IT Lab Systems Administrator - San Diego - Helix

Description

IT Lab Systems Administrator – Helix

Who We Are & What We Do

At Helix, our mission is simple: to help everyone improve their lives through their DNA.

Ready to make a real-world impact with your skills? We're transforming healthcare by making genomics a standard of care. We partner with health systems and life science companies to accelerate the integration of genomic data into clinical practice. Join us in building a future where healthcare is personalized, proactive, and powered by genomics.

What is special about this role?

This is a unique opportunity to be at the heart of genomics research by supporting the critical IT infrastructure that powers our state‑of‑the‑art DNA sequencing lab. You will play a key role in the IT Lab team's "Cloud‑First" evolution, transforming our on‑premise lab systems into a modern, resilient, and scalable hybrid cloud environment. You'll gain invaluable hands‑on experience with projects like migrating our monitoring and storage to AWS, deploying operational dashboards in Datadog, and automating system management with tools like Automox and PowerShell. This role is crucial in managing our incident response through Jira Service Desk and PagerDuty, as well as tackling escalated IT tasks related to our security and authentication systems. If you are passionate about technology and want to see its direct impact on science, this role offers the perfect chance to grow your skills and contribute to mission‑critical operations, including our ongoing cloud migration efforts.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a primary point of contact for lab users, providing technical support for lab PCs, systems, and scientific instruments to ensure mission‑critical operations are always up and running.
• Manage incidents, tickets, and alerts using Jira Service Desk and PagerDuty, ensuring timely resolution and communication.
• Handle escalated day‑to‑day IT tasks, including troubleshooting issues related to Netskope publishers, Duo Auth Proxies, and setting up LDAP with third parties.
• Monitor the health of our lab's virtual and physical infrastructure using tools like PRTG and Datadog, responding to alerts and resolving technical problems.
• Participate in the deployment of IT and infrastructure projects, including assisting with lab system migrations to AWS, software deployments, and operating system patching.
• Manage vulnerability reporting and assist with remediation using tools like and Automox.
• Work with vendors and colleagues to streamline the onboarding of new lab systems and instrumentation.
• Create and maintain clear documentation for system configurations, processes, and policies.
• Participate in a 24/7 on‑call rotation to provide after‑hours support for our production lab environment.
• This role requires working from our San Diego site 4 days a week.

Qualifications

• A minimum of 3‑5 years of experience in IT, directly supporting end‑users and systems.
• Outstanding customer service skills with a can‑do attitude and a strong sense of ownership.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to learn and adapt to new technologies and processes quickly.
• Excellent organizational and time‑management skills, with the ability to work independently and effectively multitask.
• A foundational understanding of Windows and Linux operating systems, as well as networking protocols (TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP).

Pluses

• Experience with cloud platforms, particularly AWS (including S3, DataSync, and understanding of Direct Connect).
• Familiarity with cloud migration processes and strategies for on‑premise infrastructure.
• Scripting and automation experience (PowerShell, Bash, Python).
• Familiarity with monitoring tools (e.g., PRTG, Datadog, SCM), MDM/system management tools (e.g., Automox, Intune), and vulnerability scanners (e.g., ).
• Experience with incident management platforms like Jira Service Desk and PagerDuty.
• Experience working in a regulated, clinical, or laboratory environment.
• Experience utilizing AI‑powered coding assistants (e.g., GitHub Copilot) to accelerate script creation, debugging, and code optimization in an IDE.
• Strong proficiency with GitHub for version control, collaboration, and CI/CD workflows.
• Familiarity with creating or configuring AI Agents to automate routine operational tasks or enhance workflows.

Expected Interview Process

1) Recruiter Screen 2) Manager Screen/Tech Screen 3) Onsite 4) Offer

Expected Pay For This Role

There are 3 distinct parts to your Helix offer: 1) Base Salary 2) Annual Bonus 3) Equity

• Expected Helix Base: $106,000 – $134,500
• Expected Helix Discretionary Annual Bonus: 10% of your annual salary
• Equity: We offer generous equity at Helix. If you receive a Helix offer your recruiter will book dedicated time with you to educate you on our equity model.

Benefits

• Comprehensive Health Insurance with Date of Hire eligibility
  • Above average employer paid premium coverage
• 12 weeks Helix Paid Parental Leave option
• 401(k) with employer matching of up to 3% and 100% Vesting on the Date of Hire
• Comprehensive Well‑Being Benefits
• Flexible PTO
• Remote options for many roles and a home office stipend

What To Expect During Your First 90 Days

• First 30 days: you'll spend time learning the Helix way, completing training and onboarding for your roles, and getting introduced to your team and relevant stakeholders. You'll also gain a deeper understanding of our customers, our products, the impact we make in the lives of our communities, and how to thrive at Helix through participation in Helix U.
• Day : you'll spend time contributing to projects, deeply familiarizing yourself with team and company processes, and developing a deeper understanding of Helix's products, services and capabilities.
• Day : you'll build your OKRs with your manager, start to take ownership of projects and initiatives on your team, and begin to demonstrate your impact on the Helix mission.

Helix is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Compensation

The base pay range for this role is $106,000 – $134,500 per year.