Systems Engineer, Physical Security

Job Summary

The System Engineer, Physical Security will be responsible for designing, configuring, maintaining, and troubleshooting the access control (ACS) and video management systems (VMS) and related systems. Onsite project acceptance and documentation of new construction and retrofits and will be responsible for implementing systems / policies / procedures to maintain and improve the health and functionality of technical systems. Success in this role requires leadership, active planning, proactive communication, and collaboration across the org toward supporting the properties, end users and maintaining a secure environment. Must be a highly capable team member, but also work autonomously with minimal guidance. The highest level of integrity and discretion in handling confidential information is required in addition to maintaining a high degree of professionalism. 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Assist with the selection, installation, and maintenance of ACS and VMS as well as supporting related intrusion detection systems (IDS) and security subsystems such as Envoy, Amazon Workspaces, and GPS trackers.
• Coordinate the installation of a wide range of ACS and intrusion detection systems, overt/concealed security cameras, and industry-standard and prototype security technologies.
• Design, program, and oversee projects related to ACS, IDS, and video surveillance.
• Review new project plans to ensure the scope meets designated requirements and standards.
• Plan, organize, direct, and implement application upgrades, system upgrades, and migrations, including commissioning of new systems.
• Maintenance of physical security-related aspects for both existing and new construction projects, testing, field verification of systems, and inspection of work in progress for compliance with standards.
• Keep pace with new industry standards and technology; research and recommend new security-related hardware or software products, and provide assessments of their viability and use case.
• Participate in physical security project meetings, problem-solving, and discussions of system and project-related issues; recommend security equipment and systems solutions.
• Act as a primary point of contact for issues related to ACS and VMS programming; work closely with vendors to assure timely resolution of service issues.
• Plan, organize, direct, and implement physical security-related projects, upgrades, system migrations, and commissioning.
• Coordinate with general contractors, subcontractors, vendors, architects, and project managers to review and verify security designs.
• Coordinate and apply security standards, confirming their integration into site drawings and security designs.
• Educate members of the home team on physical security system operations and provide training and accompanying documentation.
• Work with cross-functional teams to ensure policy, process, and systems are aligned to meet the needs of the programs.
• Manage support agreements and licensing needs for related physical security systems.
• Enhance security systems utilization to maximize responsive and informed monitoring and decision making by operations teams. 
• Participate and implement proof of concept system enhancements and approaches working with operations and security program management.

Leadership

• Provide workflow definition and adjustments, technical oversight and documentation for Physical Security systems
• Mentor and train other team members to improve understanding and improve processes.
• Partner with operations on documentation of existing standards and project teams implementation of standards and best practices.

Hardware

• Become familiar with electronic and mechanical locking systems related to basic access control and specialty applications including multi-point assemblies.
• Participate in design team meetings related to hardware and ancillary power supplies to verify minimal failures and client safety.
• Be versed in functions of locking hardware and review contractor submittals to verify adherence to standards and design specifications.
• Understand power supplies and remote monitoring capabilities to proactively service potential failures or deterioration of components.
• Assist facilities in troubleshooting issues related to electronic elements and connections.
• Familiarity with motorized gates, safety loops, photo beams and associated electronics and controls.
• Document changes for capturing in record drawings.

Systems Administration 

• Perform needed user account management, hardware configurations, and remote troubleshooting for all Physical Security teams and users
• Support for existing applications running in the cloud.
• Best effort to migrate all systems to the cloud.
• Management of inventory, acquisition, and deployment of new hardware.
• Arrange and carry out Final Acceptance Testing on behalf of the organization
• Server Operating system updates and patch management.
• Database Server software updates and patch management.
• Ad hoc Reports.
• Application of software patches and hot-fixes.
• Monitoring of systems and the network environment.
• Other system configuration instructions, as may be required and applicable in the environment.

End User Support

• Liaise between Security Operations and IT Operations on a routine basis for end user and workstation needs.
• Train and support Security Operations team members and be point of contact for distribution of knowledge and information around IT Systems and SaaS platforms.

Skills & Work Requirements

• 2-5 years experience designing, implementing, and supporting physical security systems and the corresponding IT related infrastructure.
• Familiarity with comparable ACS such as OnGuard, S2 or Genetec.
• Certification in S2 ACS and VMS or comparable ACS\VMS.
• Experience with AWS (Amazon Web Services) including VPC (virtual private cloud), EC2 (elastic compute), Workspaces. Manage EBS block storage and security groups for the physical security EC2 instances.
• A strong understanding of TCP/IP network protocols including DNS, VLANs, and routing. Ability to systematically troubleshoot problems in complex systems across LAN, WAN, WLAN, and cloud environments.
• Ability to create accurate documentation and drawings for the design and support of physical security systems or IT related infrastructure.
• Experience with designing highly available and fault tolerant infrastructure and supporting 24/7 operations. Experience upgrading physical security and related IT systems and providing a project and mitigation plan for major updates or changes.
• Demonstrated knowledge of low voltage circuitry and troubleshooting techniques including diagnosing open/closed circuits, as well as operational understanding of Wiegand and OSDP protocols.
• Experience with system hardening and network security.
• Experience deploying, troubleshooting, supporting, and maintaining the following systems:
  • 2N IP intercoms
  • Envoy Visitor Management, Protect, and S2 integration
  • Traka key management systems and Traka Web
• Experience deploying and supporting Windows and Linux servers. Comfortable using SSH and  commands to add Linux filesystems for VMS as needed. Experience installing Linux packages, restarting services, and editing configuration files through Vi or Nano.
• Ability to work independently as a project leader.
• Ability to relate well with others without the benefit of always having personal contact.
• Ability to work in an organized efficient manner with accuracy and crisp follow through.
• Ability to exercise good judgment, set priorities and cope with competing demands.
• Ability to accommodate a non-traditional work schedule and remain flexible to meet the needs of the family.
• Ability to perform duties with a high degree of responsiveness and professionalism.
• Ability to manage sensitive information with high levels of confidentiality and discretion.
• Excellent time management skills.
• Valid driver's license required