Systems Engineer $100k - $120K

LIVE | WORK; Santa Ana (CA); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

LIVE | WORK in Santa Ana, CA is seeking an experienced Systems Engineer to design, administer, and improve core infrastructure and platforms. This senior technical role sits within IT Operations and focuses on reliability, security, scalability, and recoverability of business-critical systems.

You will collaborate with the Director of IT, cybersecurity resources, and vendors to modernize infrastructure, strengthen disaster recovery readiness, reduce technical debt, and establish operational

Qualifications

• 5+ years of Systems Administration or Systems Engineering experience.
• Advanced knowledge of AD, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, and identity management.
• Experience administering Microsoft 365 environments.
• Experience managing virtualization platforms and server infrastructure.
• Experience with backup and disaster recovery solutions.
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills.
• Experience managing technical projects and infrastructure upgrades.
• Strong documentation and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Administer and maintain Windows Server environments, server hardware, and storage systems.
• Manage Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, identity services, and virtualization platforms.
• Administer Microsoft 365 services, including Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, and Entra ID.
• Monitor infrastructure health, capacity, performance, and availability while ensuring systems are patched and secured.
• Lead infrastructure upgrades, migrations, modernization efforts, and technical improvement initiatives.
• Develop technical designs and implementation plans and recommend technologies that improve scalability.
• Create and maintain infrastructure documentation, system diagrams, and operational procedures.
• Participate in cybersecurity incident response and recovery efforts and on-call support as required.

Skills

Windows Server

Active Directory

Group Policy

DNS & DHCP

Microsoft 365

Virtualization

Backup & Disaster Recovery

Documentation

Tools

VMware

Job description

We’re looking for an experienced Systems Engineer to design, administer, and continuously improve the core infrastructure and technology platforms that support our organization.

This role will serve as a senior technical resource within IT Operations, with responsibility for the reliability, security, scalability, and recoverability of business-critical systems. You’ll work closely with the Director of IT, cybersecurity resources, business stakeholders, and technology vendors to modernize infrastructure, strengthen disaster recovery readiness, reduce technical debt, and establish operational standards that support continued business growth.

Location:

Santa Ana, CA — Hybrid

Pay Range:

$100,000–$120,000 annually, depending on experience (DOE)

What You’ll Do:

• Administer and maintain Windows Server environments, server hardware, storage systems, and supporting infrastructure
• Manage Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, identity services, and virtualization platforms
• Administer Microsoft 365 services, including Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, and Entra ID
• Monitor infrastructure health, capacity, performance, and availability while ensuring systems remain properly maintained, patched, and secured
• Administer backup and recovery solutions and maintain disaster recovery and business continuity procedures
• Conduct backup validation and disaster recovery testing while identifying infrastructure risks and improving system resiliency
• Lead infrastructure upgrades, migrations, modernization efforts, and technical improvement initiatives
• Develop technical designs and implementation plans and recommend technologies that improve scalability and operational efficiency
• Reduce technical debt through proactive infrastructure improvements and support planning related to company growth and acquisitions
• Partner with technology vendors and consultants on infrastructure initiatives
• Implement infrastructure security standards and support vulnerability management, remediation, identity and access management, security audits, assessments, and compliance activities
• Participate in cybersecurity incident response and recovery efforts
• Provide Tier 3 escalation support and troubleshoot complex server, storage, virtualization, identity, and cloud-related issues
• Support major incidents and critical business outages and collaborate with Helpdesk and other IT teams to resolve operational issues
• Participate in on-call support and after-hours maintenance activities as required
• Create and maintain infrastructure documentation, system diagrams, operational procedures, asset and configuration records, and support documentation for Helpdesk and Operations teams
• Promote knowledge sharing across IT and help reduce dependency on individual contributors

What Success Looks Like:

• Core infrastructure remains reliable, secure, scalable, and recoverable
• Business-critical systems are properly monitored, maintained, patched, and protected
• Disaster recovery and business continuity procedures are documented, tested, and ready to support critical business systems
• Infrastructure modernization efforts reduce technical debt and improve long-term scalability and operational efficiency
• Complex infrastructure issues and critical outages are effectively diagnosed and resolved
• Infrastructure standards, system documentation, diagrams, and operational procedures remain accurate and current
• Knowledge is effectively shared across IT teams, reducing dependency on individual contributors

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years of Systems Administration or Systems Engineering experience
• Advanced knowledge of Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, and identity management
• Experience administering Microsoft 365 environments
• Experience managing virtualization platforms and server infrastructure
• Experience with backup and disaster recovery solutions
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills
• Experience managing technical projects and infrastructure upgrades
• Strong documentation and organizational skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• Microsoft certifications (Azure, Microsoft 365, Windows Server)
• VMware or virtualization certifications
• Experience with infrastructure automation and scripting
• Experience supporting ERP or business-critical application infrastructure
• Experience with cybersecurity frameworks and security best practices