Lead System Administrator

Job Summary

The Lead System Administrator will lead the enterprise Patch and Upgrade Management function. This role owns patch strategy, prioritization, risk-based remediation, and rollback planning across on-prem, cloud, and hybrid systems, ensuring secure, timely, and compliant vulnerability remediation.

Company Overview

Maximus is a trusted federal partner supporting mission-critical programs across national security, defense, and public service delivery. Our work focuses on sustaining, operating, and improving essential government systems and services, with proven operational excellence, and a commitment to mission success for our customers. Joining Maximus means becoming part of a collaborative, mission-driven organization where teamwork, accountability, and professional growth are core to how we operate. We invest in our workforce through training, education, and career development, empowering professionals to deliver high-impact solutions while contributing to outcomes that matter at a national scale.

Job-Specific Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as Lead Sys Admin, owning strategy, execution oversight, and risk-based decisioning across on-prem, cloud, and hybrid platforms.
• Identify, analyze, test, coordinate approvals for, and apply system, software, and hardware patches and upgrades in accordance with vulnerability management timelines.
• Direct prioritization and remediation of high-risk and known-exploited vulnerabilities, ensuring accountability for timely closure.
• Establish and maintain standard configuration baselines and secure system hardening practices across enterprise platforms.
• Design, test, and oversee rollback and contingency procedures to restore systems to a known good state following failed patches or upgrades.
• Recommend and document compensating controls and mitigations when vendor fixes are unavailable or delayed.
• Ensure comprehensive patch coverage across all IT and OT environments, coordinating closely with cybersecurity, change management, and operations teams.

Job-Specific Minimum Requirements

• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust is required. An active Public Trust and/or DHS suitability is preferred.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen without dual citizenship.
• Enterprise Patch & Upgrade Management across Windows, Linux, network devices, and cloud platforms.
• Vulnerability remediation aligned to CVE, KEV, and ISVM guidance.
• IT/OT environment support (on-prem, cloud, hybrid).
• Secure configuration baselines and system hardening.
• Change, configuration, and release management processes.
• Rollback, contingency, and recovery planning.
• Technical leadership and cross-team coordination.
• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 10+ years of system administration experience, including enterprise scale patch and vulnerability management.

Preferred Skills and Qualifications

• Experience supporting large federal enterprise environments.
• Familiarity with ServiceNow change and release workflows.
• Cloud platform experience (AWS and/or Azure).
• Strong written documentation and audit-support skills.
• Experience mentoring junior system administrators.
• Security+ (or equivalent baseline certification).
• ITIL Foundation (or equivalent ITSM certification).

Compensation

Annual salary is just one component of Maximus's total compensation package. Other rewards may include short- and long-term incentives as well as program-specific awards. Additionally, Maximus provides a variety of benefits to employees, including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, a retirement savings plan, paid holidays and paid time off. Compensation ranges may differ based on contract value but will be commensurate with job duties and relevant work experience. An applicant's salary history will not be used in determining compensation. Maximus will comply with regulatory minimum wage rates and exempt salary thresholds in all instances.