Sr. Systems and Azure Cloud Engineer Full-Time (Direct Hire) Washington, DC 20005 Salary Range: $115,000.00 To $130,000.00 Annually Hybrid work schedule: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday in-office, downtown Washington, DC Best profile: Microsoft and Azure native - hands-on with Active Directory, M365, Entra ID, and PowerShell System One IT has a direct hire opening for a Senior Systems and Azure Cloud Engineer to be responsible for the design, implementation, maintenance, and optimization of the organization's IT infrastructure, including servers, storage, networking, virtualization platforms, and cloud services. This role provides expert-level technical leadership and hands-on support to ensure stability, security, scalability, and high availability of mission-critical systems.
The Senior Systems and Azure Cloud Engineer will work closely with IT leadership, cybersecurity teams, and application owners to deliver robust, efficient, and secure technology solutions. The role requires a deep technical understanding of enterprise systems, proactive problem-solving skills, and the ability to implement complex infrastructure solutions. The successful candidate will serve as the primary technical resource for infrastructure decisions, bringing hands-on proficiency and sound technical judgment to drive operational excellence across the IT environment.
Seeking candidates with strong Microsoft and Azure native experience, who are hands-on with Active Directory, M365, Entra ID, and PowerShell. Experience supporting Federal clients is desired Essential Functions: - Design, implement, and maintain on-premises and cloud-based infrastructure systems, including servers, storage, virtualization, and networking components.
- Ensure the availability, performance, and security of critical infrastructure services, such as Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, VPN, firewalls, and backup systems.
- Plan and execute system upgrades, migrations, and expansions while minimizing disruption to business operations.
- Manage cloud environments (Azure), including virtual machines, storage accounts, networking, and identity services.
- Contribute to infrastructure-related projects, providing technical expertise through design, implementation, testing, and documentation. Provide advanced troubleshooting support for escalated infrastructure issues, performing root cause analysis and implementing preventive measures to reduce recurrence.
- Monitor infrastructure health, capacity, and performance, using appropriate tools; perform proactive maintenance to prevent downtime and ensure scalability.
- Implement and maintain comprehensive backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity solutions.
- Collaborate with cybersecurity teams to ensure infrastructure components meet security standards and support vulnerability management and patching programs.
- Develop and maintain accurate technical documentation, diagrams, and operational procedures.
- Evaluate and recommend new technologies, tools, and practices to improve efficiency, security, and performance.
- Participate in on-call rotation and provide after-hours support for critical infrastructure issues as needed; the rotation is shared and typically involves infrequent after-hours escalations.
Background/Skills/Abilities Preferred:
- Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field preferred; equivalent experience and relevant certifications will be considered instead of a degree.
- 7+ years of progressive experience in IT infrastructure engineering.
- Expertise in managing enterprise environments, including Windows Server, Linux, VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, and storage systems (SAN/NAS).
- Strong experience with cloud platforms, particularly Microsoft Azure and/or AWS, including networking, virtual servers, storage, and identity services.
- Solid understanding of networking concepts (TCP/IP, VLANs, VPNs, firewalls, load balancing, DNS) and enterprise network troubleshooting.
- Proficiency with Microsoft technologies, including Active Directory, Intune, Group Policy, Exchange Online, and Microsoft 365 administration, including cloud email security standards such as MTA-STS, where applicable.
- Experience integrating and managing multi-factor authentication (MFA) across on-premises and cloud environments.
- Experience with SSL/TLS certificate lifecycle management, including renewal, deployment, and monitoring to prevent service disruptions.
- Proficiency in infrastructure automation and scripting (e.g., PowerShell); experience with additional scripting languages or tools is a plus. Experience with enterprise monitoring and endpoint management platforms (e.g., NinjaOne, SolarWinds, Datadog, or similar RMM tools).
- Familiarity with NIST security frameworks, system hardening techniques, vulnerability management practices, and regulatory compliance requirements.
- Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills with a proactive and detail-oriented approach.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to create clear technical documentation and effectively communicate with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Professional certifications preferred, such as: - ITIL Foundation or higher
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate / Solutions Architect
- VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect
- CompTIA Security+ or equivalent
System One not only serves as a valued partner for our clients, but we also offer eligible employees health and welfare benefits coverage options, including medical, dental, vision, spending accounts, life insurance, voluntary plans, as well as participation in a 401(k) plan.
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