Product System Administrator (OT)

Nearfield Instruments; Rotterdam; Hybrid; EUR 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Nearfield Instruments is seeking a hands-on Senior Systems Administrator & Infrastructure Engineer to support the OT environment in our product control space. Expect focus on uptime, security, and maintainability across Windows and Linux servers, VMs, storage, and network components.

You will troubleshoot across software, OS, networking, virtualization, and storage layers, collaborate with Software, Production, Service, and IT teams, and contribute to incident response and DR planning.

Qualifications

• Around 5 years of hands-on experience in systems administration, infrastructure engineering, OT, or product environments.
• Strong networking skills including routing, switching, VLANs, DNS, gateways, VPNs and firewalls.
• Experience with packet-level troubleshooting using Wireshark, tcpdump or similar tools.
• Windows Server with AD/GP, patching, permissions, and security hardening.
• Ubuntu/Linux administration: services, updates, permissions, networking, logging.
• Troubleshooting communication between servers, controllers, control boxes, sensors and subsystems.
• Experience with virtualization platforms such as Hyper-V, VMware, QEMU or equivalents.
• RAID configuration, storage management, backup and disaster recovery.
• RBAC, access control, and least-privilege security models.
• Vulnerability assessments and security remediation; incident handling mindset.
• Preferably located in the Netherlands.

Responsibilities

• Operate and improve product control systems and infrastructure with uptime and security focus.
• Troubleshoot connectivity, performance across network, OS, virtualization and storage layers.
• Diagnose and resolve server, control box, sensor and subsystem communications.
• Analyze network traffic using Wireshark, tcpdump and captures.
• Support product issues by root-cause analysis and clear escalation.
• Manage networking components: subnets, routing, VLANs, DNS, gateways, NAT, VPNs, firewalls.
• Build and maintain site-to-site VPNs and remote access.
• Administer Windows Server and Ubuntu/Linux systems used in product environment.
• Configure virtualization platforms (Hyper-V, VMware, QEMU).
• Configure and troubleshoot RAID, storage, backup, DR processes.
• Implement RBAC and least-privilege access models; enforce security baselines.
• Perform vulnerability assessments and security remediation.
• Maintain documentation, monitoring, backup, recovery processes.
• Collaborate with Software, Production, Service, and IT teams for cross-functional debugging.
• Participate in incident response and on-call support when needed.

Tools

Wireshark

tcpdump

Hyper-V

VMware

QEMU

Active Directory

PowerShell

Bash

Python

RAID

Ansible

Job description

NFI is looking for a hands-on Senior Systems Administrator & Infrastructure Engineer to support and improve the Operational Technology (OT) environment inside our products. This role focuses exclusively on the product control environment and does not cover corporate IT or site infrastructure.

You will help keep product systems stable, secure, and supportable throughout their lifecycle. The product control architecture includes Windows and Linux servers, virtual machines, data storage, control boxes, industrial switches, firewalls, sensors, and machine communication networks. These components run product software, connect subsystems, protect network boundaries, and store operational and diagnostic data.

We are looking for someone who understands how these components work together and can troubleshoot issues across software, operating systems, networking, virtualization, storage and machine communication layers.

What you will do

• Operate and improve product control systems and infrastructure with a strong focus on uptime, security, recovery, and supportability

• Troubleshoot complex connectivity, communication, and performance issues across network, operating system, virtualization and storage layers

• Diagnose and resolve communication issues between servers, control boxes, sensors, machine controllers, and product subsystems

• Analyze network traffic and communication protocols using tools such as Wireshark, tcpdump and packet captures

• Support product issues by identifying root causes, separating infrastructure and software problems, and escalating with clear evidence

• Manage networking components including subnets, routing, VLANs, DNS, gateways, NAT, VPNs, managed switches and firewall rules

• Build and maintain site-to-site VPNs and remote access solutions

• Administer Windows Server and Ubuntu/Linux systems used within the product environment

• Configure, maintain, and troubleshoot virtualization platforms such as Hyper-V, QEMU, VMware, or equivalent technologies

• Configure and troubleshoot RAID arrays, storage controllers, backup solutions, disaster recovery processes, and data recovery activities

• Implement and maintain Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), Active Directory permissions, service accounts, and least-privilege access models

• Strengthen security through hardening, patching, access control, secure baselines, vulnerability remediation and structured change management

• Perform vulnerability assessments, security remediation, malware validation, antivirus validation and security compliance checks

• Keep documentation, monitoring, backup, and recovery processes up to date

• Work closely with Software, Production, Service, and IT teams when product issues require cross-functional troubleshooting

• Participate in incident response and on-call support when needed

What we are looking for

Must-have

• Around 5 years of hands-on experience in systems administration, infrastructure engineering, OT, industrial automation, or product environments.

• Strong networking skills, including routing, switching, VLANs, DNS, gateways, VPNs, and firewalls.

• Experience with packet-level troubleshooting using Wireshark, tcpdump or similar tools.

• Hands-on experience with Windows Server, including Active Directory, Group Policy, patching, permissions, and security hardening.

• Hands-on experience with Ubuntu/Linux administration, including services, updates, permissions, networking, and logging.

• Experience troubleshooting communication between servers, controllers, control boxes, sensors and machine subsystems

• Experience with virtualization platforms such as Hyper-V, VMware, QEMU or equivalent

• Hands-on experience with RAID configuration, storage management, backup, restore, and disaster recovery.

• Experience implementing and managing RBAC, access control, and least-privilege security models

• Experience performing vulnerability assessments and security remediation

• Security-oriented mindset with strong attention to hardening, system integrity and incident handling

• Preferably located in the Netherlands

• Experience performing vulnerability assessments and security remediation

• Security-oriented mindset with strong attention to hardening, system integrity and incident handling

Nice-to-have

• Familiarity with OT, semiconductor, manufacturing, or industrial environments and their availability and change-control requirements

• Experience with industrial communication protocols and machine-control networks

• Experience with monitoring, logging, observability, incident management, and root-cause analysis.

• Automation skills in PowerShell, Bash, or Python. Ansible is a plus.

• Experience with virtualization, backup, disaster recovery, and high-availability solutions.

• Experience with network segmentation, industrial firewalls, and cybersecurity controls for product environments.

What success looks like

• Faster and more effective troubleshooting of product issues, including networking, infrastructure, and machine communication problems.

• Reduced downtime through improved root-cause analysis and proactive problem prevention

• Better visibility through monitoring and logging, resulting in fewer repeat incidents.

• Stronger security through timely patching, vulnerability remediation, access control, and secure system baselines.

• Reliable operation of virtualized environments, storage systems, and communication infrastructure

• Clear documentation, repeatable support processes, and improved operational readiness.

• Improved collaboration between Software, Production, Service and Infrastructure teams when resolving complex product issues