System Administrator - Public Sector, Operations

Job Summary:

The System Administrator is responsible for designing, implementing, securing, and maintaining the organization's complex systems infrastructure, with a focus on hybrid cloud environments, virtualization technologies, server hardware and network infrastructure. This role also encompasses local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and cloud networking solutions.

Job Duties:

• Develops comprehensive network designs that meet current and future business requirements, emphasizing performance, scalability, and security
• Sets up and manages advanced network services such as VPNs, firewalls, and SD-WAN solutions to support hybrid cloud architectures
• Deploys and manages Cisco Meraki solutions to create a seamless cloud-managed network
• Configures Auto VPN, application control, traffic shaping, content filtering, access control lists (ACLs), and quality of service (QoS) settings within the SD-WAN environment to optimize performance and security
• Defines, implements, and optimizes firewall rules to allow legitimate traffic while blocking malicious or unauthorized access while continuously evaluating and adjusting rules for performance and security
• Integrates firewalls with intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) to detect and mitigate potential attacks
• Implements Wi-Fi security protocols (e.g., WPA3, 802.1X) and manage authentication mechanisms to protect wireless access
• Stays up to date with the latest networking technologies and industry best practices
• Executes network and system migrations, including hardware and software upgrades, configurations, and integrations
• Manages and administer on-premises servers and services, including Active Directory configurations, access permissions, GPOs, user management and other system components
• Develops and maintain documentation for system configurations, network architecture, and operational procedures
• Collaborates with cross-functional teams to support projects related to cloud services, application deployment, and infrastructure upgrades
• Collaborates with the security team to respond to incidents and implement corrective actions
• Designs, implements, and manages backup strategies to ensure data integrity, availability, and recoverability for critical systems, applications, and data
• Applies and enforces Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) on systems infrastructure to ensure compliance with organizational and regulatory security standards
• Implements FIPS mode on applicable systems and network devices to ensure that they only use FIPS 140-2 approved cryptographic algorithms and modules
• Maintains and manages domain DNS services to ensure reliable name resolution for internal and external resources
• Administers DHCP services, including configuring scopes, options, and reservations to efficiently allocate IP addresses
• Monitors and troubleshoots DNS, DHCP, and authentication issues, implementing necessary changes to optimize performance and security
• Maintains certificate authority servers' hierarchy ensuring servers are highly secured to prevent unauthorized access
• Handles certificate signing requests (CSRs) for re-issuing certificates due to changes in domain names, key pairs, or organizational needs
• Establishes certificate templates to define the rules for certificate issuance, including validation requirements, validity periods, and key lengths
• Regularly audits and reviews which services are using SSL certificates and ensure they are up to date with the appropriate certificates and configurations
• Oversees the VMware virtual environment including vCenter administration, virtual machines (VM) provisioning, monitoring, and performance tuning
• Optimizes resource allocation for VMs and ensure high availability and disaster recovery configurations
• Configures and manages virtual networking within vSphere, including distributed switches, storage solutions and port group configurations
• Regularly manages VM snapshots for backup procedures and avoid excessive storage consumption and performance issues
• Assigns storage policies to datastores to define performance, availability and encryption requirements to protect data on the storage layer
• Regularly updates server software, operating systems, and applications to ensure optimal performance and security
• Monitors server resources such as CPU, memory, and disk space to avoid performance issues or system failures
• Maintains detailed documentation of server configurations, maintenance activities, and any incidents or issues
• Other duties as needed

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• N/A

Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, information technology, software engineering, information systems, or computer engineering, required
• Master's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, information technology, network engineering, information systems, or computer engineering, preferred
• Annual 40 hours of continuous learning, (may include professional memberships, forums, lunch and learns, roundtables, online training courses, and maintaining certifications), required

Experience:

• Five (5) or more years of advanced networking experience, required
• Three (3) or more years of experience with operating systems, virtualization and cloud computing, required
• Two (2) or more years of experience with securing IT systems compliance with industry security frameworks, required

License/Certifications:

• Cisco CCNP Enterprise, Microsoft, VMware, RHEL, or other Networking related certifications, preferred

Software:

• Experience with four (4) or more of the following, required:
  
  
  
  • Cisco Next-Gen Firewall (NGFW)
  • Cisco cloud-managed SD-WAN technologies
  • Virtualization Technologies
  • VMware vSphere
  • Dell PowerEdge, iDRAC
  • Cisco AnyConnect
  • Cisco Catalyst WLAN & Switches
  • Certificate Authority
  • Windows Server 2016+
  • Microsoft Azure, Office365, Endpoint Manager/Intune, Enterprise Applications
  • Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS)
  • DMZ, SSH, DNS, DHCP, RADIUS, PuTTY, Wireshark, TraceRT
  
  

Other Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of FedRAMP, NIST SP 800-53, NIST SP 800-171, NIST CSF, Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), ISO 27000, ITAR
• Knowledge of computer networking concepts and protocols, and network security methodologies
• Knowledge of communication methods, principles, and concepts that support the network infrastructure
• Knowledge of capabilities and applications of network equipment including routers, switches, bridges, servers, transmission media, and related hardware
• Knowledge of cybersecurity and privacy principles used to manage risks related to the use, processing, storage, and transmission of information or data
• Knowledge of laws, regulations, policies, and ethics as they relate to cybersecurity and privacy
• Familiarity with Information technology (IT) security principles and methods (e.g., firewalls, demilitarized zones, encryption)
• Knowledge of Local area and wide area networking principles and concepts including bandwidth management
• Knowledge of Telecommunications concepts (e.g., Communications channel, Systems Link Budgeting, Spectral efficiency, Multiplexing)
• Familiarity with Virtual Private Network (VPN) security
• Knowledge of concepts, terminology, and operations of a wide range of communications media (computer and telephone networks, satellite, fiber, wireless)
• Proficiency with Windows Server OS, including Active Directory, Group Policies, and managing Windows-based services
• Familiarity with Network security architecture concepts including topology, protocols, components, and principles
• Familiarity with network systems management principles, models, methods (e.g., end-to-end systems performance monitoring), and tools
• Familiarity with an Organization's information classification program and procedures for information compromise
• Familiarity with network protocols such as TCP/IP, Dynamic Host Configuration, Domain Name System (DNS), and directory services
• Knowledge of controls related to the use, processing, storage, and transmission of data
• Understanding and setting up RAID configurations to protect against disk failure
• Ability to analyze network traffic capacity and performance characteristics
• Ability to implement, maintain, and improve established network security practices
• Ability to install, configure, and troubleshoot LAN and WAN components such as routers, hubs, and switches
• Ability to use network management tools to analyze network traffic patterns (e.g., simple network management protocol)
• Ability to protect a network against malware (e.g., NIPS, anti-malware, restrict/prevent external devices, spam filters)
• Ability to configure and utilize network protection components (e.g., Firewalls, VPNs, network intrusion detection systems)
• Ability to implement and test network infrastructure contingency and recovery plans
• Ability to configure and utilize computer protection components (e.g., hardware firewalls, servers, routers, as appropriate)
• Ability to operate network equipment including hubs, routers, switches, bridges, servers, transmission media, and related hardware