Senior Systems Engineer

The Senior Systems Engineer designs, implements, and improves the organization’s Microsoft-centered infrastructure across on-premises, hybrid, and Azure environments. The role owns technical work through its full lifecycle: from requirements, design, and capacity planning to implementation, validation, operational handoff, and eventual refresh or retirement. It emphasizes engineering, automation, reliability, and secure operation rather than routine account or ticket administration.

The engineer works independently on complex infrastructure changes and incidents, coordinates with internal teams and vendors, and serves as a senior technical escalation point. The position focuses on core infrastructure platforms while partnering with network, security, application, and service teams where their services intersect.

Key Responsibilities Infrastructure design and lifecycle

Translate business and technical requirements into supportable infrastructure designs; evaluate dependencies, capacity, resilience, security, lifecycle, and cost before implementation.

Lead technical research, platform evaluation, implementation planning, procurement specifications, deployment, validation, operational handoff, refresh, and retirement for assigned infrastructure.

Develop change, test, rollback, recovery, and maintenance plans for production work; coordinate implementation with affected teams and vendors.

Maintain clear architecture diagrams, configuration standards, inventories, and operating procedures for systems within the role’s scope.

Microsoft server and identity services

Engineer and maintain Windows Server services, including secure configuration, patching, upgrades, performance and capacity analysis, troubleshooting, and lifecycle management; use Azure Arc for centralized management where applicable.

Maintain Active Directory Domain Services and its dependencies, including domain controllers, replication, sites and services, Group Policy, DNS integration, trusts, authentication, service accounts, delegated access, and recovery readiness.

Support Microsoft Entra ID and hybrid identity services, including synchronization, authentication dependencies, privileged access considerations, and troubleshooting across on-premises and cloud systems.

Engineer and support hybrid Exchange and Exchange Online infrastructure, including mail flow, connectors, certificates, recipient and directory dependencies, planned changes, and advanced troubleshooting.

Compute, storage, backup, and recovery

Engineer and support Dell server and Azure Stack HCI infrastructure, including compute, cluster health, firmware and driver lifecycle, capacity, performance, and vendor coordination.

Maintain Windows Server Failover Clusters and associated SAN/storage services, including cluster dependencies, storage presentation, multipathing concepts, quorum, patching, monitoring, and recovery.

Own Veeam backup and recovery engineering, including job and repository design, scale-out repositories and cloud capacity tiers, monitoring, security considerations, restore testing, and recovery documentation.

Validate recoverability through planned restore and recovery exercises and address gaps identified through testing or incidents.

Azure, applications, and connectivity

Engineer and support Azure-hosted remote desktop, including their identity, network, security, availability, performance, monitoring, and cost dependencies.

Support Windows file and print services, including permissions, availability, capacity, migration, secure access, and recovery planning.

Provide infrastructure-level support for IIS and SQL Server hosted services, including Windows and SQL authentication, Kerberos/SPNs, service identities, TLS certificates, connectivity, backup integration, availability concepts, and troubleshooting. This role is not the primary database administrator or application developer.

Troubleshoot infrastructure connectivity across campus, branch offices, and Azure, including TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, routing, switching, VLANs, firewalls, VPNs, wireless, and certificate dependencies; support the branch Meraki environment as needed.

Automation, security, and operational reliability

Design, test, document, and maintain production PowerShell automation; integrate services using REST APIs and JSON and use Azure Automation or Freshservice workflow automation where appropriate.

Apply safe automation practices, including least privilege, secure secret handling, error handling, logging, repeatable execution, and change control.

Build security, monitoring, patching, backup, and recovery into infrastructure designs; investigate and remediate infrastructure findings and Microsoft-platform incidents with security partners.

Lead complex troubleshooting and root-cause analysis, then implement durable fixes that reduce recurrence and manual operational effort.

Document designs, changes, support procedures, and recovery steps so systems can be operated and supported consistently.

Typically 7 or more years of progressively responsible experience in Microsoft infrastructure, systems engineering, or a closely related field; equivalent practical experience will be considered.

Strong hands-on Windows Server and Active Directory engineering experience, including advanced troubleshooting, patching, security hardening, identity dependencies, and recovery concepts.

Experience with Microsoft Entra ID, hybrid identity, Microsoft 365, and hybrid Exchange or Exchange Online dependencies.

Demonstrated infrastructure engineering experience with virtualization or clustered compute, storage/SAN concepts, server hardware lifecycle, and backup and recovery.

Advanced PowerShell skills and experience creating maintainable automation; working knowledge of REST APIs and JSON.

Strong networking fundamentals sufficient to diagnose infrastructure connectivity issues involving DNS, DHCP, routing, switching, firewalls, VPNs, VLANs, and TLS certificates.

Ability to plan and deliver production changes, assess risk and dependencies, communicate technical decisions, and work effectively with technical teams, service owners, and vendors.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with Dell servers, Azure Stack HCI, Windows Server Failover Clustering, Dell SAN, or Veeam Backup & Replication.

Experience with Azure Arc, Azure Automation, Freshservice workflow automation, Azure-hosted remote desktop services, or Meraki networking.

Experience supporting IIS-hosted applications, SQL Server infrastructure, or Microsoft 365 security controls.

Relevant Microsoft, Azure, Veeam, Dell, or networking certifications.

Senior-Level Expectations

Works with broad objectives and limited supervision, identifying missing requirements, dependencies, and risks early.

Makes design decisions based on evidence, supportability, security, capacity, resilience, and lifecycle needs.

Can diagnose issues that cross server, identity, storage, network, certificate, backup, application-hosting, and cloud boundaries.

Improves team capability through clear standards, useful documentation, knowledge sharing, and thoughtful automation.

Work Environment

This is a full-time, exempt position based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Occasional after-hours work may be required for planned maintenance or urgent production issues. Periodic travel to the University Data Center in Charlottesville or Sands Family Grounds in Arlington may be needed.

Technology Environment

Microsoft Windows Server, Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Arc, Microsoft 365 and hybrid Exchange, Dell server and SAN infrastructure, Azure Stack HCI, Windows Server Failover Clustering, Veeam, Azure-hosted remote desktop, VPN services, PowerShell, Azure Automation, Freshservice workflow automation, IIS, SQL Server infrastructure, and Meraki switches, firewalls, and wireless.

Everforth Apex is a world-class IT services company that serves thousands of clients across the globe. When you join Everforth Apex, you become part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. We offer quality career resources, training, certifications, development opportunities, and a comprehensive benefits package. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in many awards, including ClearlyRateds Best of Staffing in Talent Satisfaction in the United States and Great Place to Work in the United Kingdom and Mexico.

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Everforth Apex Benefits Overview: Everforth Apex offers a range of supplemental benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and other insurance plans that offer an optional layer of financial protection. We offer an ESPP (employee stock purchase program) and a 401K program which allows you to contribute typically within 30 days of starting, with a company match after 12 months of tenure. Everforth Apex also offers a HSA (Health Savings Account on the HDHP plan), a SupportLinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with up to 8 free counseling sessions, a corporate discount savings program and other discounts. In terms of professional development, Everforth Apex hosts an on-demand training program, provides access to certification prep and a library of technical and leadership courses/books/seminars once you have 6+ months of tenure, and certification discounts and other perks to associations that include CompTIA and IIBA. Everforth Apex has a dedicated customer service team for our Consultants that can address questions around benefits and other resources, as well as a certified Career Coach. You can access a full list of our benefits, programs, support teams and resources within our ‘Welcome Packet’ as well, which an Everforth Apex team member can provide.

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