DEPT OF AGRICULTURE

Address:  Office of the Director / Information Technology Department
1110 W. Washington Street, #450, Phoenix AZ 85007

Salary: 87,000.00 - 90,000.00 

Grade: 25

Closing Date: TBD

                                                                                   **THE POSITIONS WILL REMAIN OPEN UNTIL FILLED**

                                                                                                            This is not a remote position

The Arizona Department of Agriculture is currently recruiting for a highly motivated, detailed oriented, self-driven individual to join our Information Services team as a Cloud Systems Administrator.

The cloud administrator will be responsible and accountable for the support and maintenance, and evolution of the AZDA Microsoft Azure infrastructure servers and services in a sorted and custom software environment. The cloud administrator will work closely with the team's software application developer, security analyst, business intelligence, and desktop support to maintain the cloud infrastructures. They will also collaborate with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Administration for enterprise cloud support and security efforts.

Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Managing and maintaining the cloud infrastructure, its services and servers within the environment. This includes but is not limited to Cloud systems enhancements, patching, domain integrations, management and upgrade of operating systems, and the implementation of & performing practice exercises for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery.
• Developing and configuring cloud systems, workload balancing within the cloud infrastructure as well as monitoring and enhancing systems in collaboration with other members of the IT Staff and sister agency. Perform data backups and restorations.
• Documenting all changes, enhancements, processes, system infrastructure map, and all other knowledge into Standards of Work. Adheres to state Cloud First Policy, monitoring storage usage and overall general health of the various cloud environments; creation of standard work documentation; continuous right sizing of cloud environments to ensure cost savings; leading the team in minor and major change requests for the cloud environment virtual machines (Windows Server, SQL and Linux) and Kubernetes.
• Implements data management and security strategies including data classifications, retention policies, protection requirements for confidential data such as PCI, PII, PHI, and CJI. Ensures that the agency cloud infrastructure is the source of all data storage.
• Other duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE OF:
• Networking concepts and server virtualization technologies.
• Migration experience with Windows/Linux/Unix/SQL/Access Database servers to public cloud environments.
• Understanding of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS infrastructures, Cloud Compute Instances, Virtual Networks, Virtual Machines, Cloud Load Balancers, Cloud Storage, Cloud Database Services, Cloud Security and Kubernetes.

SKILLS IN:
• Customer Service.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Problem solving and administration.
• Task oriented, initiative driven.
• Familiar with ITIL Services.

ABILITY TO:
• Work independently and in a team environment
• Collaborates with peers on day-to-day tasks.
• Supports senior staff as required and ensures customer requirements and project milestones are met.
• Interfaces with agency users in both routine and reactive monitoring situations to improve service.

Associates degree in Computer Science, Information Systems Management, or IT related discipline; Experience with Azure Services; or equivalent within AWS / Google Cloud Platform; Experience with developing, running & maintaining scripts. (PowerShell, CLI, JSON, Python, Bash); working in Linux & Windows, and Access Database.

At least one entry level / associate level cloud certification from one of the following cloud vendors
MS Azure Fundamentals, Azure Administrator
AWS Cloud Practitioner (AWS), Associate Sysops Administration
Google Fundamentals,
2+ years of hands-on experience or demonstrated proficiency provisioning virtual environments, performing tasks, & maintaining Linux and Windows instance running on cloud platforms

If this position requires driving or the use of a vehicle as an essential function of the job to conduct State business, then the following requirements apply: Driver’s License Requirements.

All newly hired State employees are subject to and must successfully complete the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify).

The Arizona Department of Agriculture offers a comprehensive benefits package to include:
Sick leave
Vacation with 10 paid holidays per year
Paid Parental Leave-Up to 12 weeks per year paid leave for newborn or newly-placed foster/adopted child (pilot program).
Health and dental insurance
Retirement plan
Life insurance and long-term disability insurance
Optional employee benefits include short-term disability insurance, deferred compensation plans, and supplemental life insurance

Learn more about the Paid Parental Leave pilot program here. For a complete list of benefits provided by The State of Arizona, please visit our benefits page

Positions in this classification participate in the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS). Mandatory condition of Employment for all employees who meet the eligibility and membership criteria defined in statue. Current contribution rate is 12.27%. Enrollment eligibility will become effective after 27 weeks of employment.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Melissa Meek at mmeek@azda.gov for assistance. The State of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer.