Systems Administrator

Aquent is partnering with a leading organization in the financial services sector, renowned for its commitment to technological excellence and maintaining robust, highly available systems. This organization is at the forefront of innovation, continuously enhancing its critical infrastructure to deliver seamless services to its vast client base. Join a team where your expertise will directly contribute to the stability and efficiency of mission-critical operations, playing a pivotal role in safeguarding vital systems and ensuring uninterrupted service delivery.

Are you a proactive and skilled IT professional passionate about maintaining the backbone of enterprise technology? We are seeking an exceptional individual to join a dynamic operations team, where you will be instrumental in ensuring the reliability and efficiency of production server environments. In this critical role, you will be the first line of defense, triaging incidents, troubleshooting complex server issues, and collaborating with engineers to uphold system integrity. Your contributions will directly impact the stability of essential services, making you a vital guardian of our operational excellence. This is a unique opportunity to thrive in a 24/7/365 mission-critical environment, working a dedicated Monday-Thursday 10 PM - 8:30 AM shift, where your technical acumen and problem-solving skills will shine.

Responsibilities

* Act as the primary point of contact for technology teams and vendors, representing IT Operations.

* Advocate for business-facing teams, ensuring their support needs are addressed and communicated effectively.

* Monitor enterprise-wide alerts and situations, adhering to handling procedures and meeting service level acknowledgments.

* Evaluate technical issues and escalate appropriately to senior technicians, engineers, or vendors.

* Support the recovery of distributed infrastructure, meticulously documenting actions and collaborating with teammates.

* Provide crucial support for routine production problems escalated to the operations center.

* Execute system changes within established guidelines and under supervision, contributing to system maintenance.

* Track issue statuses and provide timely updates to stakeholders, maintaining accurate internal ticketing system records.

* Build and foster productive internal and external working relationships to ensure task completion and collaborative success.

* Continuously enhance technical knowledge through training sessions and professional networking.

* Prioritize and complete work assignments based on department needs and system criticality.

* Identify and contribute to continuous service delivery opportunities, improving IT service readiness and business success.

* Collaborate professionally with technology partners, ensuring high-quality service delivery.

* Lead and serve as a subject matter expert for server operators, providing guidance and support.

* Oversee daily operational activities for server operators, ensuring the execution of operational and escalation instructions.

* Make tactical decisions aligned with strategic goals and objectives.

* Coordinate training, onboarding, and continuous development for new and existing team members.

Must-Have Qualifications

* Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related information technology discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

* 5-7 years of experience in a large, 24O7 high-availability data center environment (1000+ servers).

* Specialized knowledge and understanding of server operating systems, typically gained through formal technical training.

* Proven experience working with load balancers, including adding/removing servers and/or service ports.

* A solid understanding of UNIX and Windows Server-based operating systems, including paging and swapping, inter-process communication, device drivers, and file system concepts.

* Familiarity with fundamental networking and distributed computing environment concepts, including configuring NFS and NIS, and using basic network commands for troubleshooting/DNS validation and routing.

* Foundational knowledge in writing scripts using administrative languages like Tk, Perl, or PowerShell.

* Experience with IT management, process development, and improvement.

* Demonstrated experience in implementing key IT standardized process and methodologies (e.g., ITIL, Event Management, Incident, Problem, and Knowledge Management).

* Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, with a focus on efficient service restoration.

* Exceptional ability to pay close attention to details while performing technically intricate tasks.

* A proactive, forward-thinking approach, acting as a change agent to influence the team with continuous operational and technological improvements.

* A strong desire for continuous learning through training courses and on-the-job mentorship.

* A take-charge attitude in leading process development and service improvement initiatives.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

* Active certifications such as CompTIA, Server+, and/or Security+.

* Familiarity with enterprise service management tools.

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**About Aquent Talent**

Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world's biggest brands.

Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match. More information on our awesome benefits!

Aquent is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We're about creating an inclusive environment-one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.