Desktop Support Engineer

Flying Bark Productions is a dynamic and innovative animation studio dedicated to pushing the boundaries of character animation and storytelling. We are working on exciting projects such as Avatar: The Last Airbender feature film, Netflix's Ghostbusters animated series and Stranger Things animated series as well as upcoming feature film, Zac Power.

The Desktop Support Engineer (DSE) is responsible for providing user helpdesk support and maintaining the production desktop systems. It will be your responsibility to ensure that helpdesk requests are addressed in a timely fashion and are escalated as appropriate. A significant part of your day to day responsibilities will be troubleshooting base computer hardware and OS issues as well as VFX software issues.

You will perform installation/configuration, operation, and maintenance of systems hardware not only for client workstation systems, but also for dedicated render farm nodes, storage, networking, and other infrastructure systems, as needed and instructed by Senior IT staff. As such a key responsibility is to ensure that workstation images are up to date at all times and that the proper images are being used to deploy workstations.

You will be required to manage the onboarding and offboarding of users to IT systems, creating and terminating user accounts according to protocol, ensuring that they have the correct access rights to data on the company system. You will ensure proper record keeping and tracking of users, systems and software, regularly reconciling tracking with utilisation, inventory control, user licenses, or computer access to the network. 

You will also participate in technical research and testing in conjunction with the IT Team, with an expectation that when you identify deficiencies or opportunities for improvement you take this to the project stage to implement the improvement.

About the role:

• WDS,WSUS: Install and deploy new and/or rebuild existing workstations, configure hardware, peripherals, services, and settings in accordance with standards and project/operational requirements;
• Ownership: Ensure all facets of deployments are completed properly, including workstation patching, UPS allocation, and provisioning of proper peripheral equipment;
• Experience with
  MDM solutions
  (e.g. Jamf, Kandji, Mosyle, or similar)
  
• Knowledge of
  macOS deployment, imaging, and OS upgrades
  
  
• Understanding of
  security best practices on macOS
  (updates, access control, encryption)
  
• Organisation: Ensure onboarding and offboarding is performed according to procedure and continuously improve the processes and tools toward that goal. Ensure that Active Directory objects are correctly located within OU structure and ensure that related documentation is maintained accurately;
• Troubleshooting ActiveDirectory, FreeNas: Identify workstation issues, along with server and/or network-network services issues. Participate in troubleshooting for internally developed applications, as well as problem resolution for VFX applications such as Nuke and Maya;
• Diligence: Maintain & Update both the asset management systems for Hardware & Software assets and DevOps wiki resource, ensuring accuracy for the end of week and prepare monthly reporting for other Business Units;
• Bacula, BareOS, ZFS replication: Schedule testing of backup systems to ensure confidence in the system;
• Support: Physical security systems and ensure proper functioning, both in-house and cloud application configuration and usage, asset tagging and tracking data to ensure best management of computing resources;
• Perform periodic performance reporting to support capacity planning;
• Participate in supporting other team initiatives;
• Other duties and projects as assigned.
• Proven experience providing desktop support for macOS (OS X) in a professional or studio environment
  
• Strong understanding of Apple hardware (MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Studio) and common peripherals
  
• Experience with macOS troubleshooting, including user accounts, permissions, networking, and performance issues
  
• Familiarity with Apple ecosystem tools (iCloud, Time Machine, FileVault, Keychain)
  
• Experience supporting creative software on macOS (e.g. Adobe Creative Cloud, animation or VFX tools)

About you:

• Formal education and/or certification in computer systems preferred – such as A+ credentials;
• Experience supporting users in a
  fast-paced creative or production environment
  
  
• Comfortable supporting
  hybrid or remote macOS and Windows users
  
• Experience in Media/VFX or High throughput Computing environments preferred.
• Solid experience and fluency in Linux and Windows required. Experience or background with Linux systems is preferred;
• Two to Four years system helpdesk experience in a Media/Entertainment environment;
• Experience with Visual Effects applications strongly preferred; these applications include Nuke, Maya, Houdini, After Effects, and Tractor;
• Experience administering Active Directory;
• Working knowledge of basic TCP/IP and its standard administration (DNS, DHCP/Static, etc.) required;
• Basic experience with Layer 1 – 3 networking required, including configuration of static IP addresses, configuration of switches, standard cabling and patching (copper/fiber) techniques and ability to make cables;
• Good understanding of  VLAN’s and basic firewall operations;
• Experience with floating license servers (FlexLM, RLM, etc.);
• RHEL and/or Windows, and/or CCNA certification preferred;
• Basic scripting experience in Bash, Windows CMD/PowerShell, or Python.

We make animated TV shows and films so it’s a highly technical role in a highly creative field. You will need to be interested in the work we do and interested in the IT Systems needed to make this happen. You will need to be flexible and results focused and absolutely must be empathetic to your users’ needs and understanding of the deadlines and production pressures they experience in his field. There will be some out of hours work. We are looking for someone who is resilient with a good sense of humour (required) and physically fit as the job will require the relocation of equipment.

What do we do? 

Flying Bark Productions is a renowned independent producer of family-focused animation entertainment. For over 50 years, our 2D and 3D production facility has created award-winning feature films and TV series. 

Why work with us? 

• We work on some pretty cool projects - check out our website: https://www.flyingbark.com.au/ 
• We have an industry leading studio space in Alexandria, complete with a cinema, quiet room, Zen Garden, games room, and state of the art animation facilities. 
• Breakfast is served daily - on us! 
• We have cake days, movie nights, wrap parties & a culture club dedicated to coordinating our busy social calendar! 
• The Barkers have big hearts too, with our Paws for a Cause fundraising arm raising much needed funds for charities such as Beyond Blue, RSPCA and the Cancer Council. 
• We love dogs and you will often see some of our regular fluffy companions in the studio. 
• We have a hybrid approach to work with flexible work from home days on offer.
•  Career development is important to us so we offer training and support opportunities whenever possible. 
• Our employees say our culture is the best they've ever experienced - everyone is welcome and celebrated! 
• You'll have access to mental health resources and free counselling via our Employee Assistance Provider Support Act. 

Flying Bark Productions is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.