Senior Systems Engineer

Senior Systems EngineerThe Senior Systems Engineer designs, implements, and improves the organization's Microsoft-centered infrastructure across on-premises, hybrid, and Azure environments. The role owns technical work through its full lifecycle: from requirements, design, and capacity planning to implementation, validation, operational handoff, and eventual refresh or retirement. It emphasizes engineering, automation, reliability, and secure operation rather than routine account or ticket administration.The engineer works independently on complex infrastructure changes and incidents, coordinates with internal teams and vendors, and serves as a senior technical escalation point. The position focuses on core infrastructure platforms while partnering with network, security, application, and service teams where their services intersect.Key ResponsibilitiesInfrastructure design and lifecycleMicrosoft server and identity servicesCompute, storage, backup, and recoveryAzure, applications, and connectivityAutomation, security, and operational reliabilityRequired QualificationsTypically 7 or more years of progressively responsible experience in Microsoft infrastructure, systems engineering, or a closely related field; equivalent practical experience will be considered.Strong hands-on Windows Server and Active Directory engineering experience, including advanced troubleshooting, patching, security hardening, identity dependencies, and recovery concepts.Experience with Microsoft Entra ID, hybrid identity, Microsoft 365, and hybrid Exchange or Exchange Online dependencies.Demonstrated infrastructure engineering experience with virtualization or clustered compute, storage/SAN concepts, server hardware lifecycle, and backup and recovery.Advanced PowerShell skills and experience creating maintainable automation; working knowledge of REST APIs and JSON.Strong networking fundamentals sufficient to diagnose infrastructure connectivity issues involving DNS, DHCP, routing, switching, firewalls, VPNs, VLANs, and TLS certificates.Ability to plan and deliver production changes, assess risk and dependencies, communicate technical decisions, and work effectively with technical teams, service owners, and vendors.Preferred QualificationsExperience with Dell servers, Azure Stack HCI, Windows Server Failover Clustering, Dell SAN, or Veeam Backup & Replication.Experience with Azure Arc, Azure Automation, Freshservice workflow automation, Azure-hosted remote desktop services, or Meraki networking.Experience supporting IIS-hosted applications, SQL Server infrastructure, or Microsoft 365 security controls.Relevant Microsoft, Azure, Veeam, Dell, or networking certifications.Senior-Level ExpectationsWorks with broad objectives and limited supervision, identifying missing requirements, dependencies, and risks early.Makes design decisions based on evidence, supportability, security, capacity, resilience, and lifecycle needs.Can diagnose issues that cross server, identity, storage, network, certificate, backup, application-hosting, and cloud boundaries.Improves team capability through clear standards, useful documentation, knowledge sharing, and thoughtful automation.Work EnvironmentThis is a full-time, exempt position based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Occasional after-hours work may be required for planned maintenance or urgent production issues. Periodic travel to the University Data Center in Charlottesville or Sands Family Grounds in Arlington may be needed.Technology EnvironmentMicrosoft Windows Server, Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, Azure Arc, Microsoft 365 and hybrid Exchange, Dell server and SAN infrastructure, Azure Stack HCI, Windows Server Failover Clustering, Veeam, Azure-hosted remote desktop, VPN services, PowerShell, Azure Automation, Freshservice workflow automation, IIS, SQL Server infrastructure, and Meraki switches, firewalls, and wireless.