Senior Systems Administrator

GENERAL STATEMENT OF JOB

Provides advanced technical, analytical, and operational support for Okaloosa County’s enterprise information systems and ensures the security, stability, and integrity of county technology resources by administering core infrastructure platforms, managing identity and access services, and maintaining highly available on premises and cloud based systems.

EXAMPLES OF WORK

• Supervises, trains, and assesses the performance of staff; gives recommendations as it relates to hiring, training and development, and discipline of staff; promotes consistent use of standard methods and procedures.
• Coordinates and implements complex integrations between county systems, applications, and network environments to support countywide operations.
• Provides technical guidance, enforces cybersecurity policies, and serves as escalated support for server administrators and County IT teams.
• Plans, implements, and administers Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, certificates, and the Microsoft 365/Exchange hybrid environment, including Teams, SharePoint, Entra, Purview, Intune across multiple tenants.
• Manages domains, identity services, and security; configures ADFS/SSO, Entra SSO, and MFA for remote access and assigns access rights.
• Designs and manages VMware environments including vSphere, VCenter, VSAN, VxRail, RecoverPoint, VLAN based virtual networking, and lifecycle upgrades.
• Manages multiple datacenters, including physical/virtual servers, storage arrays, top of rack switching, and datacenter network troubleshooting.
• Performs P2V conversions, builds virtual servers, and manages Windows Server, Linux, and CentOS systems.
• Administers Windows Server roles, IIS/Drupal web servers, and Zero Trust remote access solutions; maintains cloned/test environments for updates.
• Manages email spam filtering, public records requests and ensures records compliance.
• Oversees installation, configuration, and maintenance of servers, applications, and web systems; manages SSL certificates and domain names.
• Supports enterprise applications and databases; serves as technical lead for SQL Server and departmental SQL systems.
• Oversees disaster recovery, Neverfail, and backups; maintains DR plans and testing.
• Manages and applies retention policies using existing data classifications and regulatory requirements.
• Manages server network integrations, load balancers, and evaluates/implements new technologies and system designs.
• Coordinates major projects such as the ReadOkaloosa.org’s M365 migration, cloud initiatives, and departmental cloud adoption.
• Assists the Systems and Networks Manager with planning, budgeting, technology evaluation, cost optimization, and policy development.
• Troubleshoots complex server, network, virtualization, DNS, AD, and application issues; leads advanced diagnostics.
• Develops scripts, automation, and documentation; ensures compliance with state and federal requirements.
• Collaborates with departments, vendors, agencies, and elected officials to set priorities and support long term planning and vendor management.
• Creates and maintains domain redirects and works with vendors on website changes beyond internal scope.
• Availability to respond to declared emergencies and on call/standby assignments outside of normal duty hours is required.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education, Training and Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, supplemented by five (5) years of progressively responsible experience administering enterprise information systems and networks in a medium to large organization, one (1) year of which must be in a supervisory/lead experience; or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. Requires extensive experience and advanced knowledge in administration and maintenance of Microsoft 365, Intune, Entra, Active Directory, MSSQL, Windows Server, Exchange, and VMware technologies (vSphere, ESXi, vCenter). Requires experience supporting virtual private networks, patch and update management platforms (e.g., WSUS), system monitoring tools, and enterprise identity/access technologies. Strong understanding of TCP/IP networking, routing, and subnetting is required. Experience with IT security best practices, backup/disaster recovery methods, and lifecycle management of enterprise systems is highly desired. Working knowledge of Linux server administration is preferred.

Licenses and/or Certifications: Requires a valid driver license. Microsoft certifications relating to system administration and cloud infrastructure are preferred.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Physical Requirements: Requires the ability to operate office equipment, to include computers, copy/fax machines and related peripherals. Must be able to exert 20 to 50 pounds of force occasionally, or 10 to 25 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. Requires periodic walking and standing, with occasional bending and stopping. Physical demands are essentially those of sedentary work.

Language Ability: Requires the ability to communicate effectively in English, including the ability to convey, record and exchange information; requires the ability to explain procedures and to give, receive and follow oral and written instructions. Must be able to read and interpret a variety of moderately complex technical data, policy and procedure manuals, codes, professional journals. Requires the ability to prepare forms and reports using prescribed formats, and adhering to all rules of grammar, spelling, diction and punctuation. Must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in a variety of technical and/or professional languages used within the parameters of the job and with a broad array of individuals from various professional backgrounds.

Intelligence: Requires the ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions; to interpret a variety of technical instructions in written, mathematical or

diagrammatic form; to learn and understand relatively complex principles and techniques; to make independent judgments in absence of supervision; to acquire knowledge of topics related to primary occupation.

Numerical Aptitude: Must be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide; to determine weight; calculate decimals and percentages; compute discount, profit and loss, ratio and proportion.

Interpersonal Temperament:: Requires the ability to deal with people beyond receiving instructions. Must be adaptable to performing under moderate levels of stress, imposed by frequent deadlines, peak workloads, or public contact. Requires the ability to exercise consistent tact and courtesy when in frequent contact with various professionals, county staff, and the general public.