diff --git a/packaging/irods.service.systemd b/packaging/irods.service.systemd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..26c2d02c19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packaging/irods.service.systemd
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=iRODS 5
+After=network.target
+
+[Service]
+Type=forking
+PIDFile=/run/irods/irods-server.pid
+ExecStart=/usr/sbin/irodsServer -d
+ExecReload=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID
+ExecStop=/bin/kill -TERM $MAINPID
+Restart=on-failure
+User=irods
+Group=irods
+WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/irods
+LimitNOFILE=65536
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target