Solution Architect needed to help with educational system for Instant Network schools

Background:
This position is for technical solution architect on the Monik Foundations Instant Network schools program, a programme which provides technical education centres and solution in refugee schools across four African countries.
With the expansion of the Instant Network Schools (INS) project, the Instant Network team aim to streamline the equipment and services supplied, making it less customized, which will contribute to reducing costs, increasing sustainability and reducing maintenance overhead, while structuring the operations process and tools so that it can be handed over to a managing organization on a per country basis. The software that currently power the INS, is located on 2 different servers, 1 for an educational content server, Kolibri) and one for Milliweb (lesson management, device management and lesson creation), other key function like the past exam platform (ViewWorld) and lesson creation (Milliweb) are located as cloud services. The use of pure cloud function has been problematic in sites with patchy connectivity in the past. As part of the next phase we plan to revert to an offline model for all applications with a periodic sync up to a cloud server that will enable data sharing across schools. This will ensure that performance of functions that are key to the success of the INS is standardized independently of connection and will reduce the load on the connections during lessons.

For the previous Instant Classroom, we split the functions of content delivery and lesson delivery into 2 small low power servers, this was done for 2 reasons.
- To minimize power consumption (odroid servers consume less than 5W)
- To ensure that updates from Milliweb or Rachel did not affect each other

For the New Instant Classroom, we plan to use a single server which services will share. This will be done for the following;
- Use off the shelf hardware that can be replaced during the 5-year programme lifecycle
- Custom integration not required
- Ultra-low power server consumption not required as systems are always supplied by site solar power
- Single server can be of higher specification
- Single server to use containerization (and/or VMs) to separate functions so that each can operate independently
- Containerization will facilitate operation and maintenance updates

Consultant Profile - What we are looking for
- Open source software specialist
- Linux system administration
- Familiarity with Docker containers
- Familiarity with Ansible automation
- SSO open source systems and integration
- Designing management systems using the above tools
- Networking using containers (accessing multiple containers via a proxy)
- Basic open source network security and remote network management
- Knowledge of Python an advantage

Key Tasks to be undertaken
- Will be working with VF/IBM engineers on the structure of the INS server
- Input and direct the containerization of the major INS software programs
- Integration of 3rd party containers into INS system
- Input into the architecture and structure of the network and security systems
- Construct test bed and test environment, evaluate required hardware
- Responsible alongside the INS team for designing the maintenance structure so it can be packaged and handed off to entities based in-country

Conditions
- Consultant to start ASAP
- 5-month engagement (part-time 60-80%)
- Solution to be delivered by end of 2020
About the recuiter
Member since May 20, 2018
Lee Raymond
from Kagoshima, Japan

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