Research Administrator Remote Jobs in Colorado (NOW HIRING)

Job Description Starting hiring salary - $42.59 to $45.15 hourly DEFINITION: The SCADA / OT Administrator will be the primary point of ownership and accountability for all SCADA/OT technologies and systems. The SCADA/OT Administrator is responsible for configuring, troubleshooting, optimizing, securing, and maintaining the City's isolated Utilities Operational Technology network and SCADA system environment. This includes, but is not limited to, Windows and SCADA servers, VMWare virtual machines, HMI workstations, historian SQL database systems, alarm notification systems, PLC communication networks, industrial switches, firewalls, remote access systems, backups, software updates, and related OT infrastructure

The position provides technical expertise to support day-to-day SCADA and OT network operations, including efforts to design, maintain, monitor, document, and audit OT infrastructure that supports water treatment operations. The role serves as a technical coordinator between Utilities operations, City IT, engineering consultants, system integrators, contractors, and vendors. This position must work well independently and with teams made up of employees from other divisions.

This position requires Colorado residency, and the work is primarily performed on-premises at City of Brighton facilities. City of Brighton is dedicated to being an employer of choice for staff and supports staff working with their supervisor for flexible schedules, work-from-home (WFH) opportunities, and Target36 (Targeted 36-hour work week). The successful candidate will align with the following traits/values/skills Possess an exceptional problem solving and critical thinking methodology.

Be self-motivated and innovative with attention to detail. Demonstrate effective interpersonal and relationship-building skills. Demonstrate a strong customer-service orientation.

Work successfully in a team-oriented atmosphere that provides accurate information, excellent customer service, and human relations skills. Support predictable system changes without disrupting water treatment operations. Ability to organize workload, set priorities, manage multiple projects, and work within deadlines.

Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with those contacted in the course of work. SUPERVISION EXERCISED AND RECEIVED: The position reports to the Water Treatment Plant Manager and works in close coordination with the IT Infrastructure Manager. This position does not supervise others.

The position is required to possess the ability to work independently without supervision and to exercise critical decision-making capabilities that align with the direction of the Plant Manager. ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES, QUALIFICATIONS, AND DUTIES: General Administration & Support: Communicate effectively with operators, mechanics, engineers, IT staff, consultants, contractors, and vendors. Translate operational needs into technical requirements and technical risks into user-friendly language.

Present technical ideas in clear, practical, and understandable terms. Install, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Microsoft Windows servers, OT/SCADA servers, VMWare virtual machines, HMI workstations, historian systems, reporting systems, alarm notification systems, and related OT applications/devices. Manage Microsoft Windows Active Directory user access, roles, permissions, authentication methods, and account reviews for SCADA and OT systems in coordination with City IT policies and operational security needs.

Maintain TCP/IP protocols, IPv4, DHCP, DNS, NAT, VPNs, and related network services. Maintain PLC communication and common industrial protocols such as Ethernet/IP, Modbus TCP, OPC UA, and other SCADA communication methods. Manage and maintain Microsoft SQL database systems that provide SCADA historian reporting functions.

Administer and maintain the water treatment OT network, including industrial switches, routers, firewalls, VLANs, fiber and copper connections, remote access systems, and communication paths between PLCs, remote sites, servers, operator workstations, and City IT systems. Support SCADA software platforms, including HMI screens, tags, alarms, trends, historian connections, reporting functions, user access, licensing, updates, and vendor-supported modules. Perform routine maintenance tasks, such as patch coordination, software updates, firmware planning, server maintenance, workstation maintenance, endpoint protection coordination, and backup verification.

Troubleshoot SCADA and OT communication issues involving PLCs, remote I/O, instrumentation networks, servers, workstations, switches, firewalls, fiber, radios, cellular routers, and vendor-managed equipment. Maintain Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching technologies, including VLANs, trunking, spanning tree, QoS, LLDP, and related network configuration concepts. Research and recommend technology upgrades, security improvements, lifecycle replacements, redundancy improvements, monitoring tools, and standardization practices for OT and SCADA systems.

Participate in the on-call rotation or provide after-hours support for SCADA/OT issues that may affect water treatment operations. Respond to urgent SCADA/OT issues during nights, weekends, holidays, and emergency events when needed. Water treatment operations, regulatory recordkeeping, alarm response, process control, and the operational importance of SCADA system reliability.

Maintain local and wide area networks (LAN, WAN, Internet), TCP/IP, IPv4, DHCP, DNS, NAT, routing, switching, firewalls, VPNs, wireless communications, fiber, copper, and network troubleshooting. Vendor coordination, project coordination, system documentation, technology lifecycle planning, and change management. Participate in budgeting, licensing, and invoice processing.

Perform related duties as assigned. Documentation: Review proposed SCADA, network, PLC, instrumentation, and control-system changes for operational impacts, cybersecurity concerns, maintainability, backup requirements, documentation needs, and compatibility with existing standards. Maintain accurate documentation of OT network architecture, IP addressing, VLANs, firewall rules, remote access methods, server configurations, software versions, backup locations, licensing, system dependencies, and troubleshooting procedures.

Conduct or support regular OT network audits to identify vulnerabilities, obsolete equipment, configuration issues, unsupported software, backup gaps, and compliance concerns. Make recommendations for continuous improvement to SCADA /OT environment. Policies, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and Training Materials: Provide technical support and training to water treatment staff regarding SCADA access, alarm response tools, trends, reports, dashboards, and basic troubleshooting.

Monitoring: Monitor SCADA system and OT network performance, resource utilization, communication status, alarms, and system health to ensure optimal uptime, reliability, and performance. Cybersecurity: Maintain OT cybersecurity practices, including asset inventory, network diagrams, access control, remote access review, vulnerability coordination, incident response support, logging, and corrective action tracking. Coordinate with City IT to ensure OT systems are appropriately segmented, backed up, secured, monitored, and supported while preserving the reliability and availability requirements of water treatment operations.

Maintain cybersecurity practices applicable to OT environments, including least privilege, account management, asset inventory, logging, backups, incident response, network segmentation, vulnerability coordination, and change control. Determine a consistent patching policy and procedure consistent with operational needs. Evaluate and coordinate software patches, firmware updates, security updates, and system upgrades while minimizing risk to water treatment operations.

Maintain system security while preserving SCADA reliability, visibility, and operational availability. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR): Design, implement, document, and regularly test backup and disaster recovery procedures for Windows servers, SCADA servers, historians, PLC programs, HMI applications, network configurations, firewall configurations, and critical OT data. Participate in SCADA/OT incident response, outage troubleshooting, cybersecurity reviews, startup support, and after-action reviews.

Maintain accurate technical documentation, network diagrams, asset inventories, change records, backup records, and troubleshooting procedures. Projects: Coordinate with system integrators, engineers, contractors, vendors, and City IT during capital projects, upgrades, migrations, startups, commissioning, and control-system modifications. Participate in IT and Water Treatment projects related to SCADA upgrades, OT network improvements, server migrations, cybersecurity improvements, plant expansions, and system deployments.

Collaborate with City staff to assess project requirements, contribute to implementation plans, and coordinate deployment activities. EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Required: A bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering Technology, Industrial Automation, Cybersecurity, or a closely related field from an accredited college or university. Alternatively, an equivalent combination of education, technical training, certifications, and directly related experience will be considered.

At least three years of progressively responsible experience supporting one or more of the following: SCADA systems Industrial control systems Operational Technology networks Server administration Network infrastructure Virtualized server environments Cybersecurity Municipal utility technology systems Applicants should possess knowledge and experience with network technology and protocols such as TCP/IP, routing, firewalls, VPNs, VLANs, and IPv4 networks. Applicants should possess knowledge and experience with modern workstation and server operating systems. Preferred: Experience supporting water or wastewater treatment facilities.

Experience with Ignition SCADA. Experience supporting PLC-based control systems. Experience with industrial Ethernet networks.

Experience with Windows Server, Active Directory, Microsoft SQL, Veeam backup systems, endpoint protection, and VMWare virtualization platforms. Experience with Palo Alto firewalls, VPNs, VLANs, network segmentation, and secure remote access. Experience working with system integrators, engineering consultants, contractors, and vendors.

Experience supporting SCADA historian, reporting, alarming, and HMI systems. Experience with cybersecurity frameworks and best practices for OT/ICS environments. Experience participating in startup, commissioning, or capital improvement projects involving SCADA, controls, instrumentation, or OT networks.

Preferred Certifications: ITIL 4 Foundations CompTIA Network+ CompTIA Security+ CompTIA Project+ Cisco CCNA Cisco CyberOps Associate Cisco CCNP Microsoft Administration VMware Certified Professional Ignition credential or certification ISA/IEC 62443 cybersecurity certificate Global Industrial Cyber Security Professional or equivalent ICS/OT cybersecurity training CISSP PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, climb stairs, kneel, crouch, reach, talk, hear, and use hands to operate computers, tools, components, and peripheral equipment. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds, with assistance as needed. Work may occur in office areas, control rooms, server rooms, electrical rooms, treatment process areas, pump stations, outdoor environments, and construction areas.

The employee may be required to distinguish colors and shades of color. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. The employee may be required to work near energized equipment under appropriate safety procedures, climb ladders, access network cabinets, work in confined or restricted areas, and work in varying temperatures.

The employee must possess hand/eye coordination adequate to operate computers, tools, testing equipment, vehicles, and peripheral devices. The employee must be able to work in a time-sensitive environment. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Must pass advanced screening such as reference checks, background checks including local police check and sex offender list, driving record check, drug screen, and fingerprint checks.

Possession of a valid Colorado driver's license with a safe driving record. Completion of FEMA IS-100 and IS-700 within six months of hire. Ability to respond to after-hours SCADA/OT emergencies.

Ability to participate in an on-call rotation or provide after-hours technical support as assigned. Ability to work in water treatment facilities, pump stations, electrical rooms, server rooms, control rooms, and construction environments. Ability to comply with City IT security policies and Water Treatment operational procedures.