ASSOCIATE IT SPECIALIST - IT SPECIALIST - Microsoft EntraID & Active Directory Administrator

Southwest Research Institute; San Antonio (TX); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Southwest Research Institute, based in San Antonio, TX, seeks an Identity and Access Administrator to manage Active Directory and Entra ID, enforce MFA/Conditional Access, and support ADFS/SSO configurations across on‑premises and cloud environments. The role includes policy updates, incident response, and collaboration with IT teams.

Responsibilities include managing users and groups, licenses, and application access in Entra ID, monitoring system health, and contributing to identity

Qualifications

• Requires a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology or related field, or 5 years of professional experience in lieu.
• Experience managing enterprise identity platforms (AD DS, Entra ID/Azure AD) in hybrid environments.
• Familiarity with MFA, Conditional Access, SSO; exposure to ADFS or federation technologies is preferred.
• Experience troubleshooting complex authentication across on-prem and cloud workloads.
• Microsoft certifications (MCSA/MCSE or Azure Administrator/ Fundamentals) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Administer Active Directory accounts, groups, OUs, and update Group Policies.
• Manage Entra ID (Azure AD) accounts, licenses, and app access.
• Handle elevated helpdesk tickets related to authentication, access, provisioning, and sign-in issues.
• Monitor ADFS authentication activity and manage device management via Intune for Windows and MacOS.
• Collaborate with Cloud, Security, Networking, Applications, and Help Desk teams to resolve identity issues.
• Develop and maintain documentation, runbooks, and checklists.

Skills

Identity management

MFA/Conditional Access

SSO

Intune/MDM/MAM

Education

Bachelor's degree in IT or related field

5 years professional experience in lieu of degree

Tools

Intune or similar MDM/MAM

Job description

Who We Are:

Our team, the Cloud Services team within the Information Technology Center, is responsible for Entra ID (formerly Azure)/M365 cloud services and Active Directory for the Enterprise. The team provides support and implementation services to the entire organization's IT infrastructure.

Objectives of this Role:

Manage daily identity operations for Active Directory and Entra ID, including account and group management, policy updates, authentication and access troubleshooting, system health monitoring, and contributing to identity modernization and process improvements.

Manage elevated helpdesk requests related to account and access management, critical patching, and mobile device/application management (MDM/MAM).

Implement and maintain Group Policies, Conditional Access, ADFS and SSO configurations, identity lifecycle and access governance processes, and mobile device/application management policies.

Collaborate with IT teams (Cloud, Security, Networking, Applications, Help Desk) to resolve issues related to AD, Entra ID, ADFS, and cloud identity.

Daily and Monthly Responsibilities:

• Administer Active Directory accounts, groups, organizational units (OUs), and update Group Policies.
• Process staff transfer requests and ensure access is managed according to established procedures.
• Address elevated helpdesk tickets related to authentication, access, provisioning, and Azure/M365 sign-in issues, using established troubleshooting protocols.
• Maintain user and group memberships, license assignments, and application access settings in Entra ID.
• Monitor system alerts and logs.
• Manage ADFS by monitoring authentication activity, updating user access settings, and assisting with configuration changes as required.
• Manage Intune by deploying device management policies, enrolling devices, and maintaining application assignments for Windows and MacOS environments.
• Participate in vulnerability remediation efforts.
• Develop and maintain documentation, checklists and runbooks.

Requirements:

• Requires a Bachelors degree in Information Technology or related degree field with relevant experience. In lieu of a Bachelors degree, 5 years of professional level experience, a high school education or equivalent with related certifications will be considered.
• 1-6 years: Experience managing enterprise identity platforms, including Active Directory Domain Services and Entra ID (Azure AD), in hybrid environments.
• Experience troubleshooting complex authentication and authorization issues across on-premises and cloud workloads.
• Familiarity with MFA, Conditional Access, SSO, and exposure to ADFS or other federation technologies is preferred.
• Experience with Intune or similar MDM/MAM platforms and basic patch management is a plus.
• Technical Certifications such as Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) and/or Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) or Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate, Azure Fundamentals or equivalent are preferred.
• A valid/clear driver's license is required.

Special Requirements:

• Applicant selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
• Applicant must be a U.S. citizen.

Job Locations:

San Antonio, Texas

For benefits information at our San Antonio location.

For benefits information at all other locations.

An Equal Employment Opportunity Employer:

race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and veteran status.