Systems Administrator

Northeastern Illinois University • Chicago, IL

20h • Hybrid

About The Position

Northeastern offers a rewarding working environment for our students and employees. Our faculty and staff are smart, dedicated people who work to create an excellent urban university experience for bright and motivated students. Job Summary: The Systems Administrator is responsible for administering and maintaining critical IT infrastructure essential to university operations. This position enhances the resilience and reliability of enterprise systems by supporting on-premises and cloud environments, strengthening redundancy, and providing system coverage across key infrastructure components. The role also assumes responsibility for managing systems transitioning back on campus following the exit from the Deft cloud platform. The Systems Administrator plays a vital role in supporting storage, backup, and disaster recovery environments and ensuring these mission-critical systems remain stable, secure, and well-documented. Job Description: Core Systems Administration & Technological Expertise Administer and maintain on-premises and cloud Active Directory services, including Group Policy, file shares, upgrades, and DNS. Manage and support Microsoft Azure infrastructure, including virtual machines, Azure AD, and role-based access controls. Administer Microsoft Intune for device management, compliance, and policy deployment. Configuration and administration of Office 365 components such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Teams, OneDrive. Support and manage SharePoint Online permissions, structure, and maintenance. Maintain VMware infrastructure ESXi/vCenter, and virtual machine lifecycle management. Responsible for hardware, operating system, and application configuration, installation, testing, and management. Administer SAN storage solutions, handling provisioning, performance tuning, and capacity planning. Implement, monitor, and maintain system backup, replication, and disaster recovery solutions. Utilize, develop and maintain scripting such as PowerShell to automate routine tasks, system configurations, and reporting. Provide technical expertise in designated areas such as system administration, database support, web services, network administration, customer support, and telecommunications. Develop operational policies, standards, and procedures related to assigned systems and technologies. Operations, Project Management, and Cybersecurity Monitor system health and performance using monitoring tools and alerts. Lead or assist in infrastructure-related projects, such as upgrades, migrations, and new deployments. Create and maintain standard operating procedures along with documentation of systems, and configuration changes. Provide Tier 3 support and perform root cause analysis for critical system issues. Participate in strategic planning to evaluate future university technology needs and effectiveness. Identify, analyze, and respond to alerts indicating potential malicious or suspicious activity. Support security assessments and ensure systems align with cybersecurity standards prior to implementation, updates, and patching. Develop solutions and initiatives that support university-wide objectives and improve customer experience. Provide input for annual budgeting and future resource planning. Supervisory Responsibilities & Customer Service Provide high-quality customer service through responsive support and effective problem resolution. Work collaboratively with staff to determine resource needs and resolve operational barriers. Assign tasks, monitor staff progress, and provide coaching or corrective guidance as needed. Identify training needs and ensure professional development opportunities for team members. Perform additional related duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Any one or any combination totaling 5 years (60 months) from the following categories: A. College coursework which includes Information Technology (IT), IT Management, Programming, IT Systems, or a closely related discipline, as measured by the following conversion table or its proportional equivalent: 30 semester hours equals one (1) year (12 months) Associate’s Degree (60 semester hours) equals eighteen months (18 months) 90 semester hours equals two (2) years (24 months) Bachelor’s Degree (120 semester hours) equals three (3) years (36 months) B. Work experience in IT-related functions such as hardware/software support, programming, network design, network engineering, IT systems integration, or closely related field, which includes supervisory or lead worker capacity.
• Based on position requirements, additional education, training, and/or work experience in the area of specialization inherent to the position may be required.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in planning and executing IT projects.
• 3+ years of experience in systems administration within a hybrid (on-prem/cloud) enterprise environment.
• Relevant applicable certifications that complement this role (e.g., Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate, VMware VCP, MCSA) are preferred.
• Solid understanding and practical use of scripting for automation and system administration.
• Ability to effectively communicate with other colleagues, supervisors, administrative staff, and other IT users.

Responsibilities

• Administer and maintain on-premises and cloud Active Directory services, including Group Policy, file shares, upgrades, and DNS.
• Manage and support Microsoft Azure infrastructure, including virtual machines, Azure AD, and role-based access controls.
• Administer Microsoft Intune for device management, compliance, and policy deployment.
• Configuration and administration of Office 365 components such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Teams, OneDrive.
• Support and manage SharePoint Online permissions, structure, and maintenance.
• Maintain VMware infrastructure ESXi/vCenter, and virtual machine lifecycle management.
• Responsible for hardware, operating system, and application configuration, installation, testing, and management.
• Administer SAN storage solutions, handling provisioning, performance tuning, and capacity planning.
• Implement, monitor, and maintain system backup, replication, and disaster recovery solutions.
• Utilize, develop and maintain scripting such as PowerShell to automate routine tasks, system configurations, and reporting.
• Provide technical expertise in designated areas such as system administration, database support, web services, network administration, customer support, and telecommunications.
• Develop operational policies, standards, and procedures related to assigned systems and technologies.
• Monitor system health and performance using monitoring tools and alerts.
• Lead or assist in infrastructure-related projects, such as upgrades, migrations, and new deployments.
• Create and maintain standard operating procedures along with documentation of systems, and configuration changes.
• Provide Tier 3 support and perform root cause analysis for critical system issues.
• Participate in strategic planning to evaluate future university technology needs and effectiveness.
• Identify, analyze, and respond to alerts indicating potential malicious or suspicious activity.
• Support security assessments and ensure systems align with cybersecurity standards prior to implementation, updates, and patching.
• Develop solutions and initiatives that support university-wide objectives and improve customer experience.
• Provide input for annual budgeting and future resource planning.
• Provide high-quality customer service through responsive support and effective problem resolution.
• Work collaboratively with staff to determine resource needs and resolve operational barriers.
• Assign tasks, monitor staff progress, and provide coaching or corrective guidance as needed.
• Identify training needs and ensure professional development opportunities for team members.
• Perform additional related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• University employees may be eligible for a variety of State of Illinois benefits. These benefits are administered through the Illinois Department of Central Management Service (CMS). Please visit our Employee Benefits page to learn more about our comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, and vision benefits, sick and vacation days, and participation in the State Universities Retirement System.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees