Position Title:             System Administrator – Earthquake, Tsunami, and Ocean Systems

Background :               The Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) is an international and intergovernmental institution, owned and  managed by its Member States, for the generation and application of early warning     information. RIMES evolved from the efforts of countries in Africa and Asia, in   the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, to establish a regional early  warning system within a multi-hazard framework for the generation and communication of early warning information, and capacity building for   preparedness and response to trans-boundary hazards. RIMES was established on        30 April 2009, and was registered with the United Nations on 1 July 2009. RIMES          operates from its regional early warning center located at the campus of the Asian          Institute of Technology in Pathumthani.

Position Description:    The System Administrator – Earthquake, Tsunami, and Ocean Systems is responsible for supporting the computing systems for earthquake, tsunami, and ocean applications, and is part of an earthquake and tsunami investigation team at RIMES’ regional facility for tsunami warning.

Minimum Qualifications

• At least Bachelor’s Degree in computer science, computer engineering, information and communication technology, or a related field
• At least 3 years of experience in system administration; experience in computer networking and security; experience in Unix/Linux operating systems distributions
• Experience in diverse database design (MySQL, Microsoft SQL, or NoSQL)
• Experience in HTML, PHP, Perl, Shell, and other web development frameworks
• Knowledge of data management and visualization analytics like D3.js, Tableau, or Vega
• Strong knowledge of R, Python and MATLAB, JavaScript and a basic understanding of FORTRAN would be an added advantage
• Knowledge of Cloud services and platforms such as Hadoop, Azure, Google Earth Engine etc.
• Knowledge of handling API-based services, and geographical data formats like GeoJson, and ESRI Shapefiles.

Skills and Abilities

Strong analytical, problem solving, and multitasking skills; demonstrated ability to plan and organize work independently; sound judgment and reasoning ability; excellent written and verbal English communication skills

Personal Qualities

Excellent inter-personal skills and team-oriented work style; high level of patience and professionalism; ability to remain calm when dealing with crisis; ability to keep confidential matters private; interest in working in a multi-cultural environment; strong desire to learn; willingness to work hard; a good sense of humor and fun, but with seriousness on the quality and excellence of work

Major Duties and Responsibilities

System development:

• Development/Customization of Decision Support Systems (DSSs) to support earthquake monitoring and tsunami warning operations
• Development/Customization of DSSs for ocean/coastal applications, including, but not limited to, ocean state forecast, tsunami, storm surge, oil spill, coral bleaching, sea level rise, potential fishing zones, sea rescue, etc.

Ocean information system operations:

• Maintain existing ocean information systems
• Ensure availability of regular ocean information
• Monitor buoy positions and inform country focal points in case of buoy drift

System maintenance:

• Maintain system efficiency. Perform daily system monitoring, verifying system integrity, reviewing system and application logs, and verifying completion of scheduled jobs such as backups. Ensure optimum performance of the Local Area Network (LAN), including Internet connectivity, and support users.
• Maintain network and system security. Perform regular security monitoring to identify any possible intrusions. 
• Perform daily backup operations, ensuring all required file systems and system data are successfully backed up
• Maintain the tsunami database (archival and retrieval), and systematically organize earthquake, sea level and tsunami data sets
• Maintain the DSS, SeiscomP, ShakeCast, PRECISE, INSPIRE, ESCAPE, and real-time tsunami simulation and loss estimation (GPGPU) servers
• Repair and recover from hardware or software failures.  Coordinate and communicate with the Team Leader – Systems Research and Development Unit and to the Team Leader – Earthquake and Tsunami Watch.
• Perform performance tuning, hardware upgrades, and resource optimization as may be required.  Perform periodic performance reporting.
• Analyze and isolate issues. Troubleshoot problems reported by users.
• Maintain the tsunami regional facility equipment
• Make recommendations for future upgrades

Operational support to 24/7 earthquake and tsunami services:

• Ensure shift operations are carried out in compliance with RIMES SOP/RTWP standards
• Ensure proper handover of information, duties, and responsibilities between shift owners and communication of problems/issues encountered during operations
• Operate the RIMES seismic and sea level monitoring systems for the determination of the location, magnitude, and tsunami potential of any earthquake occurring in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian regions and decision support system for dissemination of earthquake alerts and tsunami advisories
• Prepare and issue tsunami advisories to national warning centers of member countries during a tsunami emergency
• Ensure that tsunami advisories are properly relayed and coordinated with other RTWPs to avoid confusion and to complement watches issued by these providers
• Prepare a situation report for earthquake events with magnitude 6.5 and above
• Monitor observation stations (e.g., seismic, sea level, buoy, etc.) established under RIMES and inform country focal points in case of station data issues
• Conduct regular drill of staff
• Recommend and implement improvements in earthquake monitoring and tsunami warning capabilities

Others:

• Provide technical assistance on the installation/deployment, testing, operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance of seismic and ocean-related equipment/stations/ systems to member countries
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Immediate Supervisor

RIMES promotes diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Well-qualified applicants particularly women are encouraged to apply.