Systems Engineer III

Alta Fiber; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Alta Fiber in Cincinnati, OH, is seeking a Systems Engineer III to support Network Operations by deploying and administering the systems infrastructure that enables reliable monitoring, automation, and service delivery.

You will work with Windows and Linux servers, virtualization, storage, and cloud integrations, provide advanced troubleshooting, contribute to runbooks, and mentor peers in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Requires a Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• Experience administering Windows and Linux servers in enterprise environments.
• Strong knowledge of virtualization, storage, and network fundamentals.

Responsibilities

• Deploy, maintain, and support server, virtualization, storage, and operating system platforms that host Network Operations tools and services.
• Administer systems supporting monitoring, alerting, logging, authentication, automation, inventory, configuration management, and network device management workflows.
• Provide advanced troubleshooting and escalation support for system issues affecting network visibility, service availability, tool performance, and operational response.
• Manage lifecycle activities including installation, patching, upgrades, access administration, backup validation, capacity review, hardware refresh, and platform retirement.
• Design, configure, test, and implement infrastructure changes that support Network Operations projects, service improvements, and operational resiliency.
• Develop and maintain procedures, runbooks, diagrams, and support documentation for repeatable Network Operations processes.
• Collaborate with network engineering, security, database, application, vendor, and operations teams to resolve incidents and deliver cross-functional infrastructure projects.
• Identify opportunities to improve reliability, observability, automation, and operational efficiency across network-facing systems and support platforms.

Skills

Windows Server

Linux Server

Virtualization

Automation (Ansible)

Scripting

Networking fundamentals

Monitoring/Observability

DevOps tooling

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's Degree or equivalent

Tools

Ansible

VMware

Windows/Linux admin tooling

Job description

Job Purpose

The Systems Engineer III supports Network Operations by deploying, administering, and improving the systems infrastructure that enables reliable monitoring, management, automation, and support of enterprise network services. This role provides advanced technical support for physical, virtual, and cloud-based platforms used by Network Operations, including operating systems, server hardware, virtualization, storage connectivity, authentication, monitoring tools, and operational applications. The position supports 24x7x365 operational readiness, escalated incident response, project delivery, documentation, and mentoring of technical team members.

Essential Functions

• Deploy, maintain, and support server, virtualization, storage, and operating system platforms that host Network Operations tools and services.
• Administer systems supporting monitoring, alerting, logging, authentication, automation, inventory, configuration management, and network device management workflows.
• Provide advanced troubleshooting and escalation support for system issues affecting network visibility, service availability, tool performance, and operational response.
• Manage lifecycle activities including installation, patching, upgrades, access administration, backup validation, capacity review, hardware refresh, and platform retirement.
• Design, configure, test, and implement infrastructure changes that support Network Operations projects, service improvements, and operational resiliency.
• Develop and maintain procedures, runbooks, diagrams, and support documentation for repeatable Network Operations processes.
• Collaborate with network engineering, security, database, application, vendor, and operations teams to resolve incidents and deliver cross-functional infrastructure projects.
• Identify opportunities to improve reliability, observability, automation, and operational efficiency across network-facing systems and support platforms.

Education

Four years of College resulting in a Bachelor's Degree or equivalent

Certifications, Accreditations, Licenses

• ITIL Foundations
• Network+ certification
• Microsoft
• Linux
• VMware
• cloud
• security
• monitoring
• automation certifications are preferred where aligned to Network Operations platforms and responsibilities

Relevant Work Experience

• Requires 5+ years of experience supporting enterprise systems in an operations-focused environment, preferably with direct exposure to Network Operations, network monitoring, infrastructure automation, or service assurance platforms.
• Experience should include administration of Windows and Linux servers, virtualization platforms, storage integrations, patching, system hardening, incident troubleshooting, and support for mission-critical operational applications.

Special Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong knowledge of Windows and Linux server administration in enterprise operational environments.
• Working knowledge of virtualization, storage, backup, patching, identity/access management, DNS, NTP, certificates, and system security practices.
• Solid understanding of Ethernet and IP networking fundamentals, including VLANs, subnetting, routing concepts, DNS, DHCP, TCP/UDP, firewall interactions, and basic packet-level troubleshooting.
• Familiarity with Network Operations tools and workflows, including monitoring, alerting, logging, event correlation, inventory, configuration management, and network device support platforms.
• Ability to troubleshoot complex issues across systems, network connectivity, applications, databases, and vendor-supported platforms.
• Experience using Ansible or similar automation platforms to support DevOps functions, including configuration management, repeatable deployments, patch orchestration, validation checks, and operational runbook automation.
• Ability to leverage AI-assisted tools to improve DevOps and operations workflows, including script development, documentation, log review, incident analysis, knowledge management, and process optimization while applying appropriate validation and governance.
• Experience with scripting, automation, reporting, or configuration management tools used to improve operational consistency and reduce manual work.
• Ability to create clear technical documentation, runbooks, implementation plans, validation steps, and operational handoff materials.
• Strong collaboration skills with network engineering, operations, security, application, database, and vendor teams.
• Ability to organize work, prioritize incidents and projects, mentor peers, and communicate technical risks and recommendations clearly.

Supervisory Responsibility

• This position does not have any supervisory responsibilities.