Senior Windows System Administrator

Title: Windows System Administrator

Location: Rockville, MD or Tysons, VA (3 days onsite per week). Need local candidate

Role: This role is on the operations side, so administration is the prime focus. They will be managing on prem AWS and Azure servers (heavy focus on servers), doing automations, fixing vulnerabilities, making patches, etc.

Must have’s:

• Windows administration (high level of administration access in their current job (enterprise-level)

• Powershell scripting

• Cloud AWS & Azure very ideally, BOTH

• Devops/CICD

Nice to have’s:

• GenAI exposure to help with productivity

• VMware exposure

JD: The Senior Systems Administrator/Engineer works under minimal supervision to design, implement, and maintain enterprise Windows infrastructure across hybrid cloud environments and on-premises data centers. This role combines traditional systems administration with modern DevOps practices, leveraging virtualization technologies, multi-cloud platforms (AWS/Azure), and AI-powered tools to ensure our Infrastructure meets defined quality standards while driving operational excellence and innovation.

Job Description

• Review and analyze process and system specifications to ensure delivery requirements are met across hybrid Windows environments.
• Designs, implements, customizes, maintains and administers Windows operating systems and system software products in physical, and virtual environments.
• Architect and manage virtualized infrastructure using VMWare and Hyper-V
• Design and implement cloud infrastructure solutions on AWS (EC2, Workspaces, Systems Manager, CloudWatch, IAM) and Azure (Virtual Machines, Virtual Desktop, Azure AD) following cloud-native architecture principles.
• Recommends enhancements and updates/patches to Windows operating systems, system software products, virtualization platforms, and cloud infrastructure components.
• Ensure the Company's Reliability, Availability and Serviceability (RAS)metrics are sustained and improved through proactive monitoring, automation, and continuous optimization across hybrid environments.
• Implements and updates monitoring tools for Windows systems, virtualized environments, and cloud resources using industry-leading platforms and AI-enhanced observability solutions.
• Monitors operating system and cloud infrastructure performance to achieve optimum performance levels, utilizing AI-powered analytics to predict and prevent issues.
• Leverages AI tools to enhance personal and team productivity, including using AI assistants for code generation, documentation creation, troubleshooting assistance, configuration management, log analysis, and automated reporting.
• Implements AI-driven automation for routine tasks, incident response, and predictive maintenance to improve team efficiency and reduce manual effort.
• Recommends new monitoring approaches and tools, including AI/ML-based anomaly detection and automated remediation solutions. Develop and present related documentation, presentations, and discussion.
• Document test plans as well as create/revise and execute Powershell, Python, or other scripting languages for automation and infrastructure-as-code implementations.
• Test and analyze infrastructure setup including VMWare/Hyper-V environments, AWS and Azure cloud services, and hybrid networking configurations.
• Oversee implementation of security guidelines to prevent unauthorized access to Windows servers, virtualized environments, and cloud resources, and report any violations following zero-trust principles.
• Perform field level hardware repairs and upgrades for physical Windows servers and coordinate cloud infrastructure scaling operations.
• Interface with other team members and other teams to ensure technology solutions and staff are aligned with customer expectations and overall technology vision, including DevOps, Security, and Application Development teams.
• Document and communicate status in a timely manner including metric reporting through AI-assisted documentation tools and automated dashboards.
• Champion the collaborative resolution of defects. Work across organization to deliver solutions that meet joint requirements in hybrid Windows, virtualization, and cloud environments.
• Lead/Co-lead internal process improvement initiatives focused on automation, virtualization, and AI adoption. Provide feedback on processes by offering suggestions.
• Evaluate industry trends, standards and new technologies including emerging AI/ML tools, virtualization technologies, cloud services, and Windows ecosystem innovations to recommend change.
• Mentor and supervise junior staff in project-level tasks, Windows administration best practices, virtualization and cloud operations, and effective use of AI productivity tools.
• Participate in periodic Disaster Recovery (DR), Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) testing and reporting, including validation of backup/recovery procedures.
• Manage vendor relationships and related budget for Windows enterprise support, cloud service providers (AWS/Azure), virtualization platforms, monitoring tools, and AI-powered solutions.
• Collaboration, both in-person and virtually

Education/Experience

• Past senior level systems administrator experience in a production data center environment.
• Knowledge of industry leading monitoring and diagnostic tools
• Knowledge of at least one operating system and at least one contemporary scripting language.
• Knowledge of communication and network technologies.
• Exposure to common operational practices like metrics reporting, change management, incident management, problem management and communication ITIL & ISO:9000 framework experience/certification preferred.
• Strong written and verbal technical communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to develop effective working relationships that improved the quality of work products.
• Ability to maintain focus and develop proficiency in new skills rapidly.