System Engineer - Senior

The System Engineer - Senior is responsible for installing, configuring, troubleshooting, & maintaining HW/SW & administering system accounts. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Core Tasks:
• Install, update, & troubleshoot systems/servers.
• Conduct functional & connectivity testing to ensure continuing operability.
• Develop & document systems administration SOPs.
• Comply with organization systems administration SOPs.
• Implement & enforce local network usage policies & procedures.
• Maintain baseline system security according to organizational policies.
• Manage accounts, network rights, & access to systems & equipment.
• Manage system/server resources including performance, capacity, availability, serviceability, & recoverability.
• Monitor & maintain system/server configuration.
• Perform repairs on faulty system/server HW.
• Plan, execute, & verify data redundancy & system recovery procedures.
• Troubleshoot HW/SW interface & interoperability problems.
• Additional Tasks:
• Check system HW availability, functionality, integrity, & efficiency.
• Conduct periodic system maintenance including cleaning (both physically & electronically), disk checks, routine reboots, data dumps, & testing.
• Design group policies & access control lists to ensure compatibility with organizational standards, business rules, & needs.
• Ensure application of security patches for commercial products integrated into system design meet timelines dictated by management authority for intended operational environment.
• Oversee installation, implementation, configuration, & support of system components.
• Diagnose faulty system/server HW.
• Provide ongoing optimization & problem-solving support.

Specifically, this role will provide System Engineering support as part of the Network & System Support team, including, but not limited to:

• Configure, manage, monitor, report, troubleshoot, document, & secure all required network services including but not limited to DNS, DHCP, NTP, SNMP, HTTP / HTTPS, SSH, LDAP / LDAPS, SMTP.
• Update all servers, application SW, & network services IAW applicable IAVAs, IAVBs, IAVMs, MCDs, OPDIRs, & CIO directives; execute patches; & report compliance as directed by established processes & deadlines.
• Configure, manage, monitor, report, troubleshoot, document, & secure MS 365 productivity suite environment to include Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, & OneDrive.
• Configure, manage, monitor, report, troubleshoot, document, & secure MS AD environment including but not limited to creating, testing, & linking GPO; designing & maintaining OU structure to ensure policies applied to correct units & groups; managing privileged account access by implementing Tiered Administration models; managing AD Schema; managing AD-Integrated DNS zones; configuring & reviewing “Advanced Audit Policy” settings & Trust management.
• Configure, manage, monitor, report, troubleshoot, document, & secure MCM to include operating deployment, SW deployment, patching & upgrades, HW & SW inventorying & baselines, & STIG auditing & enforcement.
• Design, configure, manage, monitor, troubleshoot, document, & secure VMware environment, encompassing ESXi hosts, vCenter servers, & all associated virtual infrastructure; includes comprehensive lifecycle management, executing virtual machine updates & upgrades, managing snapshots & templates, & applying required security patches, bug fixes, & service packs.
• Track health & performance of virtual machines & physical HW utilizing enterprise tools; balance CPU, memory, & storage resources across environment to prevent system bottlenecks; develop & generate detailed reports on system operations & performance trends to predict future resource requirements & inform proactive capacity planning.
• Diagnose & resolve complex technical anomalies, including virtual machine connectivity issues, storage latency, & host failures; conduct root cause analysis by examining critical system logs; troubleshoot & resolve vSwitch misconfigurations, network packet errors, & storage connectivity disruptions across iSCSI, NFS, & FC protocols.
• Implement & enforce RBAC to restrict administrative access to authorized personnel; configure virtual firewalls to organizational security policies, applicable STIGs, & industry best practices; implement, manage, & support enterprise backup solutions & DR mechanisms, including regular testing, validation, & documentation of DR plans to guarantee rapid restoration of mission-critical services following operational disruption.
• Design, configure, manage, monitor, troubleshoot, document, & secure VDI solution using AVD; includes comprehensive management of AVD host pools, dynamically adding new session hosts to meet user dem&, & configuring automated scaling plans to optimize virtual machine power states & maximize cost efficiency.
• Create, maintain, & routinely update VDI “golden images” with latest OS patches & required business applications.
• Monitor & schedule mandatory system updates for AVD Agent across deployed session hosts to maintain uninterrupted Azure service connectivity.
• Configure & adjust Breadth-first or Depth-first load-balancing algorithms to resolve performance bottlenecks or maximize host density; manage delivery of customized user environments by setting up, maintaining, & troubleshooting FSLogix profile containers; manage AVD application groups to ensure users have secure, targeted access to required SW resources based on mission roles.
• Monitor health & efficiency of VDI environment using AVD Insights to track connection success rates, user logon times, & overall session host performance; investigate & resolve network latency or connection drops by auditing NSG rules & verifying proper VNet peering configurations.
• In event of system anomalies, execute rapid troubleshooting procedures, which include resetting RDP connections, validating virtual machine resource health, & redeploying degraded or unresponsive session hosts.
• Implement strict access controls by assigning RBAC roles & managing user permissions through MS Entra ID to secure VDI access; provide Tier II/III support to troubleshoot & resolve access issues, including instances where MFA or conditional access policies inadvertently block legitimate user sign-ins; continuously monitor directory synchronization between on-premises AD & cloud environment to prevent identity conflicts & ensure seamless user authentication.
• Install, configure, manage, monitor, report, troubleshoot, document, & secure physical & virtual servers.
• Recommend virtualization strategies & upgrades to reduce physical footprint & energy costs & simplify support requirements for data center & end user workstations.
• Create & update systems architecture documentation to provide functional overview of solution; directly map technology capabilities & components to requirements.
• Create & maintain SOPs, work instructions, & job aids to document Government processes & procedures.
• Create detailed & accurate AARs to capture & describe outages, services interruptions, failures, or incidents per government direction & processes to include lessons learned & recommendations.
• Track & report EoL & EoS dates, warranty & support status, & subscription & license expiration dates for all systems, SW, OS, firmware, tools, & subscriptions.
• Recommend data storage & backup strategies to meet future capacity & performance requirements & reduce risk of data loss in case of device or media damage or failure; prepare system engineering requirements documents & assist in design & implementation of data storage & backup solutions.
• Maintain separate usmcu.edu Internet domain, internal intranet/LAN, & Azure Cloud environment IAW DoWI 8550.01, to include VPN configuration/support, firewall support, IDS support, vulnerability scans, IP management, DNS management, & Spam/abuse management.
• Provide technical & administrative support services, including installation, operation, documentation, & maintenance, for network systems & servers running SW, including OS SW like MS Server 2012 & higher, MS Windows 2010 & higher, Macintosh OSX-12 & higher, & Red Hat Linux 6.x & higher.
• Monitor data center & cloud performance to ensure efficient utilization of resources & detect conditions requiring corrective action.
• Troubleshoot HW & SW problems for HW connected to network & SW running on servers or client workstations; recommend solutions & implement corrective actions.
• Develop, configure, execute, secure, & test data & system backup plans per Government provided processes & schedules.
• Establish & maintain connections to proxy servers & other sites required to provide access to external databases & subscription services for authorized personnel.
• Aid in preparation of technical refresh plans for data center & network to ensure equipment & SW reliability; install approved upgrades & Government-provided equipment to enhance existing infrastructure or add capacity &/or capabilities to existing systems.
• Validate & recommend changes to systems & service designs for planned expansion of existing networks & data centers.

• Education: Masters or PHD in IT, Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Info. Sys, Data Science, or SW Engineering; OR
• Training: One of the following DoD training courses - M0923W1 Data Systems Chief; M093861 Data Systems Engineering Officer; M09BNU1 Cyber System Chief; or M09CVM1 Network Engineering Officer; OR
• Certifications: One of the following active certifications - CCSP; CISSP; CCNP Security; SecurityX (CASP+); FITSP-O; or GFACT.

Years of Experience: 7+ years (experience may be considered as alternative to Foundational Qualifications)