Dear Mastodon,

[zolaris@mastodon.illumos.cafe]

Dear Mastodon,

I am a mechanical engineer who is about to make a major #career change. I have received a job offer from an international company for an Application Engineer position. The role involves supporting #CAD (computer-aided design), #PLM (product lifecycle management), and #PDM (product data management) systems and their underlying infrastructure.

As far as I know, most of the applications are #Windows-based, but there are likely some #Unix-like systems involved as well. I do not have formal system administration experience, so I am looking for guidance on which technologies I should focus on to make this transition as smooth as possible. Could you recommend useful books, technologies, or keywords to explore?

For context, I have homelab-level experience with Linux, networking, SSL, reverse proxying, ZFS, Solaris zones, bhyve, and FreeBSD, and I have been using OpenBSD as my desktop operating system for years.

Thank you in advance for any #advice or recommendations.

TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Implementation, configuration, and maintenance of software and systems related to the supported area in line with corporate requirements.
- Installation, configuration, and maintenance of critical software systems, as well as providing expert-level support to end users.
- Management of application-related changes, handling major upgrades, and the introduction and testing of new systems and developments.
- Publishing and testing new releases.
- System administration and monitoring to ensure the performance and proper operation of supported software and systems.
- Troubleshooting and problem resolution, including the management of system updates and fixes.
- Analysis of business requirements and implementation of related processes.
- Support for project management, including the preparation of documentation and reports.
- Communication with clients and business units to maintain synergy between business requirements and system solutions.