Computer Systems Engineers/Architects
15-1299.08
Design and develop solutions to complex applications problems, system administration issues, or network concerns. Perform systems management and integration functions.
Sample of reported job titles: Electronic Data Interchange System Developer (EDI System Developer), Information Technology Architect (IT Architect), Network and Infrastructure Engineer, Network Engineer, Solutions Architect, Systems Architect, Systems Consultant, Systems Engineer
Occupation-Specific Information
Tasks
- Verify stability, interoperability, portability, security, or scalability of system architecture.
- Develop system engineering, software engineering, system integration, or distributed system architectures.
- Collaborate with engineers or software developers to select appropriate design solutions or ensure the compatibility of system components.
- Identify system data, hardware, or software components required to meet user needs.
- Communicate with staff or clients to understand specific system requirements.
- Research, test, or verify proper functioning of software patches and fixes.
- Provide advice on project costs, design concepts, or design changes.
- Perform security analyses of developed or packaged software components.
- Provide technical guidance or support for the development or troubleshooting of systems.
- Document design specifications, installation instructions, and other system-related information.
- Communicate project information through presentations, technical reports, or white papers.
- Define and analyze objectives, scope, issues, or organizational impact of information systems.
- Monitor system operation to detect potential problems.
- Design and conduct hardware or software tests.
- Evaluate current or emerging technologies to consider factors such as cost, portability, compatibility, or usability.
- Provide customers or installation teams guidelines for implementing secure systems.
- Establish functional or system standards to address operational requirements, quality requirements, and design constraints.
- Investigate system component suitability for specified purposes, and make recommendations regarding component use.
- Complete models and simulations, using manual or automated tools, to analyze or predict system performance under different operating conditions.
- Develop or approve project plans, schedules, or budgets.
- Develop efficient and effective system controllers.
- Evaluate existing systems to determine effectiveness, and suggest changes to meet organizational requirements.
- Configure servers to meet functional specifications.
- Direct the analysis, development, and operation of complete computer systems.
- Develop application-specific software.
- Perform ongoing hardware and software maintenance operations, including installing or upgrading hardware or software.
- Direct the installation of operating systems, network or application software, or computer or network hardware.
- Train system users in system operation or maintenance.
Technology Skills
- Access software - Citrix cloud computing software; Symark PowerBroker
- Analytical or scientific software - IBM SPSS Statistics π₯; Minitab; SAS π₯; StataCorp Stata; The MathWorks MATLAB π₯
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Application server software -
Atlassian Bitbucket π₯; Docker π₯; GitHub π₯; GitLab π₯; Kubernetes
; Microservices Architecture; Oracle WebLogic Server; Red Hat OpenShift π₯; Red Hat WildFly; Spring Boot π₯; VMWare ESX Server
- Backup or archival software - Veritas NetBackup
- Business intelligence and data analysis software - Apache Spark π₯; IBM Cognos Impromptu; MicroStrategy; Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition; Qlik Tech QlikView; Tableau π₯
- Cloud-based data access and sharing software - Dropbox; Microsoft SharePoint π₯; Slack π₯; Software as a service SaaS
- Cloud-based management software - Amazon Web Services AWS CloudFormation π₯; Google Cloud software; IBM WebSphere; IBM WebSphere MQ π₯; Oracle Cloud software π₯; Splunk Enterprise π₯
- Clustering software - VMware
- Communications server software - IBM Domino
- Computer aided design CAD software - Autodesk AutoCAD π₯; Autodesk Revit π₯; Bentley MicroStation π₯; Computer aided design and drafting CADD software; Dassault Systemes CATIA; Dassault Systemes SolidWorks π₯; PTC Creo Parametric
- Computer based training software - InScribe
- Configuration management software - Chef π₯; IBM Rational Build Forge; IBM Rational ClearCase; IBM Terraform π₯; Perforce Helix software; Puppet π₯
-
Content workflow software -
Atlassian JIRA
- Customer relationship management CRM software - Oracle Eloqua; Salesforce software π₯
- Data base management system software - Amazon DynamoDB π₯; Apache Cassandra π₯; Apache Hadoop π₯; Apache Hive π₯; Apache Pig; Apache Solr; DBTools Software DBManager Professional; Elasticsearch π₯; IBM Infosphere Information Server; MongoDB π₯; MySQL π₯; NoSQL π₯; Oracle PL/SQL π₯; Redis π₯; Relational database management software; Teradata Database π₯
- Data base reporting software - Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services SSRS π₯; SAP Crystal Reports
-
Data base user interface and query software -
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud EC2 π₯; Amazon Redshift π₯; Amazon Web Services AWS software ; FileMaker Pro; IBM DB2 π₯; Microsoft Access π₯; Microsoft SQL Server π₯; Oracle Database π₯; Oracle JDBC; ServiceNow π₯; Structured query language SQL ; Transact-SQL π₯; xQuery
- Data mining software - Google Analytics π₯
- Desktop communications software - Eko; Skype
- Desktop publishing software - Adobe FrameMaker
-
Development environment software -
Adobe ActionScript; Adobe AIR; Aonix Software Through Pictures; Apache Ant; Apache Kafka π₯; Apache Maven π₯; Borland VisiBroker; C π₯; Common business oriented language COBOL; Eclipse IDE π₯; Formula translation/translator FORTRAN; Go π₯; IBM Rational Application Developer; IBM Rational Rose XDE; Integrated development environment IDE software; IONA Orbix; Microsoft .NET Framework π₯; Microsoft Azure software ; Microsoft PowerShell ; Microsoft Visual Basic π₯; Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications VBA π₯; Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition VBScript; Microsoft Visual Studio π₯; National Instruments LabVIEW; Oracle Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition J2EE π₯; Ruby π₯; ToadSoft Toad; Verilog
- Document management software - Adobe Acrobat π₯
- Electronic mail software - IBM Notes; Microsoft Exchange
- Enterprise application integration software - Atlassian Bamboo π₯; Extensible markup language XML π₯; IBM InfoSphere DataStage; Jenkins CI π₯; Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services SSIS π₯; Oracle Fusion Middleware
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software - Clarity Systems IBM Clarity; Microsoft Dynamics π₯; Microsoft Dynamics GP; NetSuite ERP; Oracle Fusion Applications; Oracle Hyperion; Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne; Oracle PeopleSoft π₯; SAP Business Objects; SAP software π₯
- Enterprise system management software - IBM Power Systems software
-
Expert system software -
Ansible software
- File versioning software - Apache Subversion SVN π₯; Git π₯
- Financial analysis software - Delphi Technology; Oracle E-Business Suite Financials
- Geographic information system - ESRI ArcGIS software π₯; Geographic information system GIS software
- Graphical user interface development software - Altia Design; Salesforce Visualforce
- Graphics or photo imaging software - Adobe Creative Cloud software π₯; Adobe Photoshop π₯; Trimble SketchUp Pro π₯
- Human resources software - Human resource management software HRMS; Oracle Taleo
- Industrial control software - Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
- Information retrieval or search software - LexisNexis
- Instant messaging software - Blink
- Internet browser software - Web browser software
-
Internet directory services software -
Microsoft Active Directory
- Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software - Voice over internet protocol VoIP system software
- LAN software - Local area network LAN software
- Medical software - Epic Systems π₯; MEDITECH software π₯
- Metadata management software - Quest Erwin Data Modeler
- Network conferencing software - IBM Lotus SameTime
- Network monitoring software - Nagios; Network intrusion prevention systems NIPS; Snort; Wireshark
- Network security and virtual private network VPN equipment software - Firewall software
- Network security or virtual private network VPN management software - Intrusion detection system IDS; Virtual private networking VPN software
-
Object or component oriented development software -
Advanced business application programming ABAP; C# π₯; C++ ; IBM ILOG; jQuery π₯; Jupyter Notebook; Microsoft ActiveX; Objective C π₯; Oracle Java ; Perl π₯; Python ; R π₯; Scala π₯; Smalltalk; Swift π₯
- Object oriented data base management software - Hibernate ORM π₯; PostgreSQL π₯
-
Office suite software -
Microsoft Office software
-
Operating system software -
Apple macOS π₯; Bash π₯; Cisco IOS; Hewlett Packard HP-UX; IBM AIX; Job control language JCL; KornShell; Linux ; Microsoft Windows π₯; Microsoft Windows Server ; Operating system software; Oracle Solaris; Red Hat Enterprise Linux; Shell script π₯; Ubuntu; UNIX π₯; UNIX Shell π₯
- Portal server software - Apache HTTP Server
- Presentation software - Microsoft PowerPoint π₯
- Process mapping and design software - Microsoft Visio π₯
- Program testing software - Hewlett Packard LoadRunner; JUnit π₯; Selenium π₯
- Project management software - Atlassian Confluence π₯; Basecamp; Microsoft Project π₯; Microsoft Teams π₯; Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio Management π₯
- Requirements analysis and system architecture software - Unified modeling language UML
- Sales and marketing software - Google Ads; Marketo Marketing Automation π₯
- Spreadsheet software - Microsoft Excel π₯
- Storage networking software - Amazon Simple Storage Service S3 π₯; Storage area network SAN software
- Switch or router software - Border Gateway Protocol BGP π₯
- Transaction security and virus protection software - McAfee; NortonLifeLock cybersecurity software
- Transaction server software - BEA Tuxedo; Customer information control system CICS; Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS)
- Video conferencing software - Cisco Webex π₯
- Video creation and editing software - Apple Final Cut Pro
- WAN switching software and firmware - Wide area network WAN software
- Web page creation and editing software - Adobe Dreamweaver
- Web platform development software - Adobe Flex; AJAX π₯; Apache Groovy; Apache Struts; Apache Tomcat π₯; Backbone.js; BroadVision software; Cascading style sheets CSS π₯; Django π₯; Drupal π₯; Dynamic hypertext markup language DHTML; Enterprise JavaBeans; Ext JS; Extensible hypertext markup language XHTML; Google Angular π₯; Grails; Hypertext markup language HTML π₯; JavaScript π₯; JavaScript Object Notation JSON π₯; LAMP Stack; Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP π₯; Microsoft ASP.NET π₯; Microsoft ASP.NET Core MVC; Node.js π₯; Oracle JavaServer Pages JSP π₯; PHP π₯; React π₯; Ruby on Rails π₯; Spring Framework π₯
- Word processing software - 3M Post-it App
Occupational Requirements
Work Activities
- Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings - Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events - Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials - Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
- Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information - Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
- Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People - Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
- Processing Information - Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards - Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
- Analyzing Data or Information - Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
- Thinking Creatively - Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge - Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
- Developing Objectives and Strategies - Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
- Scheduling Work and Activities - Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
- Performing General Physical Activities - Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
- Handling and Moving Objects - Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
- Controlling Machines and Processes - Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment - Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.
- Working with Computers - Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
- Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment - Providing documentation, detailed instructions, drawings, or specifications to tell others about how devices, parts, equipment, or structures are to be fabricated, constructed, assembled, modified, maintained, or used.
- Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment - Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
- Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment - Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing machines, devices, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of electrical or electronic (not mechanical) principles.
- Documenting/Recording Information - Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
- Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others - Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
- Communicating with People Outside the Organization - Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
- Assisting and Caring for Others - Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
- Selling or Influencing Others - Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
- Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others - Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
- Performing for or Working Directly with the Public - Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
- Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others - Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
- Developing and Building Teams - Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
- Training and Teaching Others - Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
- Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates - Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
- Coaching and Developing Others - Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
- Providing Consultation and Advice to Others - Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
- Performing Administrative Activities - Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
- Staffing Organizational Units - Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and promoting employees in an organization.
- Monitoring and Controlling Resources - Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
Detailed Work Activities
- Test computer system operations to ensure proper functioning.
- Design integrated computer systems.
- Collaborate with others to determine design specifications or details.
- Coordinate project activities with other personnel or departments.
- Identify information technology project resource requirements.
- Conduct research to gain information about products or processes.
- Recommend changes to improve computer or information systems.
- Analyze security of systems, network, or data.
- Provide technical support for software maintenance or use.
- Document technical specifications or requirements.
- Prepare analytical reports.
- Communicate project information to others.
- Develop organizational goals or objectives.
- Monitor computer system performance to ensure proper operation.
- Test computer hardware performance.
- Test software performance.
- Evaluate utility of software or hardware technologies.
- Develop guidelines for system implementation.
- Develop performance metrics or standards related to information technology.
- Design computer modeling or simulation programs.
- Develop models of information or communications systems.
- Develop detailed project plans.
- Design software applications.
- Configure computer networks.
- Manage information technology projects or system activities.
- Install computer software.
- Install computer hardware.
- Maintain computer hardware.
- Coordinate software or hardware installation.
- Train others in computer interface or software use.