IT Support Specialist/Staff Associate II

Job Description

Job Description

The Department of Biological Sciences of Columbia University invites applications for a Helpdesk support position at the rank of Staff Associate II beginning October 1, 2026. The initial appointment is for six months, with the possibility of annual renewals contingent on satisfactory performance.

Reporting to the Director of IT Resources, the incumbent will provide the following services to the Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry.

Responsibilities:

• Providing end-user support for all Biology & Chemistry Department's Staff, Faculty, and Students.
• Help maintain and troubleshoot departmental computer systems (workstations, file servers, web servers).
• Help the department’s research groups with backups and data restoration using in house backup systems; Veeam Backup and CrashPlan.
• Install provided and requested software and hardware as needed.
• Troubleshoot software and hardware issues as necessary.
• Advise faculty, research staff, and graduate students on purchasing and using computer and peripheral equipment for their labs.
• Work with university-level IT support team to resolve network, email, and other issues.
• Handle assigned projects within reasonable time frames.
• Document all support requests and assignments via ServiceNow ticketing system.

Qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree in a related field (Computer Science, IT Support, or similar) is preferred.
• Strong troubleshooting and critical thinking skills.
• Previous experience in IT, with a minimum of 4 years of Help Desk support (Prefer Level 2 or higher Help Desk support with hands-on experience). Customer service or other related fields are considered a plus.
• Ability to build rapport with clients.
• Positive and professional demeanor.
• Be willing to learn new skills as needed within a reasonable time frame.

Requirements for candidacy:

• Must provide at least three professional references (full names, email addresses, and phone numbers, with at least one being from an immediate supervisor (a supervisor from a previous position is acceptable).
• Minimum Degree Required: Bachelor’s degree. Must provide copies of degree transcript(s) and diploma(s).
• We look through resumes on ZipRecruiter; however, we will also need prospective candidates to go to the following link to fill out an application for the Columbia University HR Department: (