Technical Support Specialist

The Industrial Relations Section (IRS) is a leading center for research in labor economics and related fields consisting of approximately 40 faculty, graduate students, research assistants, and administrative staff as well as additional visiting scholars and postdoctoral research associates.

We seek applications from individuals who share a love of technology, especially when utilized to pursue academic research and teaching, and who would relish the opportunity to both support and educate Section members on a diversity of technology issues with humor, creative problem solving, and resourcefulness.

Successful candidates can work seamlessly across platforms on multi-operating systems including Windows and Mac OS and must be able to build effective relationships to ensure that we are optimizing the use of technology and processes in service of Princeton’s academic and research mission.  In addition to providing hardware/ software support and basic systems administration, this position may assist with AV and media production.

The Technical Support Specialist (TSS) embodies both technical expertise and effective interpersonal skills to provide primary technical support to Section members who engage in resource-intensive statistical analysis on both Section-provided laptops, desktops, and physical servers, as well as via remote access to servers and systems maintained both internally and by external data providers.  The TSS addresses all emergency issues, liaising with OIT and following university recommendations, orders and installs new equipment, surpluses old equipment, maintains, updates, and resolves technical issues, maintains the website, orders and supports Linux servers and software. Successful candidates also have some experience in video and audio editing and/or production to assist with editing video and audio content to be shared on the Section website and through social media platforms.

Hardware and software support

• Purchase, configure, deploy, and troubleshoot all hardware equipment, including Windows/Apple desktops, laptops, University mobile devices, Section Linux servers, video conferencing equipment, and other University equipment according to relevant University policies and procedures
• Manage licenses, installation, upgrades, and troubleshooting  of standard and specialized statistical software (Stata, Matlab, etc) and software packages (R, Python, etc) 
• Supervise equipment-related projects involving other University units such as Facilities, Office of Capital Projects, Instructional Support Services, etc
• Partner with other subject matter experts to propose, develop, and deploy training and documentation to faculty, students, and staff on use of technology and  key systems, such as Canvas, EMS, MS Bookings, Google
• Maintain and manage equipment inventory, warranty/replacement schedules, and transfers to University Surplus when needed
• Maintain and support equipment for Princeton University’s Research Data Center (FDZ) of the German Federal Employment Agency (BA) as well as two other secured data rooms
• Attend monthly University wide meetings for Support for Computing in Academic Departments (SCAD)/Department Computing Support (DCS) members and participate in training opportunities and other IT-related forums
• Work on other special projects as assigned

Systems Administration

• Manage Department Computer User accounts, Research Computer User accounts, Service Accounts
• Control and manage access to Section departmental drives, servers, and Drupal website and other resources 
• Perform all system administration tasks for Section equipment, such as backup configuration, implementation of upgrades and policy changes
• Configure Linux servers, local machines, and data storage devices according to data use agreement requirements and University requirements in partnership with other IT units
• As  primary telephone coordinator, manage office phone assignments  and manage international mobile service requests for faculty.
• Collaborate with Research Computing to manage  user access to IT-hosted servers and systems

Media Support

• Acquire and maintain AV and web conferencing hardware and software as needed and provide technical support for Section meetings, classes, and events in LAS 254, LAS 261, LAS 271, JRR 217
• Update and maintain job aids for using AV equipment in LAS 271, 261, 254
• Collaborate with Section associate director to edit and post video clips on website
• Technical support of equipment and production of Section-sponsored podcast
• Collaborate with Economics Department personnel on creating and posting content via department-wide social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, YouTube
• Manage and maintain content posted on Princeton’s Media Central platform

• Associate’s Degree in computer science, information technology, software engineering, or equivalent work experience
• Minimum of 3 years professional experience in information technology support
• Proficiency in hardware/software administration, maintenance, and support of MS Windows 10, MacOS 
• Some experience with Drupal content management systems
• Some familiarity with statistical software, such as Stata, R
• Ability to break down complex technical processes into steps and communicate clearly and succinctly
• Ability to work independently and take the initiative on projects in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment
• Ability to manage multiple projects and balance multiple requests
• Must be customer-service oriented and able to work effectively with a small administrative team
• Must be physically able to move and lift computers, monitors, other office equipment

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. EEO IS THE LAW