Senior Systems Administrator

Kloud9 IT, Inc.; Cleveland (OH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) with company match

PTO

Medical insurance

Vision insurance

Short-term disability

Professional development and certs

Job summary

Kloud9 IT, Inc. is seeking a Sr. Systems Administrator (Tier 3) Team Lead in Cleveland, OH to design, implement, and standardize client infrastructure. You will drive onboarding, ensure security, and maintain automation and templates for scalable deployments.

You will mentor Tier 1/2 staff, coordinate with project teams, and act as escalation lead for complex incidents, all while aligning with Kloud9 standards and client roadmaps.

Qualifications

• Senior-level MS 365 suite and Entra ID expertise for onboarding and design.
• Experience documenting standards, templates, and onboarding checklists.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement client infrastructure for new and existing projects.
• Lead onboarding and project deployment with strong documentation.

Skills

Microsoft 365

Entra ID

Exchange Online

SharePoint

Teams

Intune

Endpoint management

Windows Server

Active Directory

Networking

Security best practices

Documentation

Leadership

Escalation management

Job description

PROJECTS / PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Position Title

Department

Projects / Professional Services

Reports To

Service Delivery Manager or Technical Services Leadership

Employment Type

Full-Time

Salary Range

$90,000-$110,000

Position Summary

The Sr. Systems Administrator (Tier 3) Team Lead serves as a senior technical project resource responsible for designing, implementing, and standardizing client infrastructure environments. This role is focused on new client onboarding, infrastructure design, project execution, technical standards, and scalable implementation practices. The role works closely with the Project Coordinator, Service Delivery Manager, Technical Lead, Client Leads, and client stakeholders to ensure projects are delivered efficiently, securely, and according to Kloud9 standards.

In addition, this position provides day-to-day technical leadership and serves as the primary and final internal escalation point for complex tickets assigned to the team. The Team Lead guides Tier 1 and Tier 2 technicians, supports root cause analysis, strengthens documentation and training, and determines when vendor or external escalation is appropriate. Personnel management remains with the designated manager unless otherwise assigned.

Key Responsibilities

Infrastructure Design & Implementation

• Design and implement infrastructure solutions for new clients and existing client project work.
• Ensure new client environments meet Kloud9 technical, security, documentation, and operational standards.
• Design Microsoft 365, Entra ID, server, networking, backup, endpoint, security, and cloud solutions.
• Review client environments and recommend remediation plans that improve scalability, security, and supportability.
• Support infrastructure upgrades, migrations, refresh projects, and modernization initiatives.
• Lead technical onboarding activities for new clients from an infrastructure and systems perspective.
• Create, maintain, and improve onboarding templates, deployment standards, and implementation checklists.
• Assist in making onboarding infrastructure more efficient, repeatable, and streamlined.
• Identify gaps in newly onboarded environments and help prioritize remediation work.
• Ensure onboarding documentation is complete and usable by the Service Delivery team after handoff.

Project Delivery & Coordination

• Serve as the primary senior technical resource for assigned professional services projects.
• Work closely with the Project Coordinator to support project timelines, communication, scheduling, and deliverables.
• Provide technical guidance during project planning, discovery, implementation, and handoff.
• Identify project risks, dependencies, scope concerns, and technical blockers early.
• Maintain clear project documentation, implementation notes, and internal handoff details.

Existing Client Project Support

• Assist Client Leads with larger projects for current clients.
• Support Microsoft 365, server, network, backup, security, and compliance-related client initiatives.
• Provide escalation support for project-related technical issues.
• Collaborate with Service Delivery and Account Management to align project work with client technology roadmaps.

Technical Leadership & Escalation Management

• Serve as the primary and final internal technical escalation point for Tier 1 and Tier 2 engineers on complex incidents, service requests, and infrastructure issues assigned to the team.
• Provide timely technical direction, coaching, and hands-on support to help technicians move escalated tickets toward resolution.
• Review complex or recurring tickets to confirm troubleshooting quality, root cause analysis, documentation, and appropriate resolution methods.
• Determine whether an issue should be resolved internally, addressed through training or documentation, or escalated to a vendor or external resource.
• Participate in major incident response and help coordinate technical resources for business-critical client issues.
• Create and maintain SOPs, troubleshooting guides, knowledge base articles, and technical standards that reduce repeat escalations.
• Identify skill gaps and recurring ticket trends, then work with leadership to recommend focused training for Tier 1 and Tier 2 staff.
• Support ticket prioritization and communicate technical risks, blockers, ownership, and next steps to the Service Delivery Manager and affected stakeholders.
• Provide day-to-day technical leadership while respecting established personnel management, approval, and disciplinary responsibilities.

Standards, Templates & Process Improvement

• Develop and maintain standardized project templates, infrastructure build standards, and repeatable deployment processes.
• Identify automation opportunities that reduce manual effort and improve project consistency.
• Recommend process improvements that help Kloud9 scale as an MSP.
• Reduce technical debt by promoting standardized, documented, and supportable client environments.
• Contribute to internal standards for compliance-focused environments such as CMMC, SOC 2, PCI, HIPAA, and NIST-aligned controls where applicable.

Required Skills

• Senior-level understanding of Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Exchange Online, SharePoint, Teams, Intune, and endpoint management.
• Strong Windows Server, Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, Group Policy, virtualization, storage, and backup experience.
• Networking knowledge including firewalls, VPNs, VLANs, routing, switching, wireless, and ISP coordination.
• Experience designing and implementing secure, supportable client infrastructure environments.
• Strong technical documentation, project handoff, and standards development skills.
• Ability to translate technical requirements into repeatable project templates and implementation checklists.
• Working knowledge of cybersecurity best practices, EDR/XDR, MFA, Conditional Access, vulnerability remediation, and secure configuration standards.
• Ability to collaborate with project coordination, service delivery, account management, and technical teams.
• Strong leadership and mentoring skills with the ability to guide and develop Tier 1 and Tier 2 technical staff.
• Expert-level troubleshooting, root cause analysis, prioritization, and escalation decision-making skills.
• Ability to balance project responsibilities with escalated ticket and major incident support.

Preferred Skills

• MSP experience in a growing or mature service delivery environment.
• Experience with PSA, RMM, documentation platforms, and standardized onboarding workflows.
• PowerShell or automation experience.
• Experience supporting compliance-driven environments such as CMMC, SOC 2, PCI, HIPAA, or NIST 800-171.
• Microsoft, security, cloud, networking, or project-related certifications.
• Experience supporting client roadmap planning, project discovery, and technical remediation planning.
• Previous technical lead, escalation lead, or senior mentoring experience.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive IT experience preferred.
• Experience implementing infrastructure, cloud, security, Microsoft 365, and network-related projects.
• Experience working in an MSP, professional services, or multi-client IT environment preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating with project and service teams.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple project priorities.

Performance Expectations

• Delivers high-quality projects that meet Kloud9 standards and client expectations.
• Completes assigned project tasks on time and communicates risks proactively.
• Produces complete and accurate project documentation and handoff materials.
• Improves onboarding efficiency through standards, templates, and repeatable processes.
• Collaborates effectively with the Project Coordinator, Client Leads, Technical Lead, and Service Delivery team.
• Demonstrates ownership, professionalism, and accountability for assigned projects and client outcomes.
• Functions effectively as the team’s primary and final internal technical escalation point.
• Provides clear direction on escalated tickets and drives timely, well-documented resolution or appropriate vendor escalation.
• Reduces repeat escalations through technician coaching, documentation, process improvement, and knowledge transfer.
• Contributes to improved ticket quality, resolution efficiency, service consistency, and client satisfaction.
• 401(k) plan with company match up to 4%
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Medical insurance
• Vision insurance
• Short-term disability coverage
• Professional development and certification support opportunities
• Performance bonus eligibility, if applicable to the final offer terms

Note: This job description describes the general nature and level of work expected. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every responsibility, duty, skill, or qualification associated with this role.