Network Operations Center Technician #1400081 | Blizzard Entertainment | Irvine, California, United States
Network Operations Center Technician
IT - Network Operations
Office: Irvine, California, United States
Have you ever thought it would be cool to work at mission
control at N.A.S.A.? Blizzard is seeking a talented, motivated IT technician to
work at the Blizzard global network operations center (GNOC); the mission control
of the Blizzard gaming universes. If you like the idea of making sure the
Battle Cruisers fly, the raid portals stay open, and the Lord of Terror lives
in constant fear for his life, this job posting may have been written for you.
If you have experience with Linux, network administration, a technically-based
helpdesk environment, or if you think you have the skills to get the job done,
read on.
What is Network Operations (BONS)?
Blizzard online network systems is the global network operations
team responsible for supporting ALL of Blizzard’s customer-facing IT systems and
services. Such services include Battle.net, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II,
Diablo 3, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm. In addition to managing
these IT platforms, BONS also works closely with our development teams
throughout a product’s lifecycle. Our team’s mission statement: Innovating and
delivering global technology solutions to power the most epic entertainment
experience... Ever.
Understand your Responsibilities
- Audit, Monitor, and Document:
Are you the multitasking, information nexus for the raid? Are you the person with the stopwatch, calling the plays? Do you take it on yourself to check gear, document the D.K.P. and make sure everyone knows what’s happening and when and where? Would you like to get paid for those skills? The GNOC is a proactive communications hub that constantly audits, monitors, and documents the status of Blizzard’s worldwide IT infrastructure. Technicians’ continually review the state of the infrastructure looking for indicators of issues that may detract from a gamer’s experience or present an issue for our development units. Did I mention we do this for every Blizzard system, for the entire world, at the same time? How well can you juggle?
- Troubleshoot:
Are you on a first name basis with Tux? If you get the reference, the answer is probably yes. If not, are you now searching the internet for the reference? While auditing and monitoring are core to the GNOC, technicians do not simply identify issues, they correct them. Memory management, processes states, mounts, clusters, routing, log searching, and a host of other technically-oriented tasks are routine work for GNOC technicians. And I’ll give you a hint on Tux; we don’t use a G.U.I.
- Communicate:
Do you enjoy foreign languages? Do you speak and write producer, engineer, administrator, manager, or developer? GNOC technicians frequently interface with groups ranging from front-line customer support, to developers, all the way up to the executives. When things are going well, you will be getting information from these groups about what will be happening. When things go sideways, these groups will be asking you the 5 W’s and the “How” … very, very, frequently and with much enthusiasm. No pressure; right? GNOC technicians are the collectors, documenters, and translators of information regarding issues and actions taken within the I.T. infrastructure. The ability and patience to thoroughly, systematically, and adaptively communicate complex ideas and issues to people of varying backgrounds and technical ability is critical to this position.
Technical Requirements
- Time in the field:
This position requires a minimum of either 1 year in a technically-oriented helpdesk environment or 1 year as a Linux technician or administrator.Applicants with comparable experience, education, or certifications may be considered.
- The Technicalities:
Viable candidates will possess strong Unix / Linux knowledge to include, but not limited to, memory, file systems, clustering, command line syntax for file creation and manipulation, log location and search, and daemon management. Candidates should also possess an understanding of networking fundamentals to include, but not limited to, OSI Layers, Subnetting, DNS, DHCP, SMTP, and Ports. Troubleshooting skills should include the use of tools such as Telnet, Tracert, Wireshark, and Ping. This position may require working nights and weekends.
- Thrive in our environment:
The global network operations center exists to support Blizzard’s production infrastructure in the pursuit of providing our customers with a reliable, quality, entertainment experience. We accomplish this by ensuring high reliability and quality of service through prevention of, and mitigation of, system impairments and downtime.
A strong candidate will also bring to the table some of
the following:
- A love for videogames and the technologies that support them
- An innate curiosity and a love of learning
- Empathy for customers and an understanding of what our games means to them
- Attention to details
- A desire to understand issues and puzzles on a fundamental level and the desire to prevent issues from recurring
- Able to work well in an eclectic and dynamic group
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Exceptional time management skills
Required Application Materials
- Resume
- Cover Letter
**Only submittals with Cover Letters will be considered.
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