Senior Systems Engineer

ILM opened its Sydney studio in the summer of 2019. The youngest of all of the ILM studios, the Sydney studio leverages the expertise and technological know-how developed over 40 years at Industrial Light & Magic combined with the top artists and technicians in the region. Knowledge and culture flow freely between the company’s four studios and the global team shares tools and workflow allowing for seamless collaboration on all shared projects.

As we grow ILM Sydney, we are seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to join the team and be a part of this exciting opportunity.

The Senior Systems Engineer is responsible for the planning, implementation, and maintenance of systems that contribute to the smooth running of all technology in Sydney with the primary focus on enterprise storage systems that contribute to the smooth running of all technology in Sydney, working as a member of the global ILM Production Systems Operations team.

The role is responsible for developing and maintaining the core services of ILM and it’s divisions globally, ensuring the smooth and efficient deployment and execution of core services for use by other IT, IS, & engineering teams and throughout the user base. They will be active in both development projects and service support. Key to the role is implementing and maintaining hardware, operating system images for Windows and Linux, virtual infrastructure standards, enterprise storage infrastructure (e.g., Dell Isilon), tools and other systems that enable core IT services across the company’s locations globally.

As well as drawing on traditional IT techniques, the team takes advantage of modern DevOps approaches to ensure the availability of IT services that provide the core foundation essential for the smooth operation of our multi-site, award winning visual effects company.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Act as a technical lead on key enterprise storage technology projects, ensuring implementations follow best practices and are in line with project objectives.

• Provide internal level 3 support on technologies within IT Operations.

• Drive operational efficiencies of the enterprise storage infrastructure to the highest levels, through implementing effective service monitoring, maintenance programs and foundational system design with a global perspective.

• Work closely with other technical groups to ensure that IT standards and technologies are in line with overall technical direction and security posture of ILM.

• Maintain documentation and processes around key IT services in the organization. 

• Mentor other Systems Engineers and Administrators to advance their technical knowledge of systems management, automation and DevOps strategies.

• Provide excellent customer service support, including clear verbal and written communications.

• Must be available via mobile phone to participate in team on-call rotations during work and non-work hours.

• Participates in the activities of the globally distributed IT team, including development and support activities, regular status and planning meetings as time zones permit.

• Collaborate closely with IT, PE, IS and R&D teams globally.

• Ensures the high availability of configuration management and service deployment systems.

• Maintains a working knowledge of industry trends and technical advancements.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, or equivalent professional experience.

• 8-10 years of experience as a professional IT engineer / administrator, preferably in the visual effects or computer animation industries, building and supporting IT systems in a multi-platform high performance production environment.

Technical Expertise:

• Deep expertise in high-performance enterprise NAS/SAN systems (e.g., Dell Isilon, NetApp, Pure) and distributed rendering/computing technologies.

• Proven experience designing, deploying, and managing large-scale Dell Isilon or similar enterprise storage solutions.

• Strong understanding of IT security concepts, procedures, and implementations.

• Proficient in Linux system administration using mainstream Linux OS, with a thorough understanding of system performance issues, tuning and caching (e.g. KNFSD).

• Experience with configuration management systems (e.g., Ansible, Salt, CFEngine).

• Working knowledge of networking and security concepts and technologies.

Soft Skills & Work Ethic:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, capable of keeping end-users and managers informed.

• An effective listener, adept at understanding and engaging with others to identify their requirements.

• A collaborative team player with a proven ability to resolve problems professionally and systematically.

• Exceptional time management, including prioritizing numerous requests and seeking assistance when needed.

• Passionate about rigorous follow-through on assigned tasks.

• Agile, flexible, and quick-thinking in an energetic, dynamic environment, able to adapt to rapidly changing requirements.

• Detail-oriented, highly organized self-starter, capable of multitasking without supervision.

Preferred Skills & Competencies:

• Proficiency in ITIL framework concepts.

• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Active Directory, Microsoft SCCM, VMWare, Veeam Backup, and cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud Platform.

• Solid understanding of DNS, DHCP, LDAP, Kerberos, and OAUTH2/SAML2.0 systems.

• Familiarity with various project management methodologies.

• Experience with containerization technologies, specifically Docker.

• Adept at OS deployment techniques such as PXE and kickstart.

• Experienced in utilizing monitoring technologies like PRTG, InMon, and Zabbix.

JoinILM

This position is with Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. LLC, which is part of a business segment we call Industrial Light & Magic. Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. LLC is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, colour, religion or belief, sex, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, disability or pregnancy or maternity. Disney fosters a business culture where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories and be relevant in a rapidly changing world.