Sr. Cloud Administrator

The Sr. Systems Administrator - Cloud Platforms is responsible for the design, architecture, implementation, and operations of a 24×7×365 mission-critical hybrid cloud environment and requires a practitioner who has shipped production-grade implementations and can troubleshoot complex multi-cloud and virtualization issues without escalation. Responsibilities also includes critical evaluation of infrastructure components, enforcement of security requirements, cloud monitoring, and building scalable enterprise-grade infrastructure across security, reliability, performance, and availability dimensions .

This position will lead and support efforts related to backup recovery, performance tuning, problem determination and resolution, deployment and will help to develop and implement Business Continuity Planning ( BCP ) and disaster recovery plans. The Senior Cloud Administrator also serves as a platform engineering lead and subject matter expert across OCI and Microsoft Azure Native and AVS Cloud platforms.

Essential Functions

Architects, implements, secures, monitors and maintains the cloud and on-premises enterprise class systems, Microsoft, VMware, MS Exchange (on-premise and cloud), Oracle Cloud Infrastructure ( OCI ), Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop and Citrix Cloud Services administration, Nutanix, NSX and other server infrastructures;Architects, implements, secures, monitors, and maintains cloud and on-premises enterprise class systems with expert-level focus on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure ( OCI ), Microsoft Azure Government Cloud, Azure VMware Solution ( AVS ), and VMware vSphere/ NSX -T; also supports MS Exchange (on-premises and cloud), Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop, Nutanix, and Cohesity

Act as the SME for all aspects of platform technology implementations

Responsible for ensuring 24/7/365 mission critical applications availability, reliability and performance

Provides expert-level administration and architecture of VMware technologies including vSphere 7/8, vCenter, vROPS, NSX -T, and Azure VMware Solution ( AVS ); applies deep knowledge of distributed virtual networking, storage policies, cluster design, HA/ DRS , and cross-cloud workload management

Designs, engineers, and optimizes hybrid multi-cloud infrastructures with direct, proven implementation experience in OCI ( VCN , DRG , FastConnect, Private Load Balancers, OCI IAM ) and Azure Government Cloud (ExpressRoute, vWAN/Global Reach, Entra ID, Defender for Cloud, AVS , Azure Arc)

Develops system Architecture and system design documentation

Develops and documents support strategies and best practices, standard operating procedures, installation and decommissioning checklists, troubleshooting guidelines, and escalation procedures

Establish monitoring requirements for servers and applications as well as develop and deploy alerting strategies

Performs hardware/software/OS installations and upgrades on multiple distributed systems;

Supports strategic planning for infrastructure growth and enhancement

Develops, implements, maintains, and documents detailed disaster recovery systems and procedures

Work collaboratively with 3rd party vendors in the research, selection and implementation of enterprise class technologies. Work closely with vendor(s) to obtain accurate quotations for services, hardware, and licenses

Implements, administers, and enhances highly-available solutions, both within the data center and across data centers at multiple locations and in the cloud

Other Functions

Assists in performing a daily system review that involves checking the health of systems, creates or supports the creation of daily status report(s) as directed and diagnosing and correcting system anomalies

Assists the team in developing and supporting long term and short-term strategies for system operations, security, optimization, and improvement

Assists other IT departments with responsibilities including security solutions administration and day-to-day problem resolutions

Assists the IT Application team with problem resolution

Assists the Service Desk team with problem resolution and escalation

Racks and moves physical servers and runs cables and fiber between servers and switches

Provides 24/7 remote or onsite systems support as needed at WSSC Water's data centers and remote sites

Ensures that Service Level Agreements (SLA's) are followed and adhered to

Performs other related duties as assigned

Strong Windows PowerShell scripting skills for automating jobs and process for systems that support PowerShell based deployment and implementation

Demonstrated knowledge with Cloud native architectures included but not limited to: Amazon Web Services ( AWS ), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle OCI , Equinix and others

Deep knowledge of Microsoft technologies including Microsoft 365, Azure AD, and other Microsoft technologies

Expert knowledge of software and hardware design and recovery techniques necessary to keep servers operational and accessible

Strong knowledge of the Windows Server 2019/2016/2012 operating environment, WSUS and related security, patching, monitoring, and other management/administration software and components

Strong knowledge of Windows current Active Directory Domain Services and related Group Policy ( GPO ), ADFS , login scripts, domain permissions, and other management/administration components

Strong knowledge of MS Exchange or Exchange Online and Microsoft 365 administration and related collaboration technologies including Teams and SharePoint

Strong knowledge of server hardware and software technology, systems analysis and troubleshooting, and research techniques

Strong knowledge of Linux Red Hat environments (i.e. Patching, troubleshooting, and configuration)

Strong knowledge of server backups and restore software, administration, policies, retention, and scheduling

Strong knowledge of administering servers in a VMware vSphere 7.x virtualized environment;

Strong analytical and organizational skills and the ability to take on multiple tasks simultaneously

Strong verbal and written communication skills including strong technical documentation skills

Ability to think tactically and strategically

Ability to work effectively in a team environment to achieve common goals

Minimum Education, Experience Requirements

Bachelor's degree

5+ years' experience supporting server systems administration in a large corporate environment

OR

High School diploma or equivalent

9+ years' experience supporting server systems administration in a large corporate environment

WSSC Water's infrastructure spans on-premises datacenters, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure ( OCI ), Microsoft Azure Native Cloud, and Azure VMware Solution ( AVS ).