PeopleTec is currently seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to support our Huntsville, AL location.

PeopleTec is currently seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to support our Corporate Information Technology department. This is a senior-level, hands-on technical role responsible for the reliability, security, and continuous improvement of PeopleTec's enterprise IT infrastructure. The Senior Systems Engineer reports directly to the Director of Information Technology and is expected to uphold the highest standards of accountability, integrity, and professionalism.

The ideal candidate is a technically deep, customer-focused engineer who is comfortable owning complex infrastructure challenges, leading cross-functional projects, and serving as a subject matter expert in a compliance-driven defense contractor environment. A passion for cloud transformation, AI adoption, and DevOps is a strong plus.

Key Responsibilities:

Duties will include, but are not limited to:

• Systems Performance & Availability: Monitor and maintain servers, networks, storage, and databases to maximize availability and performance. Establish and maintain monitoring frameworks, SLAs, and proactive alerting to minimize service disruptions.
• Incident Response & Troubleshooting: Lead investigation and resolution of system outages and critical incidents. Manage escalation workflows, coordinate with technical staff during crises, and conduct post-incident reviews to drive continuous improvement.
• Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity: Develop, document, test, and maintain comprehensive Business Continuity Plans (BCP) and Disaster Recovery Plans (DRP). Ensure recovery time and recovery point objectives are defined, validated, and met.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure IT systems and operations comply with applicable frameworks including CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification), NIST SP 800-171, and internal security policies. Serve as a technical contributor to audits, assessments, and remediation efforts in close coordination with the Information Security team.
• Project Leadership: Lead IT infrastructure projects from planning through implementation, coordinating with stakeholders, vendors, and internal teams. Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior IT staff throughout project execution.
• Strategic Input & Research: Contribute to IT strategic planning by researching emerging technologies — including cloud-native services, AI platforms, and automation tooling and presenting findings and recommendations to the Director of IT.
• Vendor & Procurement Support: Assist with evaluation, procurement, and management of hardware, software, and managed service providers. Support contract oversight and hold vendors accountable to agreed service levels.
• Budget Awareness: Assist in tracking IT operational expenditures, identifying cost optimization opportunities, and providing input to the annual IT operations budget process.

Professional Expectations:

As a senior member of the PeopleTec IT team, the Senior Systems Engineer is expected to:

• Demonstrate unwavering accountability, integrity, and professionalism in all interactions
• Maintain a strong customer and user-focused mindset, treating internal stakeholders as valued partners
• Think proactively; identifying risks, inefficiencies, and improvement opportunities before they become issues
• Serve as a technical mentor to junior staff, sharing knowledge and elevating the team's collective capability
• Support the Director of IT in pursuing a cloud-first, AI-enabled, DevSecOps-mature technology roadmap

Required Skills/Experience:

• 5-8 years of progressive experience in enterprise IT systems engineering or infrastructure operations
• Strong technical knowledge of network infrastructure and client/server operating systems (Windows, Linux, MacOS)
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft 365, including Exchange Online, SharePoint, Teams, Intune, and Azure cloud services
• Working knowledge of core services. (DNS, DHCP, Switching and Routing)
• Experience with server virtualization platforms including VMware vSphere/vCenter, Microsoft Azure, and AWS
• Experience with Cloud IAM  (Entre Conditional Access, SAML, OIDC)
• Demonstrated expertise in enterprise backup, replication, and Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery planning and execution
• Working knowledge of CMMC and NIST SP 800-171 compliance requirements in an operational IT context
• Solid understanding of Helpdesk operations and ITSM platforms
• Expertise in infrastructure automation. (Powershell, Bash, Ansible, Terraform, etc)
• Familiarity with enterprise AI platforms such as Claude (Anthropic), ChatGPT/OpenAI, or Microsoft 365 Copilot, including governance and acceptable use considerations in regulated environments
• Strong communication skills with the ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders

Education Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field (equivalent experience considered)