Systems Engineer – Herndon VA

Cogent Communications; Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Paid time off

Disability insurance

Life insurance

401(k) with employer match

Stock options

Employee Assistance Program

Job summary

Cogent Communications is seeking a Systems Engineer to provide 24/7 operational support for Windows servers, storage, and virtual environments in corporate data centers and offices. You will handle administration, design, and project execution to meet deadlines, acting as a subject-matter expert to support Cogent's goals.

The role emphasizes on-call rotation, collaboration with cybersecurity leadership, and delivering weekly project updates to IT leadership.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of hands-on IT systems administration/engineering experience.

Responsibilities

• Administer Windows servers, storage, and virtual environments; ensure system availability.

Skills

Windows Server

AD & Exchange

Storage & Virtualization

Scripting & Automation

Cybersecurity basics

Vendor Management

Tools

Dell PowerEdge hardware management

iDRAC/OM

VMware vSphere

NetApp storage

DNS/DHCP administration

Job description

About the Company

Cogent Communications is a global, Tier 1 facilities‑based ISP, consistently ranked as one of the top five networks in the world and publicly traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the ticker symbol CCOI. Cogent specializes in providing businesses with high‑speed Internet access and Ethernet transport services. Cogent’s all‑optical IP network backbone enables large bandwidth connections at highly competitive prices and offers superior customer support through end‑to‑end control of service delivery and network monitoring. A competitive base salary and a full benefits package—including health, dental, vision, paid time off, short‑ and long‑term disability, life insurance, holidays, parental leave, a 401(k) plan with employer match, stock options, and an Employee Assistance Program (most benefits take effect within 30 days of employment).

Job Summary

The Systems Engineer works as part of the IT Team providing 24/7 operational support of Windows servers, storage systems, and virtual environments in corporate data centers and offices. Responsibilities include general administration, Tier II/Tier III support, design, engineering and implementation, communicating and documenting best practices, and managing projects to meet deadlines. As a subject‑matter expert, they will use their strong technical background to achieve the organization’s goals and vision.

Compensation

Base Salary Pay Range: $100,000–$130,000 per year. Specific offers within the listed range depend on experience, education, skills, certifications, and business needs.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Conduct general system administration, security patching, OS upgrades, and troubleshooting to ensure critical system availability.
• Initiate and sometimes lead technical discussions and projects, working collaboratively with teams to meet deadlines.
• Monitor systems to ensure system health and functionality and remediate problems/issues promptly.
• Design and implement standards, policies, and procedures around hardware, software, configurations, and security.
• Evaluate, define, and manage infrastructure strategy to support current and future business demands at optimal cost.
• Prepare, submit, and manage operating and capital expenditures for technology needed to support organizational technology projects.
• Implement technical controls to support cybersecurity initiatives, ensuring secure operations in network and computing environments.
• Identify and evaluate potential hardware and software solutions that contribute to organizational goals.
• Support 24/7 operations, including periodic on‑call rotation.
• Collaborate with the Director of Cybersecurity and other team members on risk assessment, response, and remediation.
• Provide weekly updates with project timelines and goals to the Director of IT.
• Stay informed about new knowledge, research, products, and services in technology that benefit the organization.
• Rack and stack server and storage hardware.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of relevant IT systems administration/engineering experience in a hands‑on capacity.
• Strong experience in Windows Server OS, AD Certificate, Domain and Federation Services, DHCP, DNS, File, NPS, Print, RDS, IIS, WSUS, Failover Clustering/AOAG, Group Policy, Email, Exchange on‑prem/hybrid, Mailbox/Edge Transport roles, databases, DAGs, virtual directories, certificates, load balancing, SMTP, IMAP, DNS & authentication, MX, A/AAAA, PTR, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, spam, phishing, and malware filtering, SharePoint on‑prem/online, Server, Dell PowerEdge hardware management (Lifecycle Controller, iDRAC, OpenManage), storage (DAS, NAS, SAN, CIFS/SMB, iSCSI, NFS, FC, FCoE, NVMe‑oF), backup, disaster recovery, high availability and fault tolerance, system monitoring, performance tuning, capacity planning, and scripting for automation and system administration.
• Bonus experience: Microsoft Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV, Microsoft stack licensing, datacenter buildout, racks, PDU’s, structured cabling, cable management, Cisco switching, routing, and firewall, VMware vSphere (vCenter, ESXi), NetApp AFF/CDOT, Rubrik CDM, Zoom Enterprise suite.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple tasks and priorities for operational deliverables.
• Ability to interact and work effectively with internal and external customers while providing the highest quality of customer service.
• Preference for knowledge of industry security standards, audits, and certifications.
• Detail oriented with strong problem‑solving skills.
• Manage vendor relationships and negotiations.
• Excellent communication and organization skills.
• Ability to write and present formal documentation.

Physical Requirements

• Remain in a sitting/stationary position continually or almost continually during the workday.
• Operate a computer and perform desk‑based tasks continually; frequently view a computer screen.
• Prefer ability to lift, carry, push, pull objects and/or equipment that weighs up to 50 pounds on rare occasions.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Cogent Communications is an Equal Opportunity Employer.