System Engineer

IFOM is an internationally recognized non-profit cancer research institute supported by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC) based in Milan within a highly dynamic urban environment IFOM continuous success is ensured by the recruitment of highly selected undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate researchers from over 24 countries worldwide. IFOM is hosted within a research campus shared with the European Institute of Oncology and the Italian Institute of Technology. IFOM is committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment, based on mutual respect and the enhancement of diversity, offering equal job opportunities to all qualified candidates We are looking for a Systems Engineer who wants to grow within a solid technical team, working on real-world infrastructure and up-to-date technologies. About the Position The successful candidate will join the IT department, reporting to the Head of IT and work closely with a Senior Systems Administrator who will guide you through a structured onboarding path. The goal is for you to progressively gain autonomy and ownership of our systems, with room to propose ideas and improve the way we work. We are looking for a resource with at least 5 years of experience in systems administration. The candidate will be responsible for:
• Requirements gathering: you will work with clients and colleagues to understand their needs and translate them into concrete technical solutions;
• Coordination of specialist consultants and vendors: you will be the internal point of contact for external consultants specialized in specific technologies. You will share requirements and priorities with them, track the progress of their work, validate the results and make sure that documentation and know-how stay within the company;
• System installation and configuration of servers, workstations, software and services, both on-premises and in the cloud;
• User and access management Active Directory / Microsoft Entra ID, MFA and access policies;
• Backup and disaster recovery: scheduling, job verification and periodic restore tests;
• Patching and updates of operating systems and applications, with a focus on security and service continuity;
• Administration of the institute’s Microsoft 365 tenant: management of Exchange Online (mailboxes, groups, mail flow rules and email protection), SharePoint Online and OneDrive (sites, permissions, sharing), Teams (teams, policies and settings), licensing, and security and compliance settings;
• Monitoring of systems, services and network with tools such as Zabbix and Grafana/Prometheus, and log analysis to prevent and resolve issues;
• Management of network devices: switches, firewalls, VPNs and connectivity;
• Technical support to users through a ticketing system, both remotely and on-site;
• Storage and management of large data volumes, across multiple layers. At the low level: configuration and maintenance of NAS/SAN systems, RAID, file systems (e.g. ZFS, GPFS, NTFS) and access protocols (SMB, NFS, iSCSI). At the high level: data organization, permissions and quotas, retention and archiving policies, performance monitoring and capacity planning;
• Documentation of infrastructure and procedures, to grow the team’s shared knowledge;
• On-call rotation, after the onboarding period and with appropriate compensation; Qualification
• Operating Systems: Good knowledge of Linux (RHEL, Rocky Linux/AlmaLinux, Debian/Ubuntu) and Windows Server;
• Networking: Solid fundamentals (TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, L2/L3 routing).
• Virtualization: Familiarity with at least one virtualization platform (VMware vSphere, Proxmox VE, Hyper-V);
• Methodology: Methodical approach to troubleshooting and finding root causes; Nice to have:
• Experience with Public Cloud (Microsoft Azure, AWS) or hybrid environments.
• Knowledge of Ansible, Git, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles.
• Basic knowledge of containers (Docker, Podman) and Kubernetes.
• IT security knowledge (hardening, vulnerability management, firewalls, NIS2 Directive awareness).
• Relevant certifications: CompTIA Linux+/Network+, RHCSA, Cisco CCNA, Microsoft Azure Fundamentals/Administrator. Education Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; Languages Advanced proficiency in spoken and written English; Fluent Italian, spoken and written; Soft Skills Continuous learning attitude and curiosity to keep up with fast-evolving technologies; Strong teamwork skills and empathy; excellent problem-solving ability; clear communication with both technical and non-technical team members.

What we offer
• International, dynamic, and collaborative work environment;
• Flextime and hybrid working model;
• On-site bar, canteen;
• Company Nursery and comprehensive support for candidates and families via our Welcome Office (housing, schooling, health system registration, work permits, etc.);
• Medical Service, internal Caf service (tax declaration support), and laptop;
• Lab G: A laboratory facility specifically designed to support pregnant or breastfeeding employees;
• Exclusive corporate discounts (Gym, Pharmacy, Psychological support, and local shops). Type of Contract Permanent contract, full time; Location Milano
- area Scalo di Porta Romana Contact Details If you are interested in this opportunity, please submit your CV and a letter of interest to recruitment@ifom.eu. This announcement is addressed to both sexes pursuant to Laws 903/77 and 125/91 and to people of all ages and nationalities pursuant to Legislative Decrees 215/03 and 216/03. Disclaimer privacy Article 13 of the EU Regulation 2016/679) We inform you that the archiving and processing of data referring to you are carried out by IFOM
- Istituto Fondazione di Oncologia Molecolare ETS in order to perform the recruitment process. Pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) the legal basis for the processing is the necessity to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract. Your data shall be communicated to third parties that could be located in countries outside the European Union for the recruitment process. IFOM has obtained the necessary guarantees to transfer the Data in compliance with the provisions of Chapter V of the GDPR. The resumes received will be deleted at the end of the calendar year following the one of receipt; if you are still interested in proposing your application you will have to re-send. According to Article 15 et seq of the EU Regulation 2016/679 to exercise your rights you can write to the Data Controller: IFOM
- Istituto Fondazione di Oncologia Molecolare ETS, via Adamello 16, Milano, privacy-desk@ifom.eu. Finally, we inform you that IFOM has appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO) who can be contacted at dpo@ifom.eu