Senior Systems Administrator IV in Aberdeen, Maryland at Caelum Research Corporation

Senior Windows Systems Administrator

• Position: Systems Administrator IV
• Supported Program: U.S. Army Test & Evaluation Command
• Clearance Requirement: DoD Secret
• Location: On-site at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD

Role Overview
We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Windows Systems Administrator to support a critical government IT services contract. The successful candidate will act as a primary subject matter expert for Windows infrastructure, automation, virtualization, and high-availability systems. This role requires deep technical expertise in Microsoft Windows Server, enterprise production environments, network storage, and virtualization technologies. As a senior member of the team, the candidate will also provide technical guidance, leadership, and mentorship to other IT professionals.
Core Responsibilities & Technical Qualifications

• Windows Systems Administration: Install, configure, and manage Microsoft server operating systems, with a heavy emphasis on Windows Server operating systems, Active Directory (AD) configuration, Group Policy (GPO) management, and associated middleware.
• Virtualization Management: Manage a VMware environment, including systems deployment, patching, STIG/hardening, and troubleshooting.
• Technical Mentorship: Act as a senior technical resource, providing mentorship, guidance, or team lead support to junior administrators and technical staff; may lead 5 or more employees.
• Centralized Logging & Analytics (Elastic Stack): Configure, maintain, and utilize the Elastic Stack (ELK) to ingest, analyze, and visualize system logs and performance metrics across the enterprise to proactively identify system anomalies and security events.
• Automation & Deployment: Manage complex production environments using automated installation, automated build and deployment, and automated configuration management frameworks.
• Scripting Proficiency: Write and utilize operating system commands and scripts to automate routine tasks, utilizing PowerShell and being familiar with others like Python or Bash.
• High-Availability Infrastructure: Build, maintain, and support clustered, scalable, and high-availability systems, including load balancing, web servers, application servers, and server virtualization.
• Networking & Troubleshooting: Apply foundational networking principles (TCP/IP, firewalls, routing, VLANs) to perform general network troubleshooting and resolve complex system issues.
• Performance Monitoring & Optimization: Utilize enterprise monitoring tools for event and performance monitoring. Conduct performance tuning, capacity planning, and bottleneck resolution.
• Security & Compliance: Apply Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) to harden systems, remediate advanced security vulnerabilities, manage identity and access configurations, and ensure overall system security compliance. Experience with ESS (e.g., McAfee/Trellix) is required.
• System Lifecycle Management: Plan and execute seamless operating system upgrades and environment migrations with minimal mission impact.
• Hardware and Storage: Support enterprise hardware and storage environments, including CISCO Unified Computing System (UCS) and technologies such as Commvault, NetApp, or VSAN.

Preferred Qualifications

• Vulnerability Scanning (ACAS): Experience utilizing the Assured Compliance Assessment Solution (ACAS) for vulnerability scanning, analysis, and compliance reporting.
• Linux Administration: Familiarity or experience with Linux server operating systems (e.g., RHEL), event and performance monitoring, and associated middleware.
• Database Technologies: Knowledge of database technologies, including installation and configuration of database management systems and migration of databases.

Education and Experience Requirements
Candidates must meet one of the following education and experience combinations. Education must be in a directly related IT discipline (e.g., Computer Science, Information Systems, Computer/Software Engineering, Management Information Systems, or Computer Forensics/Security).

• High School Diploma / GED: Minimum of 11 years of directly related IT experience.
• Associate's degree: Minimum of 9 years of directly related IT experience.
• Bachelor's Degree: Minimum of 7 years of directly related IT experience.
• Master's Degree: Minimum of 5 years of directly related IT experience.

Certifications

• DoD Directive 8570.01 Compliance: Must possess a current Security+ certification (or equivalent IAT Level II baseline certification).
• Computing Environment (CE): Must hold at least one current Computing Environment certification, or be able to obtain one within 6 months of start. Given the technical requirements of this role, a Microsoft-based certification (e.g., Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate, MCSE) is strongly preferred.

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Referral program
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

CompensationThe base pay range for this role is $90,000 – $135,000 per year.