Company Summary

Join a team that puts its People First! Since 1889, First American (NYSE: FAF) has held an unwavering belief in its people. They are passionate about what they do, and we are equally passionate about fostering an environment where all feel welcome, supported, and empowered to be innovative and reach their full potential. Our inclusive, people-first culture has earned our company numerous accolades, including being named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for seven consecutive years. We have also earned awards as a best place to work for women, diversity and LGBTQ+ employees, and have been included on more than 50 regional best places to work lists. First American will always strive to be a great place to work, for all. For more information, please visit www.careers.firstam.com.

Job Summary

This Lead IT Systems Administrator role is to ensure the stability, integrity, and efficient operation of the in-house information systems that support core organizational functions. This is achieved by monitoring, maintaining, supporting, patching, and optimizing all networked software and associated operating systems. The Systems Administrator will apply proven communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills to help identify, communicate, and resolve issues in order to maximize the benefit of IT systems investments.

Essential Functions

• Use “ticketing system” or assignments from management to receive/assign work assignments.
• Provides overall technical leadership to team members. Mentors and provides guidance to less experienced personnel.
• In conjunction with the Infrastructure Architecture team, researches current and future server/storage technologies and serves as subject matter expert on processes and procedures.
• Leads the design, implementation, and maintenance of departmental workflow automation processes, procedures and standards, which ultimately are used to provide the server and storage service offerings to internal IT and business unit customers.
• Provides technical solutions and facilitates escalated support with vendors for non-routine, highly complex technical issues
• Develops strategies and roadmaps to manage the frequency of hardware and software upgrades.
• Plays a principal role in the evaluation of products used to provide server and storage services for appropriateness of cost and technical feasibility.
• Primarily responsible for performance and capacity planning reviews with management.
• Required to provide on-call support during off-duty hours on weekdays, weekends and holidays on a scheduled/rotating basis.
• Required to perform duties outside of normal work hours based on business needs.

Job Complexities

• Leads cross-functional technical teams as it relates to complex infrastructure projects and associated service offerings.
• Provides technical guidance and direction to all System Administrators.
• Drives solutions on a wide variety of complex technical problems.
• Is a principal contributor to the design, development and implementation of automated departmental workflow processes.
• Primary departmental technical point of contact for internal IT and business units. Works with IT and business unit counterparts to define solution requirements for a wide range of complex technical issues as well as subsequently developing and implementing technical solutions to address these issues.

Supervision Received or Extended

• Regularly instructs, directs, and assigns work to other team members, monitoring project status.
• Uses expertise of other team members and leverages a wide range of additional resources to explore/implement complex customized service offerings.
• Acts as a team leader for complex infrastructure projects with moderate budgets or of a short to intermediate duration.
• Sets objectives for project goals and other team members and monitors progress to achieve goals.
• Leads the development, implementation and modification of departmental processes
• Negotiates, persuades and gains consensus from cross functional team(s).
• No formal management responsibilities. Does have general oversight of team member’s workload assignments and provides overall technical guidance and direction to the team.

Knowledge and Skills/Technology Used

UNIX/Linux Server Administrators:

• Expert working knowledge of current UNIX/Linux server operating systems and associated components.
• Expert knowledge of UNIX/Linux virtualization technologies.
• General knowledge of Storage Area Networks as it relates to UNIX/Linux operating systems. 

Windows Server/ Desktop  Administrators:

• Basic working knowledge of current Microsoft Windows operating systems and associated components.
• General knowledge of VMware and Hyper-V virtualization technologies.
• General knowledge of Storage Area Networks as it relates to Microsoft Windows operating systems.  

Storage Administrators:

• Basic working knowledge of Storage Area Networks.
• General knowledge of Windows and UNIX/Linux operating systems as it relates to Storage Area Networks.
• Miscellaneous Technical Skills (All):
• Expert analytical and problem solving skills to troubleshoot infrastructure problems specific to their area of technical expertise.
• Advanced knowledge of scripting languages. 
• Prior exposure to infrastructure management tools specific to their area of technical expertise.
• Administrative/Interpersonal Skills (All):
• Excellent organization skills to balance and prioritize assigned work.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work as a member of a multi-cultural, multi-location, team.

Typical Range of Experience

• Employees entering this job typically have:
• 7+ years of hands-on technical experience supporting some combination of X86 server, storage or networking infrastructure.
• 7+ years working with virtualization technologies such as VMware, Citrix, or Hyper-V.
• 4+ years of successfully leading complex technical projects and providing technical direction to other technical personnel.

Location

*Remote candidates encouraged to apply.  Candidates local to Santa Ana, CA will be required to work a hybrid schedule.*

Pay Range: $80,000-$166,000 annually

This hiring range is a reasonable estimate of the base pay range for this position at the time of posting.  Pay is based on a number of factors which may include job-related knowledge, skills, experience, business requirements and geographic location

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First American invests in its employees’ development and well-being, empowers them to provide superior customer service and encourages them to serve the communities where they live and work. First American is committed to diversity and inclusion. We are an equal opportunity employer.Based on eligibility, First American offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401k, PTO/paid sick leave and other great benefits like an employee stock purchase plan.