IT Technical Liaison - Basic Sciences

Department
BSD BIS - Device Support Services

About the Department
The University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division (BSD) contains all elements of academic medicine. Basic and translational research, education, and patient care come together in a single campus. Its mission is to create new knowledge of living systems, train the next generation of leaders in biology and medicine, and advance the forefront of health through innovative patient care. The Biological Science Division is divided into 10 basic science and 13 clinical departments that provide academic homes for nearly 900 full-time faculty.

The BSD Information Technology team provides advanced, secure technologies and services to enable clinical, translational, and basic science research. As part of the BSD Information Technology team, the Device Support Services (DSS) team services 10,000 Endpoints/Mobile Devices for 4,000 faculty and staff.

Job Summary
The IT Technical Liaison serves an advocate and escalated interface between Basic Sciences faculty, researchers, staff, and the BSD Information Services, ensuring the delivery of timely and tailored technical solutions to support groundbreaking research. This role combines high-level endpoint engineering, technical account management, and exceptional customer service with a strong focus on coordinating and facilitating collaboration between researchers, IT technicians, and other IT teams. The IT Technical Liaison ensures that the unique technological requirements of researchers are met and empowering our faculty to focus on their core work and outcomes.

Responsibilities

Technical Coordination & Collaboration

• Act as a central point of contact for staff within Basic Sciences, coordinating with IT technicians and specialized IT teams to deliver comprehensive solutions tailored to their unique needs.
• Facilitate cross-departmental collaboration to resolve complex technical challenges, ensuring timely and effective communication between researchers and IT service providers.
• Serve as an advocate for Basic Science faculty, ensuring their requirements and needs are understood within IT teams.

Technical Support & Endpoint Engineering

• Provide advanced endpoint engineering and support, including configuring, deploying, troubleshooting, and optimizing research-related devices and systems.
• Collaborate with IT teams to design and implement custom technical solutions, ensuring alignment with university policies and security standards.

Technical Account Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with Basic Science teams, gaining a deep understanding of their technological workflows and project objectives.
• Serve as a trusted advisor proactively identifying opportunities to streamline operations and enhance efficiency through IT services.
• Regularly review IT support provided to Basic Science research teams, facilitating improvements based on feedback and evolving needs.

Customer Service & IT Service Concierge

• Ensure there is timely support for Basic Science faculty by working to enhance integration into wider systems available, enhanced communication and education about resources available and personal accessibility to basic scientists.
• Understands and appreciates the culture of research, providing excellent customer service to clients ensuring their IT issues and requests are addressed promptly and with a personal touch, thereby enabling researchers to pursue their discovery-based science.
• Act as a liaison to ensure seamless access to university IT resources, such as high-performance computing, data storage, and collaboration tools.
• Coordinate escalations and follow-ups with IT teams to ensure timely successful resolution of critical issues.

Strategic Initiatives

• Collaborate with BSD Deans and IT leadership to develop strategies that enhance IT support and services for the division's research activities.
• Assist in implementing policies, standards, and best practices for IT service delivery within a research environment.
• Stay informed about emerging technologies relevant to academic research and advocate for their adoption where beneficial.
• Advocate and assist in the development of IT strategic priorities.
• Leads business process analyses, needs assessments, and preliminary cost/benefit analyses. Solves unique and complex problems relating to computer equipment capacity, limitations, and operation time.
• Utilizes expertise and a thorough understanding of business systems and industry requirements to translate business and user needs into system requirement specifications.
• Recommends process improvements in existing applications and revises existing system logic difficulties as necessary. Designs, develops, and implements new applications, systems architecture, network systems, and applications infrastructures.
• Communicates and presents on system enhancements and/or alternatives to colleagues in IT management.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:
Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:
Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Experience:

• Proficiency in endpoint management tools and technologies (e.g., SCCM, Jamf, Intune).
• Strong understanding of research technologies, including high-performance computing, data management, and specialized software.
• Expertise in troubleshooting and resolving hardware, software, and networking issues.
• Familiarity with compliance frameworks relevant to research (e.g., HIPAA, FERPA, GDPR) is a plus.
• Experience working in a research-intensive environment or familiarity with academic research workflows.
• Certifications such as ITIL, CompTIA, or vendor-specific credentials (e.g., Microsoft, Apple, or Cisco).

Preferred Competencies

• Exceptional collaboration and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to work across teams and build relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Strong organizational skills, with the ability to coordinate multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with an aptitude for translating technical concepts into accessible language for non-technical users.

Working Conditions

• Weekend/Evening hours: There may be some occasional instances of needing to assist with an escalation over the weekend or in the evening hours.
• Travel Required: On rare occasions there may be a need to travel within the Chicago metropolitan area.

Application Documents

• Resume (required)
• Cover Letter (preferred)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family
Information Technology

Role Impact
Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours
40

Drug Test Required
No

Health Screen Required
No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
No

Pay Rate Type
Salary

FLSA Status
Exempt

Pay Range
$100,000.00 - $150,000.00
The included pay rate or range represents the University's good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible
Yes
The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.