Senior Systems Administrator

Talentify; Overland Park (KS); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Scoular seeks a Senior Systems Administrator to lead AI-enabled operations, validating AI-generated commands before production and driving security hardening across on-premise and cloud environments.

The role emphasizes non-production data protection, observability, and creating reliable runbooks, with mentoring for junior staff and a focus on safe AI use in daily IT activities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, MIS, or equivalent (4-year education).
• 4–7 years of IT or related field experience.
• Experience using AI assistants and automation to accelerate work.
• Ability to validate AI-generated commands, scripts and findings before production.
• Understand data protection risks in non-production environments.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and operate computer systems, networks and related components with automation and AI assistance.
• Lead AI-assisted troubleshooting, log analysis and root-cause identification.
• Lead vulnerability scanning, patch strategy and hardening efforts.
• Ensure observability and maintain runbooks with AI-generated drafts while ensuring accuracy.
• Create processes, dashboards and reports related to SLAs and department operations.
• Mentor junior IT staff in safe, validated AI usage and best practices.

Skills

AI-assisted automation

AI output validation

Analytical skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS / MIS

Tools

Microsoft Intune

Azure

Vulnerability scanning tools

Job description

Description

The Senior Systems Administrator resolves complex problems quickly and methodically in a fast-paced environment and helps lead Scoular's AI-enabled operations practice. Approved AI assistants and automation are used as standard practice to accelerate diagnostics, harden systems and eliminate repetitive work - with this role accountable for validating AI-generated commands, scripts and findings before they touch production. As AI-assisted development increases the rate at which applications reach production, this role carries growing responsibility for security scanning and remediation, non-production data protection, observability, and the maintenance capacity that keeps the environment sustainable. The Senior Systems Administrator works independently and as part of a functional team, communicates effectively with internal customers and management, prioritizes effectively under pressure, and mentors others in safe, effective AI use.

Maintenance of Technology

Lead the maintenance, configuration and reliable operation of computer systems, network servers and all network connected components, driving automation and AI assistance to improve reliability and reduce manual effort.

AI-Assisted Troubleshooting and Problem Resolution

Comprehensively troubleshoot hardware and software errors by running diagnostics, documenting problems and resolutions, prioritizing problems and assessing impact. Use approved AI to accelerate log analysis, correlation and root-cause identification, validating all output before action.

Security and Vulnerability Management

Lead vulnerability scanning, threat and log analysis, patch strategy and configuration hardening, ensuring critical findings are remediated before promotion. Support non-production data protection through masking of sensitive production-derived data, and support Intune-enforced device and AI security controls.

Observability and Maintenance Capacity

Ensure application and infrastructure monitoring is routed to active team channels rather than email alone, and maintain visibility of applications, ownership and maintenance load as the application portfolio grows through AI-assisted development.

Technical Documentation and Runbooks

Create and provide technical documentation and specifications to IT staff and users, using AI to draft and maintain runbooks while owning technical accuracy. Ensure provisioning and operational runbooks have documented secondary owners rather than single points of knowledge.

Process Ownership and Customer Service

Create processes and procedures that other members of the IT team follow, follow documented processes and recommend improvements, with focus on converting manual operational work into automation. Support and improve departmental operations, maintain rapport with customers, follow the documented intake procedure, and create dashboards or reports related to SLAs.

Mentoring, Guidance and AI Enablement

Provide mentoring and guidance to more junior members of the IT staff in their concentration areas through formal or informal processes, including raising AI fluency and modeling safe, validated use of AI in operations and security.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree required in Computer Science, MIS, or other relevant degree or other 4-year education and certification
• 4-7 years of progressive work experience in IT or related field
• Demonstrated use of AI assistants and automation to accelerate operational and security work
• Ability to validate AI-generated commands, scripts and security findings before acting on production systems
• Understanding of the risks of sensitive data in non-production environments and the controls that mitigate them
• Willingness and ability to coach others on safe, effective AI use
• Excellent PC skills. Advanced level of Microsoft Office Applications
• High Level of customer service orientation
• Ability to present informative, well-organized documentation and artifacts
• Able to work independently or in a team environment in a fast-paced environment
• Strong analytical, interpersonal, oral, and written skills

Preferred

• Hands-on experience with vulnerability scanning, log analysis or detection engineering, including AI-assisted approaches
• Experience with data masking or equivalent non-production data protection controls
• Experience automating operational runbooks through scripting or AI assistance
• Familiarity with Microsoft Intune, Azure, and pipeline-based deployment across DEV / QA / PROD
• Comptia A+ and Network+ Certifications
• Working Knowledge of System / Network documentation and diagramming
• Working Knowledge of telecommunications, including LAN, WAN, routers, data communications, and connectivity
• Working knowledge of common security testing tools
• Experience conducting application security assessments or penetration tests
• Experience managing security incidents from identification through resolution