IT Technical Support (ARL) Supervisor
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, pleaselogin to Workday to complete thestudent application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants.
Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.
POSITION SPECIFICS
Your working location will be fully on-site, located in State College, PA. Questions related to flexible work should be directed to the hiring manager during the interview process.
We are searching for a highly motivated and self-driven IT Technical Support (ARL) - Supervisor for our highly secured environments to join our Information Technology Services Division at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State University. ARL’s purpose is to research and develop innovative solutions to challenging scientific, engineering, and technology problems in support of the Navy, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Intel Community (IC).
ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.
This role will lead frontline ITS support and Service Desk operations-overseeing student hiring/supervision, business-hours coverage, ARL collaboration, and daily metric-driven improvements.
You will:
- Lead and supervise an IT support team (Tier 1): manage queues, assign/prioritize tickets, monitor SLAs, establish and maintain documentation, and provide coaching/performance feedback
- Coordinate operational governance: maintain the knowledge base/runbooks; standardize triage and escalation workflows; ensure adherence to incident/problem/change-management policies and audit requirements
- Provide technical support and training on IT Services and end users systems; advise on computing policies and procedures for faculty, staff, and students
- Manage Service Desk performance and compliance: set KPIs/SLAs, review dashboards, publish regular reports, and drive corrective actions to improve Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR), and backlog
- Represent the Service Desk in IT/ARL meetings and project teams; collaborate to ensure support readiness for new services and initiatives
- Proactively monitor and report outages, changes, incidents, and problems; ensure timely, accurate communication to the Service Desk in accordance with established notification protocols
- Recruit, hire, onboard, and schedule student employees; deliver ARL-specific training (customer service, security, tools) with ongoing coaching and feedback to ensure coverage and quality support
- Own student development and performance management: conduct performance reviews; design training modules and assessments; map competency paths to support career growth within the student pipeline
Required skills and experience include:
- Team leadership & workforce management: proven ability to hire, schedule, coach, and evaluate Tier 1 staff and student employees
- Service desk operations & ITSM proficiency: experience with incident/problem/change management, major-incident coordination, standardized triage, and escalation control
- Ticketing / ticket management proficiency: hands-on experience with enterprise ticketing systems (intake, triage, assignment, workflow, SLAs), queue management, and backlog control
- Customer service excellence: strong empathy and active listening; clear written/verbal communication; ability to manage expectations, de-escalate issues, and deliver high-quality support for diverse user groups
- Technical troubleshooting: competence with Windows and Linux endpoints, common enterprise applications, and standard hardware/peripherals; ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical users and deliver user-focused training
- Knowledge management & documentation: ability to maintain KB articles, runbooks, playbooks, and standard operating procedures aligned to governance and audit needs
- Communication & stakeholder engagement: deliver timely status updates; collaborate across IT groups; effectively represent the Service Desk in meetings and project teams
- Metrics-driven improvement: define SLAs/KPIs, analyze dashboards/reports, and drive actions to improve CSAT, MTTR, first-contact resolution, and backlog health
Preferred skills and experience include:
- Specific tools familiarity (preferred, not required): Jira Service Management (JSM); Active Directory/Group Policy; endpoint management platforms such as SCCM/MECM; Linux lifecycle tools including Red Hat Satellite; automation/orchestration via Ansible Automation Platform (AAP)
- Automation/scripting: (PowerShell/Python) to streamline triage, reporting, and routine tasks
- Knowledge of DoD regulations and standards: familiarity with DoD 8500.01 and NIST guidelines
- Security clearance: current eligibility for access to classified information at the Secret level or higher; may be subject to a government background investigation to upgrade clearance eligibility, if required. Active Secret Clearance is a plus
- DoD 8140: The ability to certify and maintain information security related certification (Security+, CASP+, CySA+). Current CompTIA Security+ certification is a plus
MINIMUM EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS
Associate Degree 4+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience accepted Required Certifications: NoneARL’s purpose is to research and develop innovative solutions to challenging scientific, engineering, and technology problems in support of the Navy, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Intel Community (IC).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION on ARL, visit our web site at www.arl.psu.edu.
BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES
Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.Notice regarding employment at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL): Employees must be eligible to obtain a government security clearance, participate in the ARL drug testing program, and comply with electronic and physical monitoring requirements applicable to federal contractors. ARL operates in a secure information environment involving Unclassified, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and Classified information. Personal electronic devices brought onsite must be registered and may be restricted from certain areas. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply.SALARY & BENEFITS
The salary range for this position, including all possible grades, is $62,304.00 - $93,504.00.Salary Structure - Information on Penn State's salary structure
Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children. For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page.
CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS
Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here.
EEO IS THE LAW
Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814-865-1473.