Job Description - Systems Manager

Administer and maintain a 60 machine Windows NT domain.  Manage a team of staff programmers developing in-house software.  Perform both custom and off-the-shelf hardware and software installation.  Responsible for the fabrication of custom hardware and equipment.  Troubleshoot hardware and software failures. Maintain and develop real-time C++ software for experimental control and data acquisition. Administer Microsoft Access Databases.

Tasks

Supervision of Programmers / Programming

• Coordinate and supervise professional staff and student programmers on our in-house software projects
• Develop in-house software and modify modular and outsourced software
• Main areas of programming include: Real-time, DirectX, MFC, Multithreading, etc.
• For information of CogLab NT, our main software project, click here.

• Engage in the purchase of over $500,000 worth of computer related equipment this year
• Analyze vendors and their products
• Negotiate with vendors extensively on pricing

General System Administration

• Setup and administer NT Domain
• Build, control and update Apaché web server
• Manage user accounts, permissions and e-mail mailing lists
• Administer backup system
• Manage inventory system
• Develop scripts for remote installations and setup
• Coordinate and perform setups of Windows NT4, 98, 2000 and XP workstations
• Analyze and protect systems from security vulnerabilities
• Assist users with solving problems pertaining to software and hardware
• Maintaining file server including clean-up, security audits, etc.
• Manage and troubleshoot network problems with regard to LM Hosts, WINS, DNS, domain communication, Browser, TCP/IP, domain security, scripting and DHCP

Database Administration

• Administer Microsoft Access Database, including the use of SQL

Hardware Development and Troubleshooting

• Contract out and oversee the design and construction of an MRI scanner simulator
• Design, redesign and rebuild various input devices for MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) compatibility

 (MRI scanners require nonmagnetic metal and low frequency signal devices)
• Research on MRI compatible hardware
• Design and construction of various high-pass and low-pass filters
• Troubleshoot and solve problems with RF spikes and noise on the MRI scanner
• Maintain and update our in-house microprocessor driven button boxes
• Perform a range of carpentry and mechanical tasks for our hardware designs
• Coordinate hardware distribution

Miscellaneous

• Conduct job interviews of prospective technical employees
• Responsible for Center's security system

Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging (CCBI): An Overview

The Center's research focuses on functional MRI studies to investigate high-level cognition, using state-of-the-art scanners and techniques. The investigations also include several other approaches used in conjunction with fMRI studies, most notably, behavioral studies, computational modeling, eye fixation studies, and neuropsychological studies of people with brain damage. The main types of thinking that the Center investigates are high-level cognitive processes which include spatial thinking, language comprehension, problem-solving, and executive processes. The general research goal is to develop a unified theory of cognition that is grounded in and accounts for the level of brain activity, at the level of large scale neural networks. The Center is located at Carnegie Mellon, but its work is collaborative, both between Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh and researchers from several other universities.