Senior System Administrator

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas; Topeka (KS); Hybrid; USD 109,000 - 136,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Vision insurance

Dental insurance

6 weeks paid parental leave

Tuition reimbursement

401(k) plan matching

Job summary

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas seeks a Senior System Administrator to maintain and optimize enterprise infrastructure, ensuring reliable and secure operations across the organization. You will guide technology decisions, mentor teammates, and collaborate with senior leadership to balance performance and cost.

This position is eligible to work remote, hybrid or onsite per Telecommuting Policy, with cross-functional collaboration across IT and business units to deliver resilient solutions.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent; Bachelor's preferred in Computer Science or related field; technical certification as applicable.

Responsibilities

• Administer and support assigned infrastructure technologies to ensure reliability, availability, and performance.
• Analyze business and technical requirements and develop infrastructure solutions that support organizational objectives.
• Lead and support infrastructure projects using established project management methodologies.
• Design, implement, and maintain infrastructure architecture, standards, procedures, and documentation.
• Monitor infrastructure performance and perform maintenance, upgrades, and remediation activities.
• Evaluate infrastructure processes and recommend improvements that enhance efficiency, service quality, and cost effectiveness.
• Develop project estimates, resource requirements, and cost analyses to support planning and decision making.
• Collaborate with business leaders, vendors, and technical teams to deliver technology solutions and service commitments.
• Provide technical guidance, mentoring, and knowledge sharing to team members and stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance with organizational standards, security requirements, governance frameworks, and business continuity practices.

Skills

Enterprise infrastructure

Networking & security

ITIL/COBIT/Agile

Cloud platforms

Technical leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / IT

High school diploma

Technical certification relevant technology

Tools

IBM WebSphere

WebSphere Liberty

IBM HTTP Server

OpenShift

Azure Red Hat OpenShift

Ansible

Job description

Are you ready to make a difference? Choose to work for one of the most trusted companies in Kansas.

Why Join Us?

Make a Positive Impact: Your work will directly contribute to the health and well-being of Kansans.Family Comes First: Total rewards package that promotes the idea of family first for all employees. Paid vacation and sick leave with paid maternity and paternity available immediately upon hireProfessional Growth Opportunities: Advance your career with ongoing training and development programs.Dynamic Work Environment: Collaborate with a team of passionate and driven individuals in a work environment that promotes flexibility.Trust and Stability: Work for one of the most trusted companies in Kansas with over 80 years of commitment, compassion and community.Inclusive Work Environment: We pride ourselves on fostering a workplace where everyone is valued and respected.

Benefits & Perks

Base compensation is only one component of your competitive Total Rewards package Incentive pay program (EPIP) Health/Vision/Dental insurance 6 weeks paid parental leave for new mothers and fathers Fertility/Adoption assistance 2 weeks paid caregiver leave 401(k) plan matching up to 5% Tuition reimbursement Health & fitness benefits, discounts and resources

Job Summary

The Senior System Administrator serves as the senior technical administrator for Information Services responsible for maintaining and optimizing the organization's infrastructure to meet business needs and service-level expectations. This role oversees complex system analysis, project management activities, and critical maintenance to ensure reliable and secure operations. By guiding technology decisions, mentoring team members, and collaborating with senior leadership, the position helps balance performance, cost, and long-term strategic objectives. "This position is eligible to work remote, hybrid or onsite in accordance with our Telecommuting Policy."

What you'll do

• Administer and support assigned infrastructure technologies to ensure reliability, availability, and performance.
• Analyze business and technical requirements and develop infrastructure solutions that support organizational objectives.
• Lead and support infrastructure projects using established project management methodologies.
• Design, implement, and maintain infrastructure architecture, standards, procedures, and documentation.
• Monitor infrastructure performance and perform maintenance, upgrades, and remediation activities.
• Evaluate infrastructure processes and recommend improvements that enhance efficiency, service quality, and cost effectiveness.
• Develop project estimates, resource requirements, and cost analyses to support planning and decision making.
• Collaborate with business leaders, vendors, and technical teams to deliver technology solutions and service commitments.
• Provide technical guidance, mentoring, and knowledge sharing to team members and stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance with organizational standards, security requirements, governance frameworks, and business continuity practices.
• Must be accessible via mobile services (i.e. text, voice, data) during non-working hours for upgrades, system outages, and configuration changes.

What you need

• Advanced knowledge of enterprise infrastructure technologies, architecture, and system administration principles.
• Knowledge of networking, security, operating systems, storage, databases, disaster recovery, and related technologies.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to assess impacts and implement effective solutions.
• Ability to plan, coordinate, and manage complex technical projects and initiatives.
• Skill in developing and maintaining technical documentation, procedures, and standards.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to communicate technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Ability to organize work, manage competing priorities, and meet deadlines.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships and influence stakeholders across technical and business functions.
• Knowledge of IT service management, change management, and industry best practices such as ITIL, COBIT, and Agile.
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and provide technical leadership and mentoring.

Education and Experience

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Bachelor's degree or completion of a Computer Science Program from a Technical Trade School preferred. Technical training with certification in assigned technology is required as applicable.
• Minimum of eight years' experience in I.T. and/or application development required. Demonstrated experience with managing assigned technology by performing regular and critical maintenance tasks within defined service levels preferred.
• Experience administering and supporting large-scale IBM WebSphere Application Server (Traditional WAS), WebSphere Liberty, and IBM HTTP Server environments, including clusters, cells, deployment managers, and enterprise application deployments preferred.
• Experience managing Red Hat OpenShift and Azure Red Hat OpenShift (ARO) platforms, including cluster operations, operator management, application onboarding, platform upgrades, and hybrid cloud support preferred.
• Experience implementing and maintaining high-availability and disaster recovery solutions, leveraging load balancers, reverse proxies, SSL/TLS, and failover architectures to ensure service reliability is preferred.
• Experience automating infrastructure and operational processes using scripting, configuration management, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), CI/CD pipelines, GitOps, and enterprise automation frameworks such as Red Hat Ansible preferred.
• Experience leading troubleshooting and resolution of complex application, middleware, operating system, network, and messaging (IBM MQ/Kafka) issues in mission-critical environments preferred.
• Experience collaborating with development, cloud, security, database, and network teams to deliver secure, scalable, and compliant enterprise platforms, including platform hardening, vulnerability remediation, monitoring, and observability integrations preferred.

Physical Requirements

Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer. Manual dexterity to operate a keyboard, mouse, and other IT-related tools. Ability to work in a standard office environment, including attending meetings in person or virtually.

Compensation

IT&S 17$108,640 - $135,800 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas offers excellent competitive compensation with the goal of retaining and growing talented team members. The compensation range for this role is a good faith estimate, it is estimated based on what a successful candidate might be paid. All offers presented to candidates are carefully reviewed to ensure fair, equitable pay by offering competitive wages that align with the individual's skills, education, experience, and training. The range may vary above or below the stated amounts.

Our Commitment to Connection and Belonging

At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, we are committed to fostering a culture of connection and belonging, where mutual respect is at the foundation of our workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals, regardless of race, color, religion, belief, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military or veteran status, family or parental status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas conducts pre-employment drug screening, criminal conviction check, employment verifications and education as part of a conditional offer of employment.