System Architect (# 8007)

Job Description:

This position provides Architectural and Engineering level direction for the centralized Client Educational Technology System (KETS) networking environment shared services and distributed components including: Internet connectivity, DDoS mitigation, WAN Connections, Routers, Firewalls, VPN servers, Traffic Management devices, WiFi connectivity, etc. for over 170 sites. All hardware components, connections, and configuration management for connectivity between the school district’s hub site and the state is overseen by OET. This system is the core technology that allows every student, teacher and administrator the ability to access the Internet and cloud services, including online testing, administrative systems, and almost every instructional system used in today’s classroom. OET sets standards for network-related components and negotiates contracts on behalf of the school districts with approved vendors. This position is also tasked to provide occasional design and configuration assistance to school districts on an as-needed basis. The KETS Wide Area Network is designed to be centrally managed to maximize educational dollars and provide uniform and equitable access for every student. If it is down, KDE and school districts will have very limited access to log on to the KETS network, gain access to system resources, applications, e-mail, web sites, etc. In addition to the dependency of these critical daily operations, KDE is pursuing many projects and initiatives that rely heavily on a robust and stable wide area network. Because of the complexity and the importance of the system it is imperative that proper staffing be in place to provision Engineering and Architectural direction for the KETS networking environment. This position does not oversee, manage or participate in day-to-day network administration, operations or troubleshooting, unless assistance is requested by the operations teams.

Description:

1. Leads the creation and establishment of specifications and standards for KETS Internet connectivity, Wide Area Network Infrastructure, KETS Networking/Voice/Unified Communications, Switching & Routing, WiFi connectivity, Video Conferencing and Video Distribution. Collaborate with industry partners, district representatives, OET staff and other stakeholders as needed.

2. Provides Technical Lead services on network-oriented projects, participating on project teams and completing tasks as assigned. Participates in the planning, design and technical engineering of future IT developments and project activities. Guides all transitional activities of completed projects to production support. Provides support to other Technical Leads on projects which have a secondary networking component.

3. Acts as primary network architect conducting research, providing guidance, planning for future initiatives and needs, and providing key input to WAN capacity planning. Ensure engineering designs have proper interoperability and integration with existing KETS components.

4. Engages with key network-related vendors and partners to help them understand the KETS vision and needs (e.g., KETS Master Plan), to get their input on approaches and technologies that can help OET accomplish its goals, and to recommend long-term KETS strategy and approach adjustments in response to industry trends.

5. Provides engineering-level guidance and architectural oversight of all modifications to existing IT services related to network data, voice and video systems, including testing and implementation efforts. Provide level-3 technical support to internal and partner/vendor service groups.

6. Participates in the procurement (RFI & RFP) life cycle/process. Assist in the creation and evaluation of responses to RFI's & RFP's. Assists Program Managers and KETS Vendor Manager in the ongoing management of awarded contracts.

7. Participates in KDE, district and regional meetings to understand KDE and district needs.

8. Guides and oversees the creation of technical documentation for existing and new IT Networking services.

9. Utilizes tracking tools to accurately record work effort against current projects and processes in a timely and consistent manner.

10. This position may require periodic on-call duty outside normal business hours to ensure that the supported systems are operating as intended and time sensitive deliverables are addressed. The on-call duties will be defined at the discretion of the client manager and/or the on-call policy for the organization.

11. Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will meet most or all of the following:

- Be familiar with the KETS environment

- Have experience designing and implementing large-scale enterprise networks

- Have strong written and verbal communication skills

- Be able to work well as part of a team, in both leadership and individual contributor roles