Senior OT Systems Administrator – SCADA & Cloud Readiness

RWE; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 127,000 - 171,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

401(k) match

Paid time off

Education Assistance

Job summary

RWE Americas, LLC is seeking a Senior System Administrator I to ensure the reliability, security, and compliance of OT systems across renewable energy operations. The role designs, deploys, and secures critical OT infrastructure and leads incident resolution with autonomy while not managing people.

The position requires deep Windows and Linux expertise, experience with virtualization, and a focus on NERC CIP compliance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• Minimum 5 years of relevant IT experience and 5 years of relevant OT experience
• Mid-level and advanced industry certification(s) relevant to systems administration, virtualization, infrastructure, or cybersecurity preferred
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Windows Server and Linux administration, virtualization, redundancy, backup and recovery, endpoint management, Active Directory, monitoring, and infrastructure lifecycle practices
• Foundational or developing knowledge of Microsoft Azure and AWS concepts, including virtual machines, identity and access controls, networking, monitoring, backup, tagging, and policy-based governance, with the ability to support future cloud assessments and adoption
• Ability to design and implement standardized, secure, supportable on-premises infrastructure while maintaining NERC CIP controls for access, configuration, patching, logging, evidence retention, incident response, and recovery; ability to apply the same compliance principles to future cloud designs
• Ability to diagnose high-complexity incidents, lead root-cause analysis, and translate findings into durable technical improvements
• Strong documentation, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills, including the ability to guide junior technical staff
• Ability to travel to field or office locations and perform work around production infrastructure in accordance with established safety practices

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical lead for complex OT system administration issues, developing sustainable solutions that reduce recurring failures and infrastructure risk
• Design, deploy, and manage advanced on-premises OT system environments supporting SCADA, control networks, and secure remote operations; contribute to future-state planning and readiness for potential Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) adoption
• Act as the Tier 3 escalation point for complex Microsoft Windows Server and Linux operating system, virtualization, endpoint management, storage, backup, and on-premises infrastructure incidents
• Lead high-availability, redundancy, backup-verification, failover-testing, and disaster-recovery readiness activities for critical OT systems
• Own configuration management for OT server platforms, enforcing version control, approved baselines, and complete system documentation across environments
• Develop and apply system-hardening baselines based on approved NIST or CIS guidance, partnering with cybersecurity to remediate vulnerabilities and implement compensating controls
• Lead Windows and Linux operating system migrations, hypervisor upgrades, endpoint-management changes, and on-premises infrastructure modernization activities; support assessments, pilots, and transition planning for future Azure or AWS capabilities
• Manage lifecycle planning for Windows, Linux, and on-premises infrastructure platforms, identifying end-of-life risks, defining upgrade paths, and confirming vendor support coverage while considering future cloud integration requirements
• Collaborate with SCADA, field engineering, cybersecurity, and operations teams to deploy services, validate interoperability, and address systemic infrastructure gaps
• Coordinate root-cause analysis and post-incident reviews for critical outages or failures, then implement and track permanent corrective actions
• Standardize imaging, deployment, monitoring, patching, access control, and configuration procedures across Windows and Linux OT environments while preserving NERC CIP evidence and change-control requirements; help define cloud-ready standards for potential future Azure and AWS use
• Mentor technicians and junior administrators through technical knowledge sessions, troubleshooting guidance, and review of implementation plans and operational documentation

Job description

RWE Americas, LLC is seeking a Senior System Administrator I to ensure the reliability, security, and compliance of OT systems across renewable energy operations. The role designs, deploys, and secures critical OT infrastructure and leads incident resolution with autonomy while not managing people.

The position requires deep Windows and Linux expertise, experience with virtualization, and a focus on NERC CIP compliance.