Entry Level Linux System Administrator Jobs in Toronto, ON

About OICR

OICR is Ontario's cancer research institute. We bring together people from across the province and around the world to improve the lives of everyone affected by cancer. We take on the biggest challenges in cancer research and deliver real-world solutions to find cancer earlier and treat it more effectively. We are committed to helping people living with cancer, as well as future generations, live longer and healthier lives.

Launched in December 2005, OICR is an independent institute funded by the Government of Ontario through theMinistry ofColleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security.

Job Details

Position: Systems Administrator III

Location: MaRS Centre, Toronto

Department: Research Information Technology

Reports To: Associate Director, Research IT Infrastructure

Hiring Range: $93,000 to $104,500 per annum commensurate with level of experience; total compensation includes a competitive benefits plan, plus a defined benefit pension plan (HOOPP)

Hours: 35 hours/week

Job Type: Hybrid

Status: Full-Time, Permanent

Position Summary

The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) is seeking an experienced Linux Systems Administrator III to help build and support leading-edge technology infrastructure that plays a key role in OICR's cancer research activities. The successful candidate will join a team of ~30 IT professionals, supporting state of the art on-premise and cloud-based technology services to over 300 local research, lab and administrative users, and thousands of collaborators across Ontario and globally. OICR's infrastructure consists of Linux and Windows servers, including a large high performance compute cluster (GPU and CPU), large virtualization platforms, over 10 PetaBytes of high performance storage, and over 1,000 client and lab devices.

Position Responsibilities

• Implementsand supports and/or installs infrastructure systems, Linux operating systems, software, and hardware, on-premise, and on commercial and academic cloud using industry best practice for scalability, availability and security, in accordance with OICR policies and practices.
• Interprets log results and system behaviors.
• Interprets log results and system behaviors.
• Ensures IT infrastructure systems operate as intended.

• Pro-actively identifies potential problems in infrastructure systems (internal or 3rd party) and suggests solutions.
• Prepares accurate status reports on deliverables.
• Coordinates work teams and provides technical support to project team members.
• Contributes to and is active in infrastructure systems projects with internal and external collaborators.
• May act as liaison between business and vendors and suppliers.
• Writes technical documentation.
• Helps manage day-to-day operations.
• Manages priorities and meets project timelines and solution objectives, with supervision.
• Adheres to and promotes new team infrastructure systems engineering guidelines, practices, OICR policies.
• Develop, implement, and maintain tools to improve server and application management.
• Install, configure, update and support core applications such as Atlassian Confluence, Crowd, Jira, Service Desk.
• Identify and apply security patches with a sense of urgency.
• Safeguard sensitive data through the use of appropriate technology (e.g. encryption at rest, and in-transit).

Position Requirements

• Bachelor's degree, or recognized equivalent in Computer Science or Engineering.
• Experience in an IT-related position that included maintaining Linux server infrastructure.
• Expert level knowledge of Linux operating systems.
• Solid knowledge of infrastructure services including DNS, Mail, LDAP/AD, data backup and restore, systems log parsing and auditing.
• A proven foundation of knowledge in server systems and networking infrastructure.
• A proven foundation of knowledge in information security concepts and practices, and network hardware/software protocols and principles.
• Experience working with or willingness to learn High Performance Computing (HPC).
• Experience with some or all of: NFS, Openstack, Ceph, Slurm, Ansible, Git, Terraform, containerization, Kubernetes, Docker.
• Intermediate experience with scripting languages.
• Must be able to read, write and speak English fluently.
• Ability to participate in an after-hours on-call rotation.
• Has a passion for problem-solving.

For more information about OICR, please visit the website at www.oicr.on.ca.

To learn more about working at OICR, visit our career page.

POSTED DATE: October 27, 2025
CLOSING DATE: Until Filled

OICR is committed to fostering a climate of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. This commitment is central to, and mutually supportive of, our research excellence mandate. We welcome and respect the diversity of all members of our community and we support an inclusive culture for all. We welcome all applicants, and encourage applications from racialized persons, Indigenous Peoples, women, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S persons, and others who may contribute to furthering a diversity of ideas within our community. OICR is committed to fair assessment of a candidate's abilities, and consideration for diversity of thought, method, and experience. Providing an accessible workplace and recruitment process is important to us, as described in our Accessibility Plan (https://oicr.on.ca/accessibility/). Should you require accommodation during any stage in the recruitment process, please complete the form at the bottom of page https://oicr.on.ca/careers/. Information received related to accommodation will be handled confidentially.

OICR hiring managers may use approved Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to assist with an initial screening or assessment of applications, and selection of applicants in accordance with OICR's privacy policies. Personal information associated with any job application will not be shared with or retained by any third party for the purpose of training an AI model. Hiring managers shall determine which applications proceed through the recruitment process.

Resume Format:If you elect to apply, please click on the "Apply for this Job" button below. You will be required to enter contact details, and to attach your resume to your application.Please attach your resume as a .pdf or .doc file.

The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research thanks all applicants. However, only those under consideration will be contacted.