Job Details
Description
Herschend is the world’s largest family-owned themed attractions company, with 12,000+ passionate hosts collectively entertaining 15 million families each year.
The heart of Herschend’s success has long been the world-renowned hospitality that’s rooted in our DNA. We call it Heartspitality®. It’s a unique culture that blends our ethos of Leading with Love and our purpose of Bringing Families Closer Together by Creating Memories Worth Repeating® to create real impact and joy that spreads through our hosts to our guests and out into our communities.
Herschend’s portfolio of more than two dozen beloved family entertainment brands across North America includes iconic award-winning destinations such as Dollywood® Parks & Resorts, Silver Dollar City® Company, Adventure Aquarium®, Callaway Resort & Gardens®, Kentucky Kingdom Theme & Water Park®, Newport Aquarium®, The Vancouver Aquarium® and Wild Adventures®. In addition to its premier themed attractions, Herschend is proud to steward the World-Famous Harlem Globetrotters® legacy and provide immersive content and experiences through our Herschend Entertainment Studios® and Pink Adventure Tours® brands.
As an equal-opportunity employer, we strive to provide environments where every host, guest, and partner feel welcome, valued, and loved. We firmly believe that words and actions matter, which is why all individuals are to be treated equally and with respect.
The Systems Engineer I is responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining the organization’s IT systems and infrastructure reporting directly to the Director of IT Infrastructure. The ideal candidate should be passionate about virtualization, storage and cloud technologies. This role focuses on ensuring the smooth integration of hardware, software, and networks to meet the operational needs of the business. The Systems Engineer I will work closely with cross-functional teams to troubleshoot issues, optimize system performance, and ensure the security, scalability, and efficiency of the IT environment.
Key Responsibilities
- Design and implement complex IT systems, including servers, storage, and related networking solutions, to meet the organization's requirements.
- Configuration and deployment of hardware and software components, ensuring systems are optimized for performance and security.
- Maintain and manage the organization’s IT infrastructure, including servers, virtualization environments, and cloud-based platforms.
- Monitor system performance and availability, ensuring high uptime and reliability of all critical IT services.
- Participate in Infrastructure upgrades, patch management, and system migrations to minimize downtime and disruption.
- Ensure seamless integration of new technologies with existing systems, maintaining compatibility and optimal performance.
- Ensure systems are secure by implementing security best practices, encryption, and access control measures.
- Monitor and manage system vulnerabilities, perform regular security assessments, and respond to security incidents promptly.
- Provide technical support and troubleshooting for hardware, software, and network issues.
- Diagnose and resolve system failures, minimizing service disruptions and downtime.
- Serve as an escalation point for complex IT issues.
- Create and maintain system documentation, including diagrams, configuration files, and troubleshooting guides.
- Assist in the development of disaster recovery plans and conduct regular testing to ensure systems can recover quickly in the event of failure.
- Contribute to IT projects, such as system upgrades, cloud migrations, or infrastructure expansions.
- Collaborate with IT teams, vendors, and business units to ensure successful project delivery.
- Work closely with network engineers, developers, and security teams to ensure integrated and secure solutions.
- A strong eagerness to share knowledge with the team to help build a highly capable technical group.
- The candidate must be willing to participate in a 24x7x365 on-call rotation and responding to calls even outside of assigned on-call shifts.
- The candidate should be available to travel up to 20% per year.
Qualifications
- Relevant certifications, such as Microsoft Certified: Azure Administration, VMware Certified Professional, or CompTIA Server+, are highly preferred.
- Extreme attention to detail with excellent documentation skills.
- 3-5 years of experience in systems engineering, infrastructure management, or a similar IT role.
- Proven experience with virtualization platforms (e.g., VMware, Hyper-V) and cloud services (e.g., AWS, Azure, M365).
- Solid experience with operating systems (Windows, Linux) and networking concepts (e.g., TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VPN).
- Strong understanding of Microsoft Active Directory.
- Strong understanding of system architecture, server configuration, and cloud infrastructure management.
- Proficiency in scripting and automation tools (PowerShell, Python, Bash).
- Excellent troubleshooting and problem-solving skills, with the ability to handle complex system issues.
- Strong project management and communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with both technical and non-technical teams.
