Job Description

Job Title : JIRA Administrator (Atlassian Platform Administrator)

Location : Oakland, CA /Hybrid/ MUST BE LOCAL TO BAY AREA, CA

Type : 6 Month Contract (Can Be Extended)

Role Summary

The JIRA Administrator is responsible for the configuration, governance, and optimization of the Atlassian ecosystem (primarily JIRA, often Confluence). This role ensures that JIRA supports scalable, efficient workflows across teams while maintaining system integrity, performance, and usability.

This is not just a "tool admin" role-it sits at the intersection of process design, systems configuration, and cross-functional enablement.

Key Responsibilities

1. JIRA Configuration & Administration

• Configure and maintain:
  • Projects, issue types, workflows, screens, and fields
  • Permission schemes, notification schemes, and roles
• Manage user access, groups, and security models
• Maintain system hygiene (archiving, cleanup, standardization)

2. Workflow Design & Process Optimization

• Translate business and engineering requirements into JIRA workflows
• Design scalable and standardized processes across teams
• Balance flexibility vs governance (avoid workflow sprawl)
• Continuously improve usability and efficiency

3. Automation & Efficiency

• Build and maintain JIRA automation rules:
  • Issue transitions, notifications, routing, SLA triggers
• Reduce manual work through process automation
• Monitor and optimize automation performance

4. Reporting & Analytics

• Develop dashboards and reports:
  • Sprint metrics (velocity, burndown)
  • Throughput, cycle time, backlog health
• Enable stakeholders (engineering, product, leadership) with visibility
• Ensure data quality and consistency for reporting

5. Integration & System Connectivity

• Manage integrations with tools such as:
  • GitHub / GitLab / Bitbucket
  • CI/CD pipelines
  • Slack, ServiceNow, CRM systems
• Support or design cross-system workflows (light orchestration)
• Work with APIs, webhooks, and marketplace apps when needed

6. Atlassian Ecosystem Management

• Administer Confluence:
  • Spaces, permissions, templates
• Evaluate and manage marketplace plugins (e.g., Tempo, ScriptRunner)
• Ensure compatibility, performance, and cost control of add-ons

7. Governance & Best Practices

• Co-establish standards for:
  • Project creation
  • Naming conventions
  • Workflow consistency
• Prevent configuration sprawl and technical debt
• Document system architecture and processes

8. User Support & Enablement

• Provide tier-2/3 support for JIRA-related issues
• Train teams on best practices and workflows
• Act as a consultant to teams adopting or improving JIRA usage

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on JIRA administration experience
• Strong understanding of:
  • JIRA workflows, schemes, and configurations
  • Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban)
• Experience with JIRA Cloud or Data Center (specify which you use)
• Ability to translate business requirements into system design
• Strong problem-solving and systems thinking skills

Preferred Qualifications (Senior-level signals)

• Experience with:
  • JIRA automation (advanced rules)
  • ScriptRunner or similar tools
  • REST APIs and integrations
• Experience scaling JIRA across multiple teams or departments
• Familiarity with Atlassian Access, SSO, and security controls
• Experience with reporting tools or data extraction
• Background in software development, DevOps, or systems architecture

Key Skills

• Systems thinking (understanding cross-team workflows)
• Process design (not just tool configuration)
• Stakeholder communication (technical + non-technical)
• Attention to detail (small config errors have big impact)
• Governance mindset (preventing long-term entropy)

Success Metrics

• Reduced workflow complexity and duplication
• Increased adoption and user satisfaction
• Improved reporting accuracy and visibility
• Reduction in manual work via automation
• Stable, performant, and well-governed JIRA environment

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