Senior Systems Cloud Administrator (589)

Sharp Decisions; Herndon (VA); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Sharp Decisions in Herndon, VA is seeking a Senior Systems Cloud Administrator responsible for the overall evaluation, design, and daily operation of the Corporate IT SAS environment. You will be a hands-on administrator implementing complex system requirements and driving security-compliant solutions.

The role requires expert Azure administration, Windows AD/DNS/GPO, and scripting for automation, with a hybrid on-site work arrangement in Herndon, VA.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in an IT enterprise System Administrator role or Cloud Administrator position.
• 4+ years of experience with PowerShell or Bash scripting for automation.
• Experience with Ansible for deployments.
• Experience with firewalls.
• Expert-level Microsoft Azure administration skills.
• Senior-level Windows administration skills, including Active Directory, DNS, and Group Policy.
• Experience troubleshooting and patching SUSE, Red Hat, or CentOS platforms.
• Must be able to work onsite 3 days per week in Herndon, VA.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate, design, and daily operation of the Corporate IT SAS environment.
• Hands-on server administration; design, implement, and maintain efficient solutions.
• Develop and document technical standards; interface with vendors to purchase hardware/software.
• Collaborate with IT teams to resolve system and application issues.
• Install, configure, upgrade, patch, maintain, and monitor the SAS environment enterprise-wide.

Skills

5+ years IT enterprise System Admin

PowerShell/Bash scripting

Ansible deployments

Firewalls

Azure administration

Windows Admin (AD, DNS, GPO)

Linux patching (SUSE/Red Hat/CentOS)

Onsite 3 days a week in Herndon, VA

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science

MCSE

MCITP

Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)

Azure Administrator (AZ-104)

Azure Solutions Architect (AZ-303/AZ-304)

Tools

SIEM tools

Backup solutions

Monitoring tools

Job description

Citizenship Requirement: Must be a U.S. Citizen and hold only U.S. citizenship.

Required Skills and Experience

Location: Herndon, Virginia

Contract: W2 Only (Hybrid)

Citizenship Requirement: Must be a U.S. Citizen and hold only U.S. citizenship.

Required Skills and Experience

• 5+ years of experience in an IT enterprise System Administrator role or Cloud Administrator position.
• 4+ years of experience with PowerShell or Bash scripting for automation.
• Experience with Ansible for deployments.
• Experience with firewalls.
• Expert-level Microsoft Azure administration skills.
• Senior-level Windows administration skills, including Active Directory, DNS, and Group Policy.
• Experience troubleshooting and patching SUSE, Red Hat, or CentOS platforms.
• Must be able to work onsite 3 days per week in Herndon, VA.

Nice to Have Skills and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science.
• Professional industry certifications in the area of expertise, such as:
  
  • MCSE
  • MCITP
  • Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)
  • Microsoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104)
  • Azure Certified Solutions Architect (AZ-303/AZ-304)
• Experience with integration of SIEM tools, backup solutions, and monitoring tools.
• Knowledge of best practices and security guides, such as NIST 800-53 Rev. 4.

Job Description

This position is for a large software client. The Senior Systems Cloud Administrator will be responsible for the overall evaluation, design, and daily operation of the Corporate IT SAS (Server and Application Services) environment.

This role serves as a hands-on server administrator who evaluates complex system requirements and designs, implements, and maintains the most efficient solutions. The Senior Systems Cloud Administrator will develop and document technical standards, identify and evaluate new products, interface with vendors to purchase new hardware and software, and collaborate with other IT teams to provide guidance in resolving system and application issues.

The Senior Systems Cloud Administrator will be directly responsible for the installation, configuration, upgrade, patching, maintenance, and monitoring of the SAS environment across the entire enterprise while ensuring compliance with various security and encryption protocols for U.S. national security.

Key deliverables for success include ensuring 100% availability of the environment, implementing fault and performance management, and enforcing corporate network, system, and application security procedures.

General Responsibilities

• Create, implement, and document the following processes for SAS Infrastructure:
  
  • Performance monitoring
  • Problem troubleshooting and helpdesk response
  • Utilization, availability, and growth patterns (capacity planning)
  • Landscape design, configuration, and standards
  • 24/7 support, escalation, and SLA models
  • IMAC (Installation, Move, Add, Change) services for systems and applications
  • Change management methodology and communication strategy
• Create and maintain server and application diagrams and workflows.
• Perform and coordinate incident diagnosis, corrective action, and root cause analysis.
• Perform vulnerability management and monthly system patching and maintenance.
• Oversee the configuration, testing, installation, modification, and servicing of all server components and applications.
• Independently organize work requests based on departmental priorities and system criticality.
• Manage vendor relationships required for the evaluation, installation, modification, upgrade, repair, and preventative maintenance of SAS Infrastructure components.
• Function as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and consultant to other Infrastructure groups, including Cloud Operations, Cyber Security, and Systems Administration.
• Plan, lead, and perform comprehensive systems analysis and design activities, including development of detailed functional requirements for new server infrastructure solutions.
• Maintain responsibility for end-user and customer satisfaction.