprising leaders in their professions and communities. SMU's relashionship with Dallas – the dynamic center of one of the nation’s fastest-growing regions – offers unique learning, research, social and career opportunities that provide a launch pad for global impact.

SMU is nonsectarian in its teaching and committed to academic freedom and open inquiry.

About the Position:

This role is an on-campus, in-person position.

As the Academic Technology Services Director for the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering, this position is the embedded, hands-on academic technology partner for one of SMU's most technically demanding schools, serving faculty and students across all Lyle departments. Reporting to OIT Academic Technology Services with a close relationship to the Lyle Dean's office, it designs, deploys, administers, and supports the instructional and research technology that powers Lyle's classrooms, computing labs, shared Linux computing environments, Lyle online course delivery, and faculty research. Distinct from other ATSD roles, this is a deeply technical, execution-focused position requiring strong Linux and systems-administration expertise and fluency with the scientific and engineering software and HPC environments on which Lyle depends.

Essential Functions:

• Academic Technology Support & School-Level Coordination: Embedded day-to-day academic technology contact for Lyle. Coordinates with OIT Academic Technology Services, the Lyle Dean's office, department chairs, and centers; triages faculty and departmental technology needs; contributes to school technology planning; and provides some leadership while focusing on hands-on coordination and delivery.
• AI Tools, Literacy & Hands-On Enablement: Configures, pilots, & supports approved AI & generative AI tools for Lyle faculty, students, and staff. Builds AI literacy resources, prompt libraries, & just-in-time training for engineering teaching & research, including responsible-use practices & discipline-specific applications. Partners with SMU AI governance to keep Lyle aligned to SMU standards.
• Support for Online & Synchronous Learning Tech.: Provides hands-on technical delivery & support for Lyle's online and synchronous instruction, including online course delivery. Helps coordinate lecture capture, live streaming, web-conferencing, & remote-access tools, integrates them with Canvas, & troubleshoots live sessions, working with OIT Online Production Services and other program partners.
• LMS (Canvas) Support: Performs hands-on support of Canvas for Lyle courses, including course setup, enrollments, gradebook and SIS troubleshooting, and integrations. Implements engineering-specific tools, programming and notebook environments, and assessment solutions resolves issues and escalates to OIT teams as necessary.
• Research Computing, HPC & Scientific Software Support: Supports Lyle faculty, students, and research teams using SMU's research and high-performance computing environment, including ManeFrame III and the NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD, with OIT Research Technology Services. Assists with HPC scheduling (SLURM), modules (Lmod), allocations (ColdFront), scientific software, GPU and parallel computing, and large data movement.
• Specialized Engineering Software & Linux Computing Support: Installs, licenses, and maintains discipline-specific engineering and scientific software on Linux servers (MATLAB, ANSYS, COMSOL, EDA tools) requiring elevated admin access. Administers the shared, general-access Linux environments used for coursework and research. Windows and macOS installs and instrument-connected workstations are handled by client systems and lab managers.
• Linux Server Administration & Systems Support: Administers Lyle's Linux servers and virtual machines for instruction and research, including installation, configuration, patching, monitoring, backup, and scripting and automation (bash), applying security baselines within OIT enterprise standards. For Windows and macOS, advises users, engages client systems for remote installs, or refers to desktop support rather than hands-on administration.
• Classroom & Event Technology Support: Maintains working familiarity with Lyle classroom, learning-space, and event technology and helps faculty and presenters get started when systems are working normally. Provides brief first-line help for in-person and online sessions. Audiovisual systems are owned and configured by OIT Classroom Support; this role refers configuration changes, locked-cabinet access, and anything not quickly resolved.
• Accessibility, Compliance & Research-Data Stewardship: Helps support digital accessibility of Lyle's instructional materials and platforms per university standards and law (ADA Title II, WCAG) and guides faculty in remediation of content. Helps the school observe research-data security, data governance, and export-control considerations (ITAR, EAR) common in engineering research, escalating to the appropriate offices.
• Professional Development, Documentation & Service: Maintains current expertise in academic, research, and engineering technologies through ongoing professional development and certification. Develops documentation, knowledge-base articles, and standard operating procedures for the school's technology environment, and participates in OIT, ATS, and school committees that advance Lyle's mission.
• Occasional support for evening graduate classes, online synchronous sessions, scheduled maintenance windows, and school events is required.
• Occasional travel across campus and to professional development events, training sessions, or conferences.
• This position may require work in data center and server room environments, subject to applicable safety requirements. Periodic on-call or maintenance window availability may also be required.

Qualifications

Education and Experience:

A Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience in academic, research, or instructional technology, systems administration, or technical support in a higher-education, research, or engineering setting is required.

OR

A Master's degree and a minimum of three (3) years of relevant experience in academic, research, or instructional technology, systems administration, or technical support in a higher-education, research, or engineering setting is required.

Degree in CS, engineering, IT, or related technical field is desired.

Required:

• Experience with Linux and Unix administration
• Cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux) support
• Experience supporting scientific and engineering software and research computing Linux
• Experience with Canvas or comparable leaning management system (LMS)
• Experience providing direct technical support to faculty and student

Experience with STEM, engineering, or research-intensive work is preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Candidate must demonstrate strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate broadly across the University and develop and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of constituencies. Must also demonstrate strong written communication skills. A strong customer service orientation is essential.

Candidate must possess strong problem-solving skills with the ability to identify and analyze problems, as well as devise solutions. Must also have strong organizational, planning and time management skills. Strong project management skills and a strong focus on attention to detail are essential.

Required:

• Experience with research and HPC concepts (scheduling, modules, batch and parallel workloads)
• Canvas or comparable LMS administration and installation
• Ability to advise on Windows and macOS
• Strong knowledge of productivity and collaboration suites (Microsoft 365)
• Strong knowledge of web-conferencing and lecture-capture tools
• Scripting (bash)

Preferred:

• GPU/CUDA, containers (Docker, K8s), Git, and cloud platforms
• Relevant Linux, cloud, or HPC certifications
• MATLAB, Python, and R
• Engineering and simulation software (ANSYS, COMSOL, SolidWorks, CAD/CAE, EDA tools)
• Containerization and HPC tooling (K8s, Singularity, Docker)
• Cloud consoles (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Configuration-management tools

Physical and Environmental Demands:

• Bend
• Crawl
• Reach above shoulders
• Carry/lift 25 lbs.
• Sit for long periods of time
• Climb
• Handle objects (dexterity)
• Kneel
• Stand
• Walk for long distances
• Exposure to dust, fumes, gases, radiation, microwave

Deadline to Apply:

The position is open until filled.