IT System Engineer

Job description: The System Administrator is responsible for the end-to-end operational integrity of all servers in the Federal Government Agency ‘s ecosystem - on-premises, virtual, and cloud-based (AWS) - as well as the Agency’s Active Directory infrastructure, storage systems, and backup and recovery operations. This individual serves as the highest-level escalation point for Windows/Linux server, storage, and systems incidents., * Maintain operational integrity of all physical Dell servers, Windows and Linux virtual machines, and VMware ESXi hosts managed by vCenter across the Agency’s on-premises and AWS environments.

• Perform OS patching, firmware and BIOS updates, storage capacity monitoring, SSL certificate renewals, and critical service restarts in accordance with Agency-approved patch management schedules.
• Execute server baseline image development, licensing validation, Sysprep, and driver injection for Windows and Linux; maintain and update images in compliance with the Agency’s Standard Operating Environment (SOE).
• Deploy physical and virtual servers including rack-and-stack, RAID configuration, iDRAC/ILO setup, OS installation, VPC/subnet assignment, EBS volume attachment, and post-deployment hardening.
• Provide immediate notification to the CIO and MSSP security team in the event of any security incident requiring server isolation, including execution of incident response protocols aligned with NIST 800-53.

Active Directory & Identity Management

• Maintain health and integrity of the Agency’s Active Directory infrastructure including three Read/Write and two Read-Only domain controllers (Main Agency), and two Read/Write Facilities controllers; verify FSMO role health, DC replication, SYSVOL integrity, and DNS/SRV record validation.
• Develop and maintain Group Policy Objects (GPOs) for all Windows devices (on-premises and AWS), including GPO lifecycle management, conflict/inheritance optimization, and security auditing via GPMC and GPResult.
• Enforce a tiered administrative model with Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) mapping, privileged account de-provisioning, and monthly Domain Admin/Enterprise Admin membership audits.
• Manage Active Directory monitoring for real-time object lifecycle tracking and privileged membership change alerting; produce automated daily CIO compliance reports via ADAudit Plus.

AWS Cloud Operations

• Provide operational management and performance optimization of the Agency’s AWS environment, including EC2 instances (Amazon Linux and Windows), RDS (MySQL and MS-SQL), S3, Glacier, CloudFront CDN, VPCs, and AWS service connectivity to third-party providers.
• Execute instance lifecycle management including patching, scaling, S3 bucket policy management (non-security), Route 53 DNS records, VPC routing, Lambda monitoring, and CloudWatch-based proactive performance remediation.
• Perform IAM execution (adding/removing users per approved requests) and account hygiene; coordinate with the Agency CISO on security tooling (GuardDuty, Security Hub, CloudTrail) at the direction of Agency security staff.
• Administer ADFS infrastructure and Windows Active Directory integration with AWS identity services.

Backup, Recovery & Storage

• Administer and monitor the Agency’s backup environment using Cohesity Helios, including job scheduling, deduplication, retention policy management, offsite synchronization, and daily success/failure review.
• Execute file-level recovery (FLR), database and application object restores, instant VM recovery, and point-in-time rollbacks upon request; lead annual Disaster Recovery (DR) and Bare Metal Recovery (BMR) exercises.
• Monitor and maintain Dell PowerScale NAS, Dell Unity Unified Hybrid Storage Arrays, QNAP devices, LibSafe/LibData preservation storage, and EVO Media Storage systems, using OneFS and management consoles.
• Enforce least-privilege access controls on all storage systems, including iSCSI target/initiator mapping, RBAC implementation, ACL auditing, and CIO security posture reporting.

Database & Application Server Support

• Provide operational support for Microsoft SQL Server clusters, MySQL, and Oracle database servers, including OS-level patching, SSL certificate and domain renewal management, and third-party vendor update execution.
• Act as technical lead on third-party vendor calls; manage vendor remote access/VPN sessions; maintain middleware and web services (IIS, Apache) for Agency-hosted applications.
• Manage shared drive architecture, NTFS/NFS permissions, security group-based ACL enforcement, and recursive folder permission auditing across the Agency’s file share environment.

Minimum 7 years of experience in enterprise systems administration with at least 3 years at a Tier 3 / senior engineer level., * Minimum 7 years of experience in enterprise systems administration with at least 3 years at a Tier 3 / senior engineer level.

• Expert-level proficiency in both Linux and Windows Server administration, including advanced command-line troubleshooting and shell scripting (Bash and PowerShell).
• Hands-on experience with VMware vSphere/vCenter, including ESXi host management, VM lifecycle, and snapshot operations.
• AWS SysOps Administrator-level proficiency; experience managing EC2, RDS, S3, Glacier, CloudFront, VPC, Route 53, Lambda, and CloudWatch in a production environment.
• Experience with Dell PowerScale (OneFS), Cohesity Helios, or equivalent enterprise storage and backup platforms.
• Active Directory architecture and administration expertise, including GPO management, FSMO roles, DC replication, and ADAudit Plus or equivalent monitoring tools.
• Familiarity with NIST 800-53 security controls and their application to server baseline hardening and vulnerability remediation.
• Must be eligible for and obtain a Agency suitability clearance (background investigation and annual re-badging)., * AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate or higher.
• Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate or equivalent.
• VMware Certified Professional (VCP) - Data Center Virtualization.
• Experience in a federal government or cultural institution IT environment., * Do you have a minimum of 7 years of experience in enterprise systems administration, with at least 3 years at a Tier 3 / senior engineer level as a Federal Government contractor? If not, your application may not be considered for the role.

Pulled from the full job description

• Professional development assistance
• Parental leave
• 401(k)
• Health insurance
• Retirement plan
• 401(k) matching
• Paid time off, * Career Growth - clear paths and mentoring on long-term federal programs; advancement is earned on merit, not tenure
• Health & Wellness - comprehensive medical, dental, and vision for you and your family
• Financial - Competitive pay, 401(k) match, and performance recognition
• Community - A team culture built on service, integrity, and mission
• Education-We partner with technology training companies, such as CBT Nuggets, to provide our employees with skill-building and industry-recognized certification training.

Pay: $90,000.00 - $135,000.00 per year, * 401(k)

• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance