Systems Administrator
2 days ago
Rochester
Job Description The Systems Administrator plays a vital role within The Strong’s technology team, leading the administration, support, and optimization of the museum’s core information technology (IT) infrastructure. This hands‑on position configures, maintains, and secures on‑premises and cloud‑based servers, storage, and network systems to ensure high availability, performance, and security for the organization. Operating in a dynamic nonprofit environment, the role blends system administration expertise with proactive infrastructure management. The Systems Administrator oversees daily operations such as backups, patching, virtualization, identity and access, and endpoint management, while also managing firewalls, switches, wireless access, routing, and segmentation. Success requires strong technical leadership, project ownership, and the ability to balance strategic planning with responsive issue resolution. The Systems Administrator is expected to stay current with evolving technologies, work within budget constraints, and bring a solution‑oriented mindset to both immediate tasks and long‑term infrastructure improvements, contributing to a culture of teamwork, service excellence, and integrity consistent with the museum’s mission and values. All museum employees are expected to contribute to a supportive, collaborative, and mission-driven work culture. A consistent standard of professionalism, respect, and enthusiasm is required in interactions with colleagues, guests, and external partners. Provides day‑to‑day support, implementation, and maintenance of the museum’s infrastructure, including virtualization platforms, server operating systems, storage, and enterprise applications. They administer Windows Server environments and core services such as Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, Group Policy, and Microsoft 365, with attention to identity, security, and lifecycle management. They monitor system health and capacity to maintain high availability, perform routine backups and disaster recovery operations, and regularly test restore procedures to verify data integrity. They document configurations, changes, licensing, and asset life cycles, adhere to change control practices, and ensure that operating systems and enterprise applications are patched and updated in a timely manner. The role contributes to the support of point‑of‑sale and other business‑critical systems and provides technical guidance for building technologies, such as HVAC, security, and camera systems, in coordination with museum teams and external vendors. Deploys, monitors, and manages the local and wide‑area network, including switches, wireless access points, and firewalls. They maintain firewall rules, VLANs, routing, and quality‑of‑service configurations that support performance, reliability, and security. They diagnose and resolve network connectivity issues and serve as an escalation point for the Help Desk and technology team. They perform switch programming and structured cabling tasks as needed, maintain accurate network documentation such as topology diagrams and configuration change history, and use monitoring tools to identify and remediate potential bottlenecks, vulnerabilities, and service‑impacting events. They coordinate network requirements that support exhibits, AV systems, public‑facing technologies, and special events. Working closely with the Director of Technology, the Systems Administrator scopes, plans, and executes infrastructure projects aligned with museum goals, budget, and risk tolerance. They evaluate new and emerging technologies and make recommendations that improve scalability, resilience, performance, and operational efficiency. They lead or participate in cross‑functional initiatives, coordinate with vendors and service providers for implementation and troubleshooting and contribute to contract and licensing reviews to ensure value, compliance, and sustainability. Provides Tier 2/3 support for escalated issues and mentors junior team members in troubleshooting methodology, tooling, and best practices. They maintain detailed operational logs, incident records, and performance reports, and they author and maintain internal documentation including procedures, standards, runbooks, and user guides. They implement and enforce security policies and controls—such as least‑privilege access, multi‑factor authentication, secure configuration baselines, and audit logging—and participate in the team’s on‑call rotation, responding to after‑hours emergencies when required. Remains current with industry trends, security advisories, and best practices in systems and network administration. They actively participate in staff meetings and IT planning sessions, contribute to process improvement initiatives, and provide a high level of customer service while engaging collaboratively with departments across the museum. Participates in the technology team’s after-hours on-call rotation and contributes to organizational planning as needed. Required Qualifications: • High school diploma or equivalent, plus 3–5 years of experience in system administration within a business or institutional environment., • Hands-on experience with Microsoft Active Directory, Microsoft 365 Cloud, and Windows Server environments (3–5 years)., • Experience with Linux administration (Debian and Red Hat–based systems, 1–3 years)., • Proficiency managing virtualized infrastructure (VMware, Hyper-V, or similar)., • Strong networking background, including TCP/IP, VLANs, DNS, DHCP, fiber optics, and high-speed network infrastructure., • 3–5 years of experience with managed switches and firewalls, including programming and maintenance., • Proficiency with PowerShell and other scripting tools for automation and system management., • Familiarity with backup and disaster recovery technologies and best practices., • Demonstrated organization, time management, and ability to manage competing priorities in deadline-driven environments., • Strong oral and written communication skills and the ability to work effectively in a team environment., • Associate or bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, or related field., • Project leadership or management experience., • 3–5 years of experience with Next-Generation Firewalls, including policy and UTM configuration (Fortinet products preferred)., • Experience with Cisco switching appliances (Catalyst and Nexus product lines)., • 3–5 years of experience managing backup infrastructure with knowledge of 3-2-1 principles., • 3–5 years of experience with Entra ID, Intune device management, and other Microsoft cloud identity/device management products., • Industry certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate, VMware VCP, Fortinet NSE, CompTIA Network+/Security+, or CCNA.