Systems Engineer

Acuity INC • , DC

30d • $120,000 - $160,000

About The Position

Looking to make a difference and support critical federal missions through innovative technology solutions? Join Acuity's team of IT professionals supporting the Department of State. Acuity, Inc. is seeking an experienced Systems Engineer – Tier 3 (T3) to provide advanced technical engineering, administration, troubleshooting, and operational support for enterprise IT infrastructure. The Systems Engineer will serve as a senior technical escalation resource, responsible for diagnosing and resolving complex infrastructure issues, maintaining system performance and availability, implementing system enhancements, and supporting modernization initiatives across enterprise computing environments. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience supporting Microsoft Windows Server environments, enterprise systems administration, virtualization, cloud technologies, and infrastructure automation within a large-scale federal IT environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• Five (5) or more years of progressive experience in systems administration, systems engineering, enterprise infrastructure support, or a related technical discipline.
• Demonstrated experience providing advanced Tier 3 technical support and resolving complex enterprise infrastructure and system-related issues.
• Extensive hands-on experience administering, troubleshooting, and maintaining Microsoft Windows Server environments.
• Strong working knowledge of Active Directory, Group Policy Objects (GPO), DNS, DHCP, Windows Registry, and enterprise identity and access management.
• Experience supporting enterprise technologies including Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft System Center (SCCM/MECM), Microsoft 365/SharePoint, and Microsoft Azure.
• Experience with server virtualization technologies, enterprise infrastructure operations, and system performance optimization.
• Proficiency in PowerShell scripting or equivalent scripting and automation technologies.
• Demonstrated experience performing root cause analysis, advanced troubleshooting, and resolution of complex system incidents.
• Experience implementing system security configurations, patch management, vulnerability remediation, and security compliance requirements.
• Ability to develop and maintain technical documentation, configuration records, system diagrams, and operational procedures.
• Strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work independently and collaboratively in a complex enterprise environment.
• Active Top Secret required.

Nice To Haves

• Microsoft infrastructure, Windows Server, or Azure certifications.
• CompTIA Security+ certification.
• ITIL Foundation certification.
• Experience with ServiceNow, Remedy, or comparable IT Service Management (ITSM) platforms.
• Experience with VMware, Hyper-V, or other enterprise virtualization technologies.
• Experience supporting hybrid cloud and on-premises enterprise infrastructure.
• Experience developing automation solutions using PowerShell, Ansible, or other infrastructure automation tools.
• Familiarity with federal cybersecurity requirements, NIST security controls, DISA STIGs, and vulnerability management processes.
• Experience supporting Microsoft SQL Server environments and enterprise application hosting.
• Experience supporting enterprise backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity solutions.
• Experience working in a large-scale federal government IT environment, preferably supporting the Department of State.
• Experience providing technical mentorship and guidance to junior systems administrators and support personnel.

Responsibilities

• Provide Tier 3 engineering, administration, and technical support for enterprise IT infrastructure, including Windows servers, operating systems, applications, and associated technologies.
• Serve as an escalation point for Tier 1 and Tier 2 support teams, diagnosing and resolving complex technical issues involving servers, systems, applications, and infrastructure components.
• Perform advanced troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and remediation of recurring incidents, system failures, and performance-related issues.
• Engineer, configure, implement, maintain, and optimize enterprise server and infrastructure solutions to ensure operational stability, performance, availability, and security.
• Support Microsoft Windows Server environments, Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, and related enterprise infrastructure services.
• Perform advanced administration and troubleshooting of Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM/MECM), Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Microsoft Azure environments.
• Support virtualized server environments, including provisioning, configuration, performance optimization, and troubleshooting.
• Plan, test, and implement server configurations, software upgrades, system migrations, patches, and infrastructure enhancements.
• Develop and maintain automated scripts, tools, and processes using PowerShell or equivalent technologies to improve system administration efficiency and reduce manual intervention.
• Monitor and analyze infrastructure performance, system utilization, capacity, and availability to identify risks and recommend improvements.
• Implement preventive maintenance and corrective actions to ensure system reliability and minimize service disruptions.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity and information assurance teams to implement security requirements, vulnerability remediation, system hardening, and compliance with applicable federal security standards.
• Support system security assessments, accreditation activities, and compliance documentation as required.
• Develop and maintain system architecture diagrams, configuration baselines, standard operating procedures, technical documentation, and operational knowledge articles.
• Participate in change management, configuration management, incident management, and problem management processes in accordance with established IT service management practices.
• Provide technical expertise during system implementations, infrastructure upgrades, testing, and technology evaluations.
• Collaborate with architects, engineers, administrators, cybersecurity specialists, and other technical stakeholders to implement and support enterprise infrastructure solutions.
• Provide technical guidance, knowledge transfer, and mentoring to Tier 1 and Tier 2 technical personnel.
• Support continuity of operations, backup and recovery procedures, and disaster recovery activities.
• Participate in scheduled maintenance windows, incident response, and after-hours support activities as required to maintain mission-critical services.

Benefits

• The salary range for this position represents Acuity's good faith estimate of the compensation for this job title at the time of posting. Final compensation will be determined based on factors including, but not limited to, the candidate's qualifications, experience, education, certifications, skills, geographic location, contract requirements, applicable labor categories and, where applicable, contract award and funding.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior