Senior IT Network Engineer - Health Care Agency

What We Offer

The County of Ventura offers an attractive compensation and benefits package. Aside from our base salary range, an employee in this position will also be eligible for the following:

• Educational Incentive for a completion of: 2.5% for an Associate's degree, 3.5% for a Bachelor's degree, or 5% for a Master's degree.
• Annual Leave: 208 hours per year, increasing to 288 hours after five (5) years of service. 
• Annual Leave Redemption: The ability to "cash in" or redeem up to 100 hours of Annual Leave per year after using 80 hours in the preceding 12 months. 
• Deferred Compensation: Section 457 Plan and/or 401(K) Shared Savings Plan with up to a 3% match on your 401(K) contributions. 
• Health Plans: You are afforded a flexible credit allowance of up to $25,558 annually for purchasing medical, dental, and/or vision insurance from a group of authorized plans.
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Choice of participation in the Flexible Spending Accounts which increase spending power through reimbursement of pre-tax dollars for IRS approved dependent care and health care expenses. 
• Pension Plan: Participation in the County's defined benefit plan which has reciprocity with CalPERS.
• Holidays: 12 paid days per year which includes a scheduled floating holiday.

The Department

The Information Technology Services Department (ITSD) works with every Ventura County department/agency to provide the necessary technology infrastructure and consulting/contracting services to meet ongoing and emerging business needs, including project management, business process improvement, applications support, voice/data infrastructure, data security, threat and vulnerability/risk management, and extended staffing.         

 

The Position
The Senior IT Network Engineer - Health Care Agency reports directly to the Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) of Network Services for the county and is an embedded staff member in the IT department of the Health Care Agency (HCA). As such, this position takes day-to-day task instructions and input from the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of HCA. As a senior network engineer this individual is responsible for the research and design of data communication network for HCA. The individual will also work in collaboration with the county Principal Network Systems Analyst in IT Network Services in regards to the integration of the HCA IT network into the overall county network fabric. 

The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate will be someone who is flexible with respect to the prioritization of work and also is someone who is eager to adopt new technology to serve the Health Care Agency in their mission of providing healthcare services to the constituents of the county. The candidate would have extensive experience architecting, designing and configuring large networks in a hospital/healthcare setting. 

Payroll Titles and Approximate Salaries
Principal Network Systems Analyst $4,356.927520 - $6,099.699200 Biweekly

Principal Network Systems Analyst is a Management position and is not eligible for overtime compensation. Incumbents in this classification are eligible for benefits at the MB4 level. 

Distinguishing Characteristics 
This class is considered the technical expert and architect for all technical network systems throughout the County. The position focuses on the research and development of business and enterprise applications and system network infrastructure including configurations that are crucial in order to meet the network systems needs of the County. This classification is responsible for the development and deployment of new technologies that maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the County's computing, telecommunications, and transmission needs. This classification differs from that of Chief ISD Telecommunications in that the position focus is on research, development and network design technologies. The classification may have supervisory responsibilities. 

The established eligible list from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including temporary and Fixed term), Intermittent, and Extra-Help vacancies within the Information Technology Services Department for this position only. There is currently one (1) Regular, Full-Time vacancy.
 
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Opening Date: January 28, 2025
Closing Date: Continuous and may close at any time; therefore, the schedule for the remainder of the process will depend upon when we receive a sufficient number of qualified applicants to meet business needs.Typical duties may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Assists with the research and design of data and converged networks to meet the communications needs of the Health Care Agency (HCA) including: developing of systems and/or network configurations, including hardware, software, and integrations requirements working in conjunction with ITSD Network Services.
• Determine network architecture, topology, and transmission media for HCA, working in conjunction with the county ITSD Principal Network Systems Analyst (PNSA) and Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) Network Services. 
• Analyze and monitor HCA network activities to ensure optimal network capacity and operation network traffic, usage, and performance; run diagnostics to forecast performance thresholds; perform analysis of network efficiency (e.g., channel, trunks, etc.) and routing of traffic, troubleshooting system failures and ensure appropriate corrective actions are taken within the HCA environment. 
• Route network traffic efficiently and apply network security by utilizing county ITSD Network Services best practices to ensure sound and secure operations protecting network resources and inappropriate access; maintain data integrity on the network. 
• Network administration of the overall HCA network to optimize services and access to telecommunications and related components, including: install, configure, maintain, troubleshoot and support network equipment and network operating systems (e.g., routers, bridges, servers, switches, and/or port selectors). 
• Ensure that the installed network meets the defined service levels and appropriately integrated for access with other systems. Examples of typical work activities include: install, upgrade, and maintain network software and related hardware and maintain documentation; determine appropriate transmission media requirements for voice, data, and video applications; configure network or third-party software application programs to provide improved response time, quality, or cost effectiveness. 
• Works with County ITSD on ensuring that HCA maintains a county-wide strategic disaster/recovery plan related to network services.
• May consult with department/agency head to discuss specific department/agency needs. Conducts special studies to determine requirements for HCA and take appropriate action to design, plan and administer projects to achieve specific needs.
• Ensures compliance with all local, state, and federal agencies and requisite regulatory agencies. 
• Identifies, develops, and implements standard operating procedures (SOP's) working in conjunction with ITSD Networking Services.
• May assist in the development and administration of the division's budget.
• May plan, organize, direct, monitor, and evaluate the performance of subordinate staff.
• Prepares various technical reports and metrics, and required. 
• Performs other related duties as assigned. 

These are entrance requirements to the examination process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on the eligible list. 

Education, Training, and Experience:
To qualify for this classification, an individual must possess any combination of experience and education that work likely produce the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. An example of a qualifying education/experience is: 
Possession of Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems or related field, and, five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in managing network systems. 
Note: Additional years of qualifying experience may be substituted for the education requirement on a year for year basis. 

Necessary Special Requirements:

• Five (5) or more years of network engineering experience;
• Three (3) or more years of experience maintaining high volume critical infrastructure; 
• Possession of a California driver license;
• May be required to travel within the County to conduct studies or troubleshoot;
• May be required to work long hours to resolve production problems or meet project deadlines;
• Willing and able to work nights, weekends, and holidays on an on-call basis;
• Excellent written and verbal communication must be demonstrated in the completion of the employment application and supplemental questionnaire. 

Desired:

• Network engineering experience within a hospital/healthcare setting/business;
• Project Management Institute (PMI) Certification;
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Certification;
• Advanced certifications from industry leaders in network technology such as Cisco. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 

Extensive knowledge of:

• LAN/WAN network design, analysis, management and operation of Health Care Agency (HCA) enterprise systems; interrelationships of mainframe, PC, LAN/WAN and telecommunication systems including hardware components, software applications, operating systems and documentation; 
• Voice, data and converged network design, topology, systems interface, and protocols to meet support requirements;
• Telephone switching technology support;
• Voice/data/video commutations; 
• Transmission media and their performance capabilities; and, 
• Information distribution systems access and security systems.

Working knowledge of:

• Federal, state and local regulations (e.g., Federal Communications Commission) affecting networking system operation; 
• OSHA standards as they relate to working with telecommunications, tower climbing, and working with electrical components;
• The concepts and practices related to Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL);
• The uses and limitations of communications equipment in public safety environment. 

Skilled at:

• Researching new technologies, synthesizing and evaluating information to present best practices, standards, and technical specifications;
• Analyzing network/systems problems using appropriate test methodologies/structures and related diagnostics (e.g., protocol analyzer);
• Interpreting data on systems usage and develop engineering specifications;
• Operating applicable network equipment and application software programs;
• Using specified software application packages and query, utility, or report generation features and database systems; 
• Installing network subsystems and modifying local, customized software computer programs/features (e.g., voice mail, electronic mail, and telecom features).

Ability to:

• To plan and supervise the work of others;
• Foster and maintain strong and effective working relationships with HCA staff and ITSD staff;
• Communicate effectively both verbally and in writing. 

FINAL FILING DATE: Continuous and may close at any time; therefore, apply as soon as possible if you are interested in it. Your application must be received by the County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the closing date.  
  
To apply online, please refer to our web site at www.ventura.org/jobs. If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 654-5129 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009.
  
Note to Applicants: Sufficient information must be provided under the Education/Work experience portion of the application and supplemental questionnaire to thoroughly and accurately demonstrate your qualifications in order to determine eligibility. A resume may be attached to supplement your responses in the above-referenced sections; however, it may not be submitted in lieu of the application. 
  
INFORMATION FOR TRANSFER CANDIDATES: If presently permanently employed in another "merit" or "civil service" public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a "merit" or "civil service" style examination, then appointment by "Lateral Transfer" may be possible. If interested, please click here (Download PDF reader) (Download PDF reader) (Download PDF reader) for additional information.
  
SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE - qualifying 
All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination AT THE TIME OF FILING. The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position. Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire may result in the application being removed from consideration.
  
APPLICATION EVALUATION - qualifying 
All applications will be reviewed to determine whether or not the stated requirements are met. Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue in the next step in the examination process.
  
TRAINING & EXPERIENCE EVALUATION: 
A Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) is a structured evaluation of the job application materials submitted by a candidate, including the written responses to the supplemental questionnaire. The T&E is NOT a determination of whether the candidate meets the stated requirements; rather, the T&E is one method for determining who are the better qualified among those who have shown that they met the stated requirements. In a T&E, applications are either scored or rank-ordered according to criteria that most closely meet the business needs of the department. Candidates are typically scored/ranked in relation to one another; consequently, when the pool of candidates is exceptionally strong, many qualified candidates may receive a score or rank which is moderate or even low resulting in them not being advanced in the process.
  
NOTE: The selection process will likely consist of an Oral Exam, which may be preceded or replaced with the score from a Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E), contingent upon the size and quality of the candidate pool. In a typical T&E, your training and experience are evaluated in relation the background, experience and factors identified for successful job performance during a job analysis. For this reason, it is recommended that your application materials clearly show your relevant background and specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is also highly recommended that the supplemental questions within the application are completed with care and diligence. Responses such as "See Resume" or "Refer to Resume" are not acceptable and may disqualify an applicant from further evaluation.
  
ORAL EXAMINATION - 100% 
A job-related oral examination will be conducted to evaluate and compare participating candidates' knowledge, skills, and abilities in relation to those factors which the job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance of the job. Candidates must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.
  
If there are three (3) or fewer qualified applicants, an examination will not be conducted. Instead, a score of 70% will be assigned to each application, and each applicant will be place on the eligible list.
  
Candidates successfully completing the examination process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year.
  
BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A thorough post-offer, pre-employment background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment, education, criminal background information, and driving record may be required for this position.
  
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
The County of Ventura is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.
  
For further information regarding this recruitment, please contact Shannon Gibson by email at shannon.gibson@ventura.org or by telephone at (805) 654-5014.

Salary : $113,280 - $158,592