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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # System Administrator I - **Company:** The Smart - **Location:** Vancouver, WA, United States (Remote available) - **Experience:** Experienced - **Salary:** $80,200.0 - **Contract:** Internship / Graduate position - **Skills:** Proxmox, Microsoft Windows, Application Firewall, Bash Shell, VoIP, Ubuntu (Operating System), Adobe Coldfusion, Software Documentation, Databases, Relational Databases, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, Debian Linux, Linux, Distributed Data Store, Domain Name System (DNS), Failover Clustering, Hyper-V, Internet Information Services (IIS), IP Addressing, Subnetting, Python (Programming Language), Kernel-Based Virtual Machine, Network Troubleshooting, Unix Shell, Microsoft SQL Server, Windows Servers, Networking Basics, Packet Analyzer, Nginx, Windows PowerShell, Remote Administration, Reverse Proxy, Tcpdump, Wireshark, Virtual Local Area Networks, Virtual Machines, Virtualization Technology, Ceph (Software), Diagnostic Tools, Computer Network Operations, Connectivity Problems, Ribbon (Software), Perf (Linux), Bare Metal, Performance Monitor, Firewall Services Module, Event Viewer, Legacy Systems, Vmware - **Published:** October 15, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=6f00c8493532f23a ## About the Role * 2+ year of hands-on systems administration in a production environment, or equivalent demonstrable experience through internships, coursework, or personal lab work. We care more about what you can show us than where you did it. * Comfortable working in a Linux shell (Ubuntu, Debian, or similar). You don't need depth yet, but you shouldn't need a GUI. * Familiarity with Windows Server - services, scheduled tasks, reading Event Viewer logs, basic networking and firewall configuration, remote administration over RDP * Some scripting in PowerShell, Python, or Bash, and the instinct to automate a task after you've done it by hand three times * Networking fundamentals: DNS, DHCP, IP addressing and subnetting, VLANs * Clear written documentation habits * A working system for tracking your own tasks, and a record of finishing them. Much of this job is carrying several unrelated items at once - a hardware order, a half-finished migration, an escalation, a backup that needs verifying - and getting each one across the line. We need someone who can be interrupted, handle the interruption, and then reliably return to what they set down. * Bachelor's degree in a technical field, or equivalent hands-on experience Preferred qualifications * Virtualization experience - Proxmox, VMware, Hyper-V, or KVM * Packet-level network troubleshooting (Wireshark, tcpdump) * IIS and NGINX administration, including reverse proxy configuration and HTTP-layer troubleshooting * ColdFusion or Lucee application administration * Windows performance analysis with Performance Monitor and Resource Monitor * Certificate and TLS management * Failover clustering * SQL Server or another relational database: query analysis, index basics, understanding what a slow query is actually waiting on * Experience with enterprise backup and recovery - and the judgment to test restores rather than trust green checkmarks * Any exposure to VoIP or SIP - session border controllers, PBX administration, carrier trunking, or even hobbyist Asterisk/FreePBX work * Ceph or another distributed storage system * Firewall administration * Linux performance analysis tooling (top, vmstat, iostat, perf, strace) * Professional certifications (RHCSA, Microsoft, CCNA, Security+) * Experience in a regulated or high-security environment Physical requirements and working conditions These are essential functions of the role: * Prolonged periods of sitting and working at a computer workstation * Onsite work in datacenter environments, including occasional extended periods standing and working in server racks * Ability to lift, move, and rack equipment weighing up to 50 pounds * Ability to work scheduled maintenance windows outside standard business hours, including occasional overnight windows * Ability to travel to local and out of state datacenters, approximately 10-15% of the time, most of it day trips within the Portland metro area * Ability to pass a background check required for access to correctional facilities ## Description * Windows Server - on bare metal and virtualized, running our proprietary visitation and communications applications * Linux - Ubuntu and Debian * Web and application tier - IIS and NGINX fronting our production applications * GPU compute - NVIDIA V100 and A100 nodes * Voice - Session border controllers (Ribbon and AudioCodes Mediant 3100) and SIP trunking to carriers. Very few candidates arrive with SBC experience, so we treat this as something we teach, not something we screen on. * Databases - Microsoft SQL Server supporting our production applications * Legacy systems - part of our platform runs on purpose-built hardware from an earlier generation. If working across both current and legacy infrastructure sounds interesting, that's a good sign. You do not need experience with all of this. You do need to be the kind of person who reads documentation and asks good questions. What you'll do * Administer Windows Server and Linux systems across our production datacenters - patching, hardening, configuration, and lifecycle * Build and maintain virtual machines and containers on our Proxmox clusters * Investigate performance and connectivity problems using real diagnostic tools: packet capture and analysis, OS-level performance tooling, and log correlation across systems * Monitor system and network health, and improve our monitoring coverage where it's thin * Configure and rack new servers, and maintain existing hardware - including physical installation of servers, cards, and cabling * Verify backups actually restore, and participate in audits of systems and backup integrity * Write and maintain runbooks and system documentation. We take this seriously; undocumented systems are how outages get long. * Work with our Network Operations and Engineering teams to isolate root cause and resolve escalations