What are the responsibilities and job description for the Systems Engineer Windows & Linux position at Top Prospect Group?
60-70hr / Stamford, CT / Onsite / 12 month Contract
The Windows / Linux Systems Engineer is responsible for designing, building, and supporting mission‑critical, Windows‑centric infrastructure that underpins trading, market data, risk, and back‑office platforms. This role operates in a high‑availability, low‑latency, and security‑sensitive environment, with a primary focus on Microsoft Windows and core Microsoft application platforms, and secondary responsibility for supporting Linux systems used for select services and tooling.
Key Responsibilities
Windows‑First Systems Engineering & Operations
- Design, deploy, and support Windows Server environments supporting trading and financial applications
- Administer and optimize Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, NTP, and identity services
- Support Microsoft application platforms, including:
- IIS‑hosted applications
- SQL Server (in partnership with DBAs)
- File services, print services, and enterprise authentication services
- Perform system lifecycle management: provisioning, patching, upgrades, and decommissioning
- Participate in on‑call rotations and respond to production incidents impacting trading operations
Linux Systems Support (Secondary)
- Support and maintain Linux servers (RHEL/CentOS/Ubuntu) used for:
- Market data tooling
- Monitoring and observability platforms
- Automation and scripting workloads
- Perform OS patching, performance tuning, and troubleshooting
- Collaborate with application and DevOps teams on Linux‑based services
Performance, Reliability & Trading Readiness
- Tune Windows systems for performance, stability, and low‑latency execution
- Monitor CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network throughput in real‑time trading environments
- Partner with network teams to reduce latency and packet loss
- Support real‑time trading platforms, market data feeds, and analytics systems
Automation & Infrastructure Engineering
- Automate system provisioning and configuration using:
- PowerShell (primary)
- Bash / Python (secondary)
- Ansible or similar tools
- Reduce manual operations through automation and standardization
- Integrate infrastructure workflows with CI/CD pipelines where appropriate
Security, Compliance & Governance
- Apply OS hardening and secure configuration baselines
- Support privileged access, certificate management, and encryption standards
- Participate in audit and regulatory efforts (SOC, SOX, SEC, FINRA)
- Remediate vulnerabilities and security findings in coordination with InfoSec teams
Monitoring, Incident Management & Documentation
- Implement and maintain monitoring and alerting solutions (SCOM, Splunk, ELK, Prometheus, etc.)
- Perform root‑cause analysis and post‑incident reviews
- Maintain detailed runbooks, architecture diagrams, and operational documentation
Required Qualifications
- 5 years experience as a Windows‑focused Systems Engineer
- Strong expertise in:
- Windows Server (2016/2019/2022)
- Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP
- Experience supporting 24x7 production environments
- Strong troubleshooting skills across OS, storage, and network layers
- Proficiency with PowerShell scripting and automation
- Comfortable operating in high‑pressure trading or financial environments
Preferred / Nice‑to‑Have
- Experience in financial services, trading, hedge funds, or broker‑dealer environments
- Working knowledge of Linux administration
- Virtualization experience (VMware, Hyper‑V)
- Exposure to cloud or hybrid infrastructure (AWS or Azure)
- Familiarity with market data platforms and real‑time systems
Salary : $60 - $70