Senior Systems Administrator
Purpose
The Senior Systems Administrator is a key technical leader responsible for ensuring AAIS’s IT infrastructure’s stability, reliability, and security. responsible for supporting multiple operating systems and serving as the first line of accountability for system security. This role ensures the effective installation, configuration, operation, and maintenance of system hardware and software infrastructure.
Department: Systems Operations
Project Location(s): Remote
Responsibilities
- Provide technical support for networking, Windows, and Linux server hardware and software, including troubleshooting, capacity planning, and disaster recovery.
- Monitor system and network availability, performance, and cybersecurity for hosted services, identifying and resolving anomalies.
- Administer AAIS technology services, including Windows Servers, Active Directory, Azure, and AWS.
- Manage software configuration, installations, patches, and system upgrades, ensuring reliability and security.
- Act as the first responder for security incidents, leading incident assessments, remediation, testing, and system restoration.
- Oversee asset management for office-based and cloud-hosted infrastructure, including procurement, configuration, deployment, and monitoring.
- Establish and maintain system configurations, operational procedures, and maintenance protocols in line with industry best practices.
- Perform system backups, business continuity testing, and disaster recovery.
- Manage and maintain physical and virtual server infrastructure, coordinating preventative maintenance and hardware support contracts.
- Ensure compliance with data exchange service level agreements, monitoring system configurations and performance for data integrity.
- Implement and enforce security policies for desktops, servers, firewalls, and network devices.
- Maintain compliance with SSAE16 attestations and NAIC audit requirements.
- Provide reports on IT monitoring, asset status, and expenses.
- Manage and oversee IT Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to ensure compliance with SLAs, security policies, and performance expectations, coordinating incident resolution, service improvements, and strategic alignment with business objectives.
- Perform additional duties as assigned or requested.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Strong knowledge of enterprise hardware platforms and operating systems, including Linux and Windows.
- Expertise in systems administration tools and best practices for Windows Server, Active Directory, and Linux environments.
- Experience with web service interfaces and administration to ensure system reliability and availability.
- Proficiency in AWS services such as EC2, Storage Gateway, and Virtual Private Cloud (VPC).
- Familiarity with system and software configuration management tools like Elastic Beanstalk, Perforce, and Git.
- Solid understanding of security best practices, including monitoring and troubleshooting unusual system activity.
- Experience with event monitoring and altering systems, such as Nagios (preferred).
- Ability to serve as a subject matter expert (SME) on Agile projects, collaborating with internal and contract technical staff.
- Knowledge of ITIL best practices and methodologies.
- Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to stay current with emerging technologies and system upgrade paths.
- Ability to manage multiple projects at once and meet deadlines in an Agile work environment.
- Excellent communication, organizational, and customer service skills.
- Experience planning and implementing routine system upgrades with proper documentation and stakeholder communication.
- Familiarity with project management tools such as Rally and ticket-tracking systems for workload management.
- Flexibility to work extended hours when necessary.
- Ability to work effectively both independently and in a team environment.
- Ability to communicate effectively across multiple channels and asynchronously in a remote-first working environment.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree and 6+ years of relevant experience, OR a Master’s degree and 4+ years of relevant experience.
- Experience with Windows LDAP configurations and secure authentication mechanisms.
- CISSP or CCSP certification (preferred).
- Kace MDM or other MDM certification (preferred).
- Cisco CCNA certification (preferred).
- Prior experience with IT managed service suppliers.
- Must be able to work flexible or extended hours as needed to meet deadlines or respond to disaster recovery.
- Minimum travel is required for annual all-company gatherings or team design sessions (up to 5% of the time).
To apply, please email your resume to Krissy Hensley, HR Director, at krissyh@AAISonline.com.