Senior Systems Engineer - Windows

KēSTA I.T.•South Jordan, UT

About The Position

This long-term contract role is for a hands-on Senior Systems Engineer / IT Infrastructure Architect who will design, implement, administer, and optimize enterprise infrastructure across on-premises and Microsoft Azure cloud environments. The engagement is anticipated to run 2+ years. As part of the Infrastructure team, the role oversees the full lifecycle of server, storage, virtualization, and cloud infrastructure, from architecture and installation through monitoring, upgrades, documentation, and decommissioning. It balances day-to-day operations with strategic planning, system architecture, security, and disaster recovery. The organization is a privately held logistics, supply chain, and distribution business operating in multiple states and undertaking large-scale technology change. The role supports that work by keeping infrastructure performant, available, and secure while aligning solutions with current business needs and future growth. Success means maximizing system performance, availability, security, and user uptime while providing architectural guidance and clear communication to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Requirements

7+ years of work-related experience managing enterprise server, storage, and/or virtualization infrastructure.
6+ years of work-related experience in cloud administration.
6+ years of work-related experience with systems security.
Demonstrated experience with VMware virtualization environments.
Demonstrated experience administering Microsoft Windows Server and Linux server operating systems, with extensive hands-on experience in Windows Server, Linux, and enterprise infrastructure administration.
Strong experience with Microsoft Azure infrastructure, administration, and configuration.
Demonstrated experience supporting Microsoft Office 365 and Azure environments, including Microsoft Exchange Online administration.
Demonstrated experience with enterprise messaging platforms.
Demonstrated experience with enterprise-level workstation security and cloud configuration.
Extensive demonstrated skills with PowerShell or other scripting languages.
Demonstrated experience with system backups, replication, and disaster recovery failover procedures.
Experience with RAID and SAN storage arrays.
Strong understanding of enterprise infrastructure security, access controls, patch management, and system hardening.
Experience monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimizing complex infrastructure environments.
Strong analytical thinking and a systematic, strategic approach to troubleshooting and problem-solving.
Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to accurate technical documentation.
Self-starter able to independently prioritize workloads, allocate time, and manage escalations.
Ability to explain complex technical information to technical and non-technical audiences.
Ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative team.
Strong communication, organizational, and vendor management skills.
Passion for continuous learning, emerging technologies, and ongoing skill development.
Availability for after-hours and weekend support as business needs require, including outages, upgrades, and scheduled maintenance windows.
Ability to travel as business needs require, generally less than 5%.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Information Systems, Computer Science, or a related field (strongly preferred).
Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft Azure, VMware, or related technology certifications.
Microsoft Azure experience within cloud administration (strongly preferred).
Experience with Azure Site Recovery (ASR), Azure Backup Server (MABS), Veeam, and/or System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) (strongly preferred).
Experience with Veeam, Pure Storage, and HP 3PAR storage.
Experience with Proofpoint email security administration.
Hands-on experience with Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Intune (strongly preferred).

Responsibilities

Contribute to the architecture and design of enterprise infrastructure solutions across on-premises and cloud environments.
Develop, maintain, and enforce infrastructure configuration standards, policies, and best practices.
Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend solutions to improve performance, reliability, scalability, and business capability, including estimating implementation costs, resource needs, and level of effort.
Oversee the lifecycle of server, storage, virtualization, and cloud infrastructure, including installation, configuration, troubleshooting, upgrades, maintenance, performance monitoring, documentation, and decommissioning.
Maintain accurate inventories of hardware, devices, software licensing, and infrastructure aging; forecast refresh, replacement, and upgrade needs; and coordinate equipment procurement and distribution to remote sites as needed.
Administer Windows Server environments across on-premises and Microsoft Azure, and manage Active Directory (AD/AAD), Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, and related services.
Configure, administer, monitor, and optimize Azure infrastructure in line with best practices and business requirements.
Manage and support Microsoft Office 365 applications, including Exchange Online, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive.
Manage and support VMware virtualization environments, and support enterprise storage, including RAID and SAN storage arrays.
Use PowerShell and other scripting languages to automate administrative tasks and improve operational efficiency.
Partner with internal and external security and systems teams to implement infrastructure security best practices, monitor for unauthorized access and vulnerabilities, support workstation security and cloud configuration, and coordinate software and firmware upgrades and security patches.
Perform and maintain disaster recovery procedures, including backups, replication, DR testing, failover, backup integrity monitoring, and recovery planning using applicable solutions such as Azure Site Recovery (ASR), Azure Backup Server (MABS), Veeam, System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM), and Rubrik.
Maintain current documentation of infrastructure architecture, processes, policies, procedures, configurations, and disaster recovery test plans.
Manage relationships with infrastructure vendors and service providers, coordinate vendor assessments, and support implementation of approved solutions.
Support CX and OX budgeting cycles by forecasting infrastructure refreshes, replacements, and upgrades.
Prioritize and process infrastructure requests, incidents, and escalations, and collaborate with technology teams, business stakeholders, vendors, and partners.
Provide after-hours and weekend support as business needs require, including outages, scheduled upgrades, and maintenance windows.