Cape Town: Mid-Level Computer Systems Engineer (CPT) posted by Datafin

ENVIRONMENT:

Join a cutting-edge scientific and technology organisation driving advancements in large-scale data and signal processing. The team is seeking a Mid-Level Computer Systems Engineer to support the development, integration, and maintenance of computer hardware and associated systems that underpin complex technical and operational objectives. In this role, youll help implement and maintain robust, secure, and high-performing infrastructure under the guidance of senior engineers. Youll contribute to the ongoing delivery and optimisation of systems by deploying, monitoring, upgrading, troubleshooting, and restoring key components applying sound Systems Engineering principles throughout.

DUTIES:

REQUIREMENTS:

Qualifications –

National Diploma in Information Technology, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, Electronic Engineering, or a related field, with 7 years relevant experience; OR

BTech / BSc in the above fields, with 6 years experience; OR

BEng / MTech in the above fields, with 4 years experience; OR

MEng in the above fields, with 3 years experience; OR

PhD in the above fields, with 1 years relevant experience.

Experience –

Practical experience working in data centres or server room environments.

Proven experience with server installation, monitoring, diagnostics, and maintenance.

Skilled in hardware upgrades, component replacement, and repairs.

Hands-on experience with Operating Systems and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) tools.

Proficiency in asset management, including maintaining asset registers, system and architecture mapping, warranty tracking, and related documentation.

Basic networking experience, including cabling, configuration, and fault isolation.

Exposure to SANs and storage systems.

Experience collaborating in international or cross-functional teams, especially those focused on data platforms, networking, or systems engineering.

Advantageous: Practical experience in infrastructure design and automation, distributed systems, observability, CI/CD, container orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes), DevOps/SRE practices, and cloud-native technologies.

Knowledge –

Solid grasp of systems engineering principles, including performance optimisation and fault tolerance.

Hands-on experience with hardware monitoring, diagnostics, and break/fix repairs (HPE, Dell, Supermicro, etc.).

Skilled in managing component and spare part inventories, tools, and workspaces for system assembly.

Experience working with service levels (SLAs) and familiarity with frameworks such as SRE, ITIL, and COBIT.

Proficient in remote infrastructure management and monitoring.

Working knowledge of networking fundamentals and troubleshooting.

Familiarity with containerisation tools (Docker, Podman), orchestration platforms (Kubernetes, Helm), and container runtime environments.

Understanding of Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and CI/CD methodologies, using tools like GitLab CI, Ansible, and Terraform.

Sound knowledge of IT security principles, including change management, access control, and physical/logical security.