Senior Cloud Systems Administrator (Azure)

Job Description

Job Description

Contract Details
- Work Mode: Hybrid (onsite in Herndon, VA at least 3 days/week)
- Location: Herndon, VA
- Schedule: 40 hours/week
- Duration: 06/01/2026 to 05/31/2027
- Conversion: Potential to convert to full-time (contract-to-hire potential)

About the Opportunity
The Senior Cloud Systems Administrator will design, implement, and operate enterprise server and application services across on-prem and Azure environments. You will own availability, performance, security hardening, and patch/vulnerability management for a large-scale environment supporting sensitive workloads.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain enterprise Server and Application Services (SAS) across Windows/Linux and Azure.
• Develop standards, documentation, diagrams, and workflows for infrastructure and applications.
• Build and operate automation for deployment, configuration, patching, and compliance.
• Perform incident diagnosis, corrective actions, and root cause analysis; support 24/7 models and SLAs as needed.
• Lead vulnerability management and monthly system patching/maintenance.
• Oversee configuration, testing, installation, and modification of server components and applications.
• Coordinate priorities, manage vendor relationships, and act as SME for Cloud Ops, Cyber Security, and Systems Administration teams.
• Plan and conduct comprehensive systems analysis and design for new server infrastructure solutions.

Required Qualifications

• 5 years in an enterprise Systems Administrator or Cloud Administrator role.
• 4 years of automation scripting with PowerShell or Bash.
• Expert-level Microsoft Azure administration.
• Senior-level Windows administration: Active Directory, DNS, Group Policy.
• Experience with Ansible for deployments/automation.
• Experience with firewalls and enterprise security configurations.
• Linux troubleshooting and patching (SUSE, Red Hat, or CentOS).
• Ability to work onsite in Herndon, VA at least 3 days/week; must currently reside in Virginia within 30 miles of Herndon.
• U.S. citizenship required; able to obtain a U.S. security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor s degree in Computer Science or related field.
• Certifications: MCSE, MCITP, Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900), Azure Administrator (AZ-104), Azure Solutions Architect (AZ-303/304 or successors).
• Experience integrating SIEM, backups, and monitoring tools.
• Familiarity with security best practices and frameworks (e.g., NIST 800-53 Rev 4).

Work Environment

• Enterprise-scale environment with stringent security and encryption protocols.
• Some after-hours maintenance or escalations may be required to support availability and patch cycles.