Senior System Administrator

Al Etihad Payments; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services provider in the UAE seeks a Senior System Administrator to manage their IT infrastructure across on-premises and cloud environments. The role involves overseeing Windows and Linux servers, Azure services, and ensuring high system availability and compliance with security standards. The ideal candidate will have over 7 years of experience and strong skills in system administration and cloud technologies, as well as familiarity with enterprise security best practices.

Benefits

Competitive compensation package

Annual bonus

Child educational allowance

Comprehensive health insurance

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in system administration or similar role.
• Strong hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure ecosystem and Windows/Linux servers.
• Experience with enterprise security best practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead the administration and maintenance of Windows Servers.
• Administer and optimize Entra ID and Intune MDM.
• Support and enhance Azure Virtual Desktop environments.
• Ensure compliance with security standards and regulatory requirements.
• Provide Level 3 (L3) support for critical incidents.

Skills

Windows Server & Windows OS

Entra ID / Azure AD

Intune MDM/MAM

Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD)

Linux systems administration

Proxmox virtualization

PowerShell scripting

Bash scripting

Conditional Access & MFA

Microsoft Teams administration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, or equivalent experience

Microsoft AZ-104 (Azure Administrator)

Microsoft MD-102 (Endpoint Administrator)

Microsoft SC-300 (Identity & Access Administrator)

MS-700 (Teams Administrator)

CompTIA Linux+ or RHCSA

Tools

Azure subscriptions

Performance monitoring tools

Backup and disaster recovery solutions

Job description

Senior System Administrator

Al Etihad Payments empowers employees to work in an environment that best promotes their productivity and well-being, while providing high-quality workplace and fantastic professional experience.

Get to Know Us

Al Etihad Payments is the UAE’s designated retail payments entity, dedicated to developing and operating world-class infrastructure, standards, and solutions for the UAE Economy. Al Etihad Payments is a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE, strongly supported by the UAE Government.

Our employees are committed to work with licensed financial institutions and other payment service providers to foster innovation and deliver excellent financial services to all in the UAE, efficiently and without friction.

Al Etihad Payments supports the government’s objectives of a cashless society, national digitization, and the Central Bank of the UAE objective of being a top ten central bank globally.

Our Culture

We are a collaborative, diverse and passionate group of individuals that works as one team. We support one another, make impactful contributions to the organization, and develop and nurture meaningful connections across the payment’s ecosystem!

About Role

The Senior System Administrator is responsible for designing, managing, securing, and optimizing the organization’s IT infrastructure across both on-premises and cloud environments. This role oversees Windows and Linux servers, the Azure ecosystem (including Entra ID, Azure Virtual Desktop, Intune, and Azure subscriptions), MDM/MAM solutions, virtualization platforms (Proxmox), and core enterprise security controls. The Senior System Administrator ensures high availability, performance, resilience, and compliance of all critical systems, while serving as a technical escalation point and contributing to continuous improvement of the IT environment.

Responsibilities

1. Microsoft & Cloud Infrastructure

• Lead the administration and maintenance of Windows Servers and Windows client machines.
• Administer and optimize Entra ID (Azure Active Directory), including:
  • End-to-end user lifecycle management (creation, modification, deactivation).
  • Management of groups, roles, and enterprise applications.
  • App registrations, permission assignments, and application access controls.
• Manage and maintain Intune MDM/MAM, including:
  • Device onboarding and enrollment.
  • Configuration profiles and compliance policies.
  • Application deployment, updates, and patch management.
• Support and enhance Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) environments:
  • Host pools, session hosts, FSLogix profiles, and scaling plans.
• Administer Azure subscriptions, including IAM roles, resource groups, policies, and cost optimization control.

2. Security & Access Management Configure

• Maintain, and continuously improve Conditional Access policies.
• Manage and support Global Secure Access (Microsoft E5 / Entra Global Secure Access).
• Ensure systems comply with organizational security standards, regulatory requirements, and audit findings.
• Design, implement, and review MFA, SSO, and Zero Trust access policies.

3. Virtualization & On-Prem Systems

• Administer and optimize Proxmox virtualization clusters, including:
  • VM provisioning, resource allocation, performance tuning, and high availability (HA) configurations.
• Manage Linux servers (Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian), including:
  • System patching and upgrades.
  • Security hardening and configuration.
  • Service and daemon management (installation, configuration, troubleshooting).

4. Productivity & Collaboration Tools

• Administer Microsoft Teams, including:
  • Call routing, voice configurations, and policies.
  • Teams lifecycle management and integration with Entra ID.
• Provide advanced support for Microsoft 365 applications and services as required.

5. Monitoring, Maintenance & Support

• Implement, maintain, and fine-tune monitoring tools, performance dashboards, and alerting mechanisms.
• Plan, execute, and regularly test backup, restore, and disaster recovery (DR) procedures.
• Oversee system patching, updates, and vulnerability remediation across the environment.
• Provide Level 3 (L3) support and act as an escalation point for complex or critical incidents.

6. Documentation & Governance

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date technical documentation, including network diagrams, system configurations, and SOPs.
• Adhere to and promote IT governance, change management, and security compliance processes.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of IT standards, procedures, and best practices.

Qualifications

• Required qualification for the role (Min Bachelor)
• Microsoft AZ-104 (Azure Administrator)
• Microsoft MD-102 (Endpoint Administrator)
• Microsoft SC-300 (Identity & Access Administrator)
• MS-700 (Teams Administrator)
• CompTIA Linux+ or RHCSA (for Linux)
• Proxmox VE certification (optional)

Skills and Experience

Experience: Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, or equivalent experience.

7+ years of experience in system administration or similar role.

Skills: Strong hands-on experience in:

• Windows Server & Windows OS
• Entra ID / Azure AD
• Intune MDM/MAM
• Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD)
• Azure Subscriptions / ARM / IAM
• Conditional Access & MFA
• Microsoft Teams administration
• Linux systems administration
• Proxmox virtualization
• Experience with scripting (PowerShell, Bash) is a strong plus.
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and documentation skills.
• Experience with enterprise security best practices and Zero Trust.

What you can expect from us

• Modern work environment with level of flexibility.
• Dynamic and motivated team of colleagues working towards achieving UAE National Objectives.
• Competitive compensation package, including annual bonus and additional benefits like child educational allowance and annual flight tickets (where eligible).
• Comprehensive health insurance coverage.