IT Support Technician

• Business unit: South Africa Astronomical Observatory (SAAO)
• Post number: SAO300-3005
• Town: Cape Town
• Province: Western Cape
• Type of position: Permanent
• Level: Junior
• Closing date: 12 November 2026

The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the National Facility for Optical and Infrared Astronomy of the National Research Foundation (NRF). Its headquarters are in Cape Town, while its telescopes are at Sutherland in the semi-arid Northern Cape. Distributed between the two sites, SAAO employs roughly 130 people, many of them scientists and engineers, and is contracted to operate the 10-m Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), on behalf of the international SALT Foundation. SAAO is the premier optical/infrared research facility on the African continent, with global research and outreach collaborations and contributing human capacity development for South Africa.

The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is seeking qualified candidates for the position of IT Support Technician Desktop support for SAAO staff in Cape Town.

• Support desktop computer, laptops and , as well as support of remote office.
• Troubleshoot basic network connectivity
• Video conferencing experience, particularly around setup, maintenance and troubleshooting.
• Printer Support
• Standby Duties in Cape Town and Sutherland
• Installation of hardware for desktops and laptops
• Install hardware and software on Linux, windows
• Installation of network equipment
• Responding to tickets on the ticketing system
• Wi-Fi support
• Support desktop application like MS Office and others

National Diploma in IT or Related Field

• Windows (7,10,11)
• Linux
• Apple Mac OS
• Email systems like Gmail and outlook or Zimbra
• Virtualisation
• DNS
• DHCP

• 2 years’ experience as a support technician
• Experience with troubleshooting, setting up, and managing Windows and Linux machines
• Experience with VPN server and client configuration (across different platforms), IP Phones (SIP), printer configurations, configuring and troubleshooting cloud-based Office 365 Suite as well as local installation.
• Experience SSO, SSH.

• ADDITIONAL EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & PERSONAL QUALITIES:
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Attention to detail, ability to see a task through to completion, passion for excellent client service, self-motivated, able to work unsupervised, curious, persistent, dedicated.
• A+, Net+ certification
• Ability to solve problems quickly and automate processes.
• In-depth troubleshooting of technical problems as well as solving of more complex software and hardware problems.
• A good understanding of networking.
• Works well alone or on a team (must be able to work well in a team)
• Technical certification (e.g: Microsoft certification, Linux certification, other professional qualifications)