"Network Research Analyst & Administrator"

Network Research Analyst & Administrator

Company: University of Michigan

Job Location: Ann Arbor

Category: Network/System Administrator

Type: Full-Time

JOB OPENING ID: 268312

MODES OF WORK: Hybrid

REGULAR/TEMPORARY: Regular

ORGANIZATIONAL GROUP: Affiliated It Orgs

DEPARTMENT: Merit Network

SALARY: $100,000.00 - $115,000.00

Job Summary

The Network Research Analyst and Administrator will play a critical role in Merit's Research and Development team, leading innovative projects in communication networks, network security, and advanced data analytics. This position serves as the primary bridge between the research and IT teams designing systems and experiments with researchers, then working with IT to operationalize them within production infrastructure. A key focus will be sustaining and scaling Merit's national-scale network telescope infrastructure, ensuring it remains a world-class research asset capable of generating high-value, grant-attracting data.

This role blends technical operations, research collaboration, and administrative oversight to support both day-to-day Network Telescope operations and long-term strategic growth. You will work hands-on with complex systems, perform data collection and analysis, and coordinate efforts to position Merit as a host for a national research asset that drives sustained funding.

Strategic Goals for the Role

• Sustain and scale the telescope infrastructure to ensure reliability, security, and research readiness.
• Increase the volume, quality, and accessibility of grant-attracting datasets.
• Position Merit to serve as a national hub for research data that attracts long-term funding and multi-institutional collaborations.

Responsibilities*

Essential functions for this position are followed by an (E).

Bridge Between Merit IT and Research Departments (30%)

• Collaborate with researchers to design and refine network measurement experiments, system architectures, and data collection processes. (E)
• Work with Merit IT teams to integrate research designs into operational infrastructure, ensuring performance, compliance, and scalability. (E)
• Act as the primary liaison, translating research requirements into technical implementations and operational constraints into research-aware designs. (E)
• Maintain all research-dedicated infrastructure according to existing standards, policies and procedures of Merit IT. (E)

Research Support & Data Management (30%)

• Onboard new researchers by provisioning user environments, spinning up virtual machines, and managing access credentials (including SSH key configuration). (E)
• Manage, maintain, and monitor Merit Research compute, storage and hosts. (E)
• Curate, annotate, and maintain datasets for internal and external research use. (E)
• Support grant-funded research projects and contribute to new funding proposals by identifying opportunities and providing data insights. (E)
• Analyze and interpret telescope data to extract actionable research findings.
• Prepare technical reports, presentations, and peer-reviewed papers in collaboration with research staff.
• Perform on-call support for production systems/applications including problem investigations, escalation, resolution, and communication with IT and external researchers. (E)

Network Telescope Infrastructure Operations (25%)

• Monitor telescope systems in coordination with IT, ensuring uptime, data fidelity, and responsiveness. (E)
• Own the administration, monitoring, and lifecycle management of the telescope and related research systems, maintaining uptime and data integrity in partnership with IT.
• Oversee configuration and optimization of network devices, configuration interfaces, routing, and monitoring system health, working collaboratively with IT as needed.
• Oversee data capture from remote telescope nodes, including transfer, storage, retention, and backup procedures. (E)
• Implement and maintain monitoring tools for early detection of anomalies in infrastructure or data streams. (E)
• Maintain comprehensive operational documentation to support ongoing maintenance, compliance, and knowledge transfer

Collaboration & Outreach (15%)

• Engage with internal teams and external research partners to maintain and enhance telescope capabilities.
• Support cross-disciplinary and multi-institutional research collaborations. (E)
• Represent Merit Research at conferences, workshops, and professional meetings.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designated to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Supervisory Responsibility

This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Work Environment

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, cloud-based systems, and AV/teleconferencing software & equipment.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee (with or without accommodations) to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Employees must frequently work at computer stations, answer telephone calls, emails, and/or other forms of customer/client communication. Employees may on occasion be required to move items of various sizes and weights throughout the office or building.

Required Qualifications*

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 4-6 years of experience in applied computer science, networking, or related fields.
• Experience with configuration management software, such as Puppet, Chef, or Ansible.
• Hands-on experience administering and configuring Linux-based systems in a production environment.
• Experience using version control systems, such as GIT, for collaborative development
• Experience with Big Data platforms such as Apache Spark, Google BigQuery, etc.
• Experience with network device configuration, including switching and routing equipment, and networking protocols.
• Experience developing code in languages such as Go, Python or C/C++ software in a UNIX environment.
• Experience effectively communicating complex technical concepts and information to a wide range of individuals.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated experience in network administration and/or network research.
• Familiarity with cybersecurity, data management practices, and high-performance computing environments.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across research and IT domains.
• Experience with packet capture frameworks such as PF_RING.

Desired Qualifications*

• Experience with public cloud or research cloud computing and storage platforms (examples: AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Experience with distributed systems (e.g., prior interaction with ZeroMQ or other messaging passing frameworks)
• Experience with large-scale storage systems.
• Experience making presentations to technical and other audiences.
• Experience working in a fast-paced research and development environment.
• Experience contributing to grant proposals or supporting sponsored research efforts
• Experience working with higher education, K-12 educational institutions, libraries, research institutions, governmental organizations, and other public sector non-profit organizations is a plus.

Modes of Work

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time, hybrid position. Though the typical work schedule is 8am - 5pm, Monday through Friday for most staff, your work schedule will be determined with your supervisor and may change if necessary.

During your 6-month probationary period, you will be required to work on-site for at least 3 days per week at Merit's office location:

880 Technology Dr., Suite B

Ann Arbor, MI 48108

Following, working on-site will be required for a minimum of 2 days per week. In addition, ad-hoc on-site meetings and events may be needed with adequate notice provided.

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment.

There may be some occasional work required outside of the established schedule, which may include evenings, weekends and holidays.

Travel

Travel for conferences and events will be required.

Underfill Statement

This position may be underfilled at a lower classification depending on the qualifications of the selected candidate.

Additional Information

Starting salary range is $100,000-$115,000, depending on experience and credentials.

Enjoy comprehensive benefits that support your health, well-being, and future, including:

• Full access to medical and dental insurance for you and your eligible dependents
• Generous 2:1 retirement matching to help you plan for your long-term goals
• Paid vacation, sick time, holidays, and additional paid time off to support work-life balance
• Access to a variety of well-being programs, resources, and campus perks
• Professional development opportunities and educational assistance to further your career
• And more discover the complete benefits package at careers.umich.edu/benefits